Urban Exploits

10th August 2009 - Pyestock: PART 1 (Introduction and arrival)

Pyestock, or the National Gas Turbine Establishment as it is also known, was first set up in 1918 as an aircraft engine testing facility, however it was only in 1944 that it was nationalised and became known as the NGTE. Sir Frank Whittle played a huge role in the site, using it to develop the first jet engine. Later on the site was also used to test and develop conchordes engine however from the 1990’s use of the area bagan to dwindle, and today the site is largely derelict, with only a handful of buildings still in operation. Demolition of the site is now planned in order to make way for a supermarket distribution centre, and although this was an inevitable result it is a shame that so much British industrial history will simply be lost. 

It was an overcast yet slightly muggy day as we drove towards pyestock, following an aerial shot of the area I had hastily printed off the night before. Apart from stopping once and asking for directions to our planned public parking spot (A perfect location in which we could blend in as innocent ‘twitchers’) the journey had been extremely straight forward. As we exited the car and grabbed our equipment from the boot I was full of mixed feelings… would we even beable to get in, and if so, would we simply be caught by security and escorted out of the site? It was a good buzz, in that I was both nervous and excited at the same time. 

I could already sense that we were close to Pyestock, largely due to the aerial photo that indicated the fact but also down to the mystery of the area. As we began walking we started making our way through ferns and thick forest, each step taking us closer to the outskirts of the site. As we walked further into the forest the path was crossed by a thick area of trees, and as we continued we began to see the outline of a fence in the distance. My heart raced as we made our way forward, each step revealing more of the fence until eventually we could see that this must be the location. We stepped out of the forest onto a mud path which followed the outsides of the fence, looking in both directions we could see that this was a large site. (108 acres to be precise) As we gazed inside I was filled with wonderment, this was it. In the distance could be seen the iconic blue pipes of pyestock, covered by a blanket of trees on the other side of the fence. Looking up at the fence I noticed the extent of the challenge we faced. The fence was about three metres high, and along the top ran thick coils of barbed wire. Getting into this location was not going to be easy, although, we hadn’t expected it to be.