Tales of the Urban Explorer: The Black Greyhound

in #hive-1043879 months ago

"The Black Greyhound' appears to have been visited by every known explorer in North-West England and has been sold out to the newspapers on several occasions. Is it any wonder that it's hardly the biggest local secret?

I picked this up from Facebook in early 2023 and required barely any effort to track it down. The inner sights I was seeing looked 'apocalyptic' as described, just up my street.

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Having been in a state of 'rotting' for the past ten years, the outside sign appears to have been removed, which removes a little of its identity, and like many of these decaying buildings, there have been several applications to convert the property into something other than an eyesore, some of which may still be pending.


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Source
...'The Black Greyhound, circa 2009, looking slightly better than now'...

This one didn’t present a challenge whatsoever in terms of entry, and if boards had been applied once, then they must have been repeatedly pulled off.

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I noticed an Indian Restaurant was sellotaped onto the rear, which would save the pint-pulling bar staff from having to deal with food orders.

’the problem with this is people don’t hang out at pubs solely to get pissed anymore, that is a 20th-century ideology''…

Bengal Dynasty’ is hardly an original name but having googled it, the food reports were decent, but it has been described as ‘always quiet’. Hardly a good platform for a healthy and thriving business.

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I earmarked the Indian for part two of this explore and we headed into the bowels of 'The Black Greyhound’, having to trample over crates, edge past spiky wooden doors, and avoid a pool of some fetid-looking swamp water just to get past the entrance.

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Urg, it’s one of those boozers that sell that putrid piss they name ‘Mild’. David Dire, my fat twat of an ex-boss from 'The Horrors of Kwiksave' would have loved it here.

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Having made it to the bar, the sighs were indeed of epic apocalyptic proportions, and a truly welcoming water hole for a thirsty tribe of the undead. The only colour I can discern from this is those wall tiles.

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The hole in the bottom left corner of this image is where we emerged from. One false move and this comes down on top of you. Some subsidence has occurred on the bar which could render the ordering of your drinks a little more challenging.

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Images such as the front door from the inside are truly spectacular when witnessed. I do love these intact but ravished scenes that you typically don’t tend to see when visiting your local McDonald's.

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While the invite to sit down on the local comfortable furniture hugging the edges of the room may be have been overwhelming, it wasn’t as convincing as shelling out for a new pair of trousers.

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Surely up there more wonders would be accosting our eyes, if we dared to go up.

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In these larger pubs, there’s generally more than one set of stairs, and that was the case for “The Black Greyhound’. Sadly, only a levitation spell would get you safely down the alternative set.

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The upstairs rooms revealed little initially, with several being quite bare.
The kitchen units were intact with a little natural light peeking through the partially destroyed roof.

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A few pieces of furniture hardly worth looking at adorned other rooms.

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The last one was the most interesting, if you can call it that with a leather sofa and a place to rest your weary bones in the corner.

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Bring your own pillow, move the planks of wood resting across your legs, and you will drift off in seconds to restful oblivion within such a luxurious divan.

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The urge to have a relaxing bath followed by a much-needed shit after my blissful sleep could have been on the cards, but the attire was sadly a little two-star for my tastes.

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We left ‘The Black Greyhound’ and entered ‘Bengal Dynasty’ with even less hassle than the former property. Derelict kitchens are best avoided, especially if they vacated in a hurry and didn’t was the dishes.

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I loved the seating arrangements, all curvy, round and very naturally green. Maybe this was a vegetarian Indian restaurant?

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With the front desk on the left, eating at the ‘Bengal Dynasty’ would truly have been a pleasure if it wasn’t pissing down.

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Take your seats on either the left or the right of the large room. The central area is reserved for the illegal Cannabis farm, or what’s left of it.

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This small section on the left has been partially saved due to a little roof being left overhead. Ellie's Dream can still come true.

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If ‘The Black Greyhound’ had been photogenic, then ‘Bengal Dynasty’ was more so. I do remember these scenes and thinking, ‘Well, yes that’s different and very cool looking’. Now I need to find some old images of what it used to look like when open for business.

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Apart from the main dining area, ‘Bengal Dynasty’ was your typical derelict mess and was getting to the stage of collapse. I would give it a few more years and the roof and walls are going to be no more.

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The grand entrance, but now you walk through where the glass used to be in those fancy doors, and then duck to vacate.

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On leaving I noted one trace of identification on the old pub. That one must be a little high up for the thieves to steal. I do wonder if they nick them for mementos.

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Wow, so much detail in each image! Everything is really spectacular! 😮

They have a nice earthy look on the inside.

'Earthy' is one way of putting it!

I loved the rounded seats in the "vegetarian" Indian restaurant... Ahahah
The stained glass doors are fantastic, it's amazing how they've managed to resist the heavy hand of time and neglect!

Thank you for "taking us with you" in your adventures to those unique places!

The urge to have a relaxing bath followed by a much-needed shit after my blissful sleep could have been on the cards, but the attire was sadly a little two-star for my tastes.

I laughed my ass off

The "vegetarian" Indian restaurant was probably the highlight, one of those surreal moments. It looked better when there.

Yes, I too found those seats oddly appealing. Seeing how I am always up with the latest trends it must be because they are so 'now' 😜

I was never a huge fan of getting a big Indian after some pintage, I much preferred going home and getting something on the way!

Lately we do the same, it's been a while since we had a sit down. That spicy stuff keeps me up all night if I order the wrong food.

I cant not eat spicy food but the older I get the more havoc it is playing with my belly at times. I do somewhat regret being such a chilli-heda in my youth!

it kinda blows my mind that in the UK there are still properties left to rot away to nothing. and it downs't look like there will be any renovating of this place, it'll be bulldozed at some point.

