I've always been drawn to photographs of abandoned places but have never been brave enough to find them myself. Just over a year ago, a friend and I made an attempt at urban exploring around the Heygate Estate, which is probably the closest I'll ever get to being daring and brave.
Almost as soon as we arrived, we ran into a man who thought he was a time traveller. After gently extracting ourselves, we didn't have any more interactions, though we did walk past a social centre and church that was still in use, see several motorcyclists cut through and walked past a small community of people who still lived there. They were having coffee outside in a manner that didn't quite fit with the surroundings. Everything was boarded up and it was eerie and a little sad to think of all the people who had lived there.
Some people have said the estate was rough and crime riddled, others say it was a community and miss living there. Either way, proper gates have now gone up, there are dogs patrolling, and walls are starting to come down. I thought it would be worth looking back at the estate as it was a year ago.
