Ice Plant Crane Climb

The Ice Plant was originally built at the turn of the 20th century to make ice, store meat and fish, and was integral to making ice cream for Italian immigrants in the Victorian slum of Ancoats.

It was since used as the rehearsal space for legendary Madchester bands Inspiral Carpets and the Happy Mondays.

Currently undergoing a £12m re-development that will include 82 apartments as well as commercial units on the ground floor in an effort to recreate a "bustling village atmosphere" in Ancoats according to the developers northerngroup.

This was my first crane climb. Not huge by crane standards, but my numerous ascensions of the Lowry Footbridge held me in good stead for the vertical ladder.

Visited with Reddood and an another wrong'un.

And a naughty one from Reddood...

Dodge Hill Air Raid Shelter

Stockport had 3 air raid shelters chiselled out of the soft, red sandstone beneath its foundations during the Second World War - Chestergate, Brinksway and Dodge Hill.

Chestergate is now a museum where, for a fee, you can walk around the largest of the three.

The more adventurous might have a stab at the sealed up, abandoned Dodge Hill.

The place is still lined with the bunk beds that Stockport's citizens once slept on while waiting for German bombers to piss off home.

We also found a bottle of methadone and some empty wraps of smack. Time to leave!

Grange Caverns - Holywell

After a search for new drains with nckt, Buttons and Ojay, we stopped off here hoping to find a way into this former munitions store.

Buttons and myself had a look a few weeks ago to no avail. Though the site has been changed around recently and made access a little bit easier.

Originally a limestone quarry, it was used during WW2 as a munitions store and even mentioned by Lord Haw-Haw in one of his infamous Nazi broadcasts.

After the war it lay empty for a while before being briefly opened as a military museum in the 80s and has been empty ever since.

The place is well guarded by the farmers that own it. We legged it from dogs on the way in and found a spent shotgun cartridge on the way out. If you pay this place a visit, keep it real.

More on the Flickr.