I last visited this quarry more than a year ago, and on revisiting, as always, i threw up the old cliches. " This is a lot more fucked than last time." "Ooh that collapse wasn't there last time i was here." Those statements may or may not have been true, but as is always the case with these places, they always have the ability to throw up surprises when you scratch deeper beneath the surface...
Westwood has seen many different and interesting incarnations since stone was first quarried. There is a mix of old and new methods of stone extraction, and the remains of a Royal Enfield Shadow factory utilized during World War two. Part of the quarry links to entrances of two secure storage companies, and the British Museum stored some most valuable artwork and artifacts during the outbreak of War.
The Good...
...the bad...
...and the downright ugly.
The main aim of the trip was to explore the lesser visited Old workings. They feature tidy loading bays in abundance, something not seen in many other Wiltshire quarries, and so it was nice to see so many in one place. The real highlight for me came towards the end of the trip. The time where you've rummaged through the shadow factory, posed on the digger, grabbed your token shots of "secure areas" and come to the conclusion that you've seen all there is to see and its time to go home...
Chain Still taut, stone still waiting to be hauled, surrounded by 5 tonne cubes seen in archive black and white photos from the twentieth century, i felt privileged to stumble upon not one but two of these cranes, chunkier than those you'd find in Box or Swans. At least they saved me a journey venturing into the deepest depths of East Lung to find anything similar, and it just goes to show, never write these places off!
Visited with Tommo, Styru, D86, Mr BMM, OT, Pirate and Urban Junky. Thanks for the knowledge and good times people, always a pleasure!
Westwood has seen many different and interesting incarnations since stone was first quarried. There is a mix of old and new methods of stone extraction, and the remains of a Royal Enfield Shadow factory utilized during World War two. Part of the quarry links to entrances of two secure storage companies, and the British Museum stored some most valuable artwork and artifacts during the outbreak of War.
The Good...
...the bad...
...and the downright ugly.
The main aim of the trip was to explore the lesser visited Old workings. They feature tidy loading bays in abundance, something not seen in many other Wiltshire quarries, and so it was nice to see so many in one place. The real highlight for me came towards the end of the trip. The time where you've rummaged through the shadow factory, posed on the digger, grabbed your token shots of "secure areas" and come to the conclusion that you've seen all there is to see and its time to go home...
Chain Still taut, stone still waiting to be hauled, surrounded by 5 tonne cubes seen in archive black and white photos from the twentieth century, i felt privileged to stumble upon not one but two of these cranes, chunkier than those you'd find in Box or Swans. At least they saved me a journey venturing into the deepest depths of East Lung to find anything similar, and it just goes to show, never write these places off!
Visited with Tommo, Styru, D86, Mr BMM, OT, Pirate and Urban Junky. Thanks for the knowledge and good times people, always a pleasure!
