Abbey Mills was built in 1868, and designed by engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver. It was designed in a cruciform plan, with an elaborate Byzantine style, described as The Cathedral of Sewage.

A long journey across the capital in the darkened hours, and I arrived at Abbey Mills. I'd been told about it over a year ago by Hydra and I think ScottBadman, but because i'm quite lazy when it comes to explores, i'd left it for closer projects. Typically when I got to the building, and the common access point, it was no longer do-able. So basically this write up is that of a fail, thank goodness they're rather rare, but they are something the explorer experiences from time to time. Quietly annoyed with myself, I turned my attention, and that of my camera to the rather gorgeous external buildings.

I love the twisting green drainpipes on this building.

At the back of the above building, there was a grilled floor and holes in the floor leading down into watery pits. Signs said 'Danger'. Upstairs there were cogs and wheels that I guess would open the sluice gates below the ground level floor.

Another outbuilding had a workshop in it.

The buildings were built with real attention to detail, very impressive, and not like most of the dull featureless crap built these days.

Two small temple like buildings were wrapped in scaffold. Curiosity in hyperdrive, I squeezed and pushed myself into the crumbling building to find a well down to some mystery entries. Where did they lead? Sadly without rope I would never know.

The final building I got into, was a long thin building with a watery level below. It didn't look like it was supposed to be flooded, but clearly was.

I liked what I could see on the lower levels, but without wellies/waders/removing footwear and barefooting through water likely to leave hideous rashes, it was not possible.

Disappointed, I left. As I walked back past the driveway to the newer section, a police car drove in!

Insides explored further in Trip 2...