There were glimpses of some lovely original features that must have once adorned the place - those colorful tiles being a perfect example.

Looking at the state of the place it was a brave thing to step foot inside, even more so to venture upstairs.

thanks for the post

Looking at the state of the place it was a brave thing to step foot inside, even more so to venture upstairs.

It takes a lot for me to not go upstairs! Sometimes the bottom stairs are gone and you have to heave your way up. There could be great sights up there!

Seems something to have nibbled the whole place like a worm.

It's been badly nibbled, this one.

When I look at photos like this, and realize that this building has been derelict for less than 15 years, it amazes me how crappily modern buildings must be built to have already lost parts of their roofs and be falling apart. Many of the buildings I've explored are much, much older, and some were built of brick or stone. But even those of wood construction, built in the 1970s and before, have held up SO MUCH better than this place - especially the restaurant. Your description of it being cellotaped to the back was most appropriate. It really does look like it was built of little more than cardboard and tape.

!PIZZA

The pub is likely to be quite old, the Indian not so and that's why it's mostly open to the elements.

Your description of it being cellotaped to the back was most appropriate. It really does look like it was built of little more than cardboard and tape.

Yeah, likely a bolt on at some point when they decided to offload the food to a 3rd party.

PIZZA!

$PIZZA slices delivered:
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I always feel bad seeing properties like this that no one is using and there are some people who don’t even have anywhere to sleep at all

What a crazy place. In this photograph, it looks like nature is coming in for the knock-out punch

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That's what you get for buying a cheap roof!

The restaurant pics look really cool. The grass carpet goes great with those green booths. Their interior decorator should have won awards for that. Plus it's great to see the one section with the roof still intact ! Nice explore considering the devastation.

Their interior decorator should have won awards for that.

LOL, if it was only deliberate 😀

The sofa looked a bit out of place. It seemed to be in a much better condition than everything else. The design also looks interesting. There is a bit of a gap in the middle, so is it two separate seats that can be placed next to each other?

I noticed the gap, like some axe had sliced it up. Probably idiots jumping on it in the past, when the upstairs was in better condition. Up there now, its creep around or the floor may give way.

Gotcha, thanks.

Yes, there are more and more houses like this in our area, too, and the photos are very colorful and surreal, a real HDR :)
!DHEDGE

What are you waiting for, go explore!

Yeah, I know, I'll try, but here such houses are more or less locked, now, breaking into them is not really my style. 😜

Don't break in, I don't do that.

Wow crazy looks like something out of a horror movie!! Would love to explore there!

Horrible. I was expecting something tasty this time, but you have surprised me again !LOLZ

Why couldn’t the bike keep up with the car?
Because it was 2-tired

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You mean like Tikka Masala? 😀

!LOL

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There, their, they're.

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What a dramatic thing to see that place now and compare what it was like in 2009!

Impressive photos, as always it is a visual wonder to see the deterioration, the colours, the shapes and the chaos in them!!!...

Thanks for sharing this new crazy exploration @slobberchops friend!!

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!PIZZA
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@slobberchops! Your Content Is Awesome so I just sent 1 $BBH (Bitcoin Backed Hive) to your account on behalf of @jlinaresp. (2/5)

Yeah, I enjoyed this one, it was better than expected, and occasionally sights like this make me look, and then look again!

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Man, that is quite the difference between the before and after. So many of these are in such a horrible state. Do you ever get deja vu when you walk in some of them? Like you have been there before?

Do you ever get deja vu when you walk in some of them? Like you have been there before?

Not to date, now if it was somewhere I had truly been before (and knew it), that would place a different light on things. My old haunts are still up and running.

Interesting. I just feel like after a while all the burned out buildings would start to look the same! :)

Ohhh man how do you all walk into these? Hope you wash and sanitize your hands properly after exploring.

You get used to it, just a little crap on your shoes that's easily wiped off outside on the grass verge.

Nice clicks. After looking this old building, its look like a movie ghost house and no one has been here for a long time.

What a dump.... It sure looked nicer a few years back. The whole place looks like it's ready to collapse, I'm glad you made it out alive! I sure wouldn't have wanted to touch anything in there... Or take a nap in that bed!
!BBH

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Wow... how chaotically beautiful 😳 The passage of time has indeed done its job in these buildings. As I looked, I couldn't help but think that everything looked like an oil painting, where the years were responsible for making each minute brushstroke without leaving a single area unpainted. But without a doubt, my favorite part is the moss growing, leaving a charming green color in its wake. A sign that despite everything, life continues! Thanks for sharing the photographs, simply incredible. 😃💚

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So.....

only a levitation spell would get you safely down the alternative set.

I caused those stairs to collapse, I nearly shit myself, I was lucky, holding the handrail and stamping on the first tread down to test them is normal for me, and whoosh the fucking things collapsed, even to this day I wonder if some fucker had booby trapped them

Well.. you pub derp wrecker, what can I say? It must have been long before we were there! 😃

yeah about 4 years ago I still have the skid marks on my pants!

Haha, must have looked a whole lot better than the zombie refuge it is now 😀

yeah it was ok not much in there even then tbh

Hahaha... True Blood. We even have magazines to enjoy on those comfy moss sofas. Oh, no, after that you'd have to buy new trousers.

You have to be brave to stand in there for a minute because the state of degradation is such that it looks very dangerous. 😟

I try not to sit anywhere, saves on the trousers, I go through too many already with them getting caught on fences usually in the crotch area. 😃

I can imagine. It's complicated this Urbex job. But this has to be approached as an occupational hazard, a necessary evil. 🤣

Miffed, realization all these grand old haunts are gone! Gone green....

!BEER


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