Tales of the Urban Explorer: Dalton Mills - Part Two

'What the fuck are you doing in here, thieves… you have broken in, I saw you scouting around looking to get in…', he screamed in a high pitched wheezy voice that had been subjected to years of tobacco abuse.

Other Articles in this Series:
Tales of the Urban Explorer: Dalton Mills - Part One
.

wheezy didn't look a threat; he was not tall, walked with a slouch and I had to strain just to hear what he was saying, which I would describe more like a croak than a voice..

He didn’t wield a snarling German shepherd dog straining on its leash, waiting to leap and tear out our jugulars, or was even waving a big stick.

All these factors persuaded @dizzydiscovery to immediately counter his accusations of thievery and breaking in.

'No we did not break-in, we gained access by over there', he said pointing to a distant location.

'Do you think thieves and robbers come in here with expensive video and camera equipment?', he continued with a hint of anger in his voice, meanwhile recording all the drama.

It seemed to do the trick, just enough to put wheezy in a state of doubt about his words and on the back foot.

@dizzydiscovery followed this up immediately, not allowing wheezy to counter with, ‘are you the security for this area?’

Within the space of a few minutes, the situation had turned from accusation to one of wheezy explaining to us about his woes with thieves constantly breaking into Dalton Mills.

‘If you had told me, I could have given you a tour’ he wheezed, with me struggling to hear what he was saying.

15 minutes later, with wheezy not wanting to shut up about the history of Dalton Mills despite the ever-increasing downpour of rain (which he appeared immune too), he agreed to give us the grand tour without us asking!

…’my first permission visit, not as exciting as an infiltration but you have to take what’s given’…

So Dalton Mills has been chosen to host all these TV series shows, why this mill and not any of the others?

Inside told me why. It is old but in decent condition at least on the lower floors.

Wheezy told us he rarely sees the actors or props as they are in just for a few days and then everything is removed and taken away.

The jail cells used in 'The Gunpowder Plot' look genuine, it is only when you knock on the walls that you realise they are made of pure plastic.

Still, I had an uneasy feeling in this area that wheezy was going to slam the cell doors shut and imprison us, call it my suspicious and non-trusting mind.

The metal cage frames were as real as anything else and would contain your host quite easily.

I can see this looks very convincing, and they didn't take the jail away with them when finished?

Are these posters props or genuinely old, I never really figured it out.

Some parts of the mill were just like other mills; wrecked.

While other bits had seen some kind of refurbishment work done.

It was a mixture of genuine old material with discarded props here and there.

It was refreshing to see somewhere with no graffiti or damage. Other explorers have been in and signed their names in the dust.

At least it doesn’t leave a permanent marking. wheezy seemed entertained by the scribbling, I felt he quite likes Urban Explorers.

The stairs to the top floor were affecting @dizzydiscovery, with the floor itself being even worse.

He didn't want to walk down here after wheezy told us a tale of him narrowly escaping death when it collapsed under his feet, with a handy burly bloke rescuing him at the last minute.

wheezy didn't seem to give a crap about me walking down here with him; none of this health and safety bullshit, which is just how I like it.

This where there is no floor underneath the tarpaulin and the big hole. He advised me not to step on it; wise words.

At the far end of the mill, I found some genuine old stuff, tins of 'Ring Travellers'and some evidence of what the mill was once used for.

The floor was quite creaky here and I was tentatively walking around with more than a little care.

The toilet shot just had to be done; this was as close as I dare get to it, the floor was terrible in this area. Very bad news if you need of an emergency shit.

The last stop was the cellar and it was quite dingy and damp down there.
None of this collapsing area is props, and inside was a lot of old paperwork inside an open safe.

Receipts and bills from 1967, very damp, and lots of them!

The far end of the cellar looked liked it hosted a coffin and corpse. This was a prop, left behind just for the hell of it.

We spent around an hour in Dalton Mills, wheezy being named as Keith after some time. What a friendly bloke he turned out to be.

So there you go, thieves and robbers are not welcome, but Urban Explorers might be. Just ask for Keith at the security gatehouse. He may well give you the tour if you convince him you are not a robber.

Do you like posting your Urbex content and photography for FREE on Facebook and YouTube? I like to get some form of reward for my work and every time I create I do just that. Take a look at The Urbex Community on HIVE.

If you want to keep creating for FREE then ignore what you are reading. If you want to be like me and gain something other than BUGGER ALL for your work then click here and learn about posting on the HIVE blockchain.

• Earn FREE EOS from Coinbase by taking partaking in a simple quiz here
• Earn FREE Orchid from Coinbase by taking partaking in a simple quiz here
  

If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.