WebUrbanist » Urbex & Parkour

Eccentric Hideaway: Secret English Underwater Billiards Room

Delana — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:00:39 +0000

Urban explorers know that it isn’t typically the readily-visible locations that hold the most intrigue; it is the hidden places unknown to most of the world. The places that most of us will never visit (and may never even realize exist) are the most beautiful, interesting and worthy of our wonder. This particular hidden place sits beneath a man-made lake next to the massive estate of a late mining magnate…and even some of its closest neighbors have no idea it exists.

(image via: Gizmodo)

In the late 19th century, wealthy English businesspeople began to dot the countryside with extravagant homes. Not content to simply show off their wealth with mansions, however, they built accompanying towers and other displays that made the owners’ financial worth clear to all passers-by. Most of these displays served no practical purpose. Mining industry tycoon Whitaker Wright bucked the trend by creating a project that was invisible to all but those who were invited to enjoy it.

(image via: CyberGibbons)

Wright’s indulgence was an underwater billiards room and fish-watching conservatory built in the middle of a man-made lake on his property in Goldalming, Surrey. Accessed through a small wooden door, a spiral staircase and a short underwater tunnel boat ride, the room is well and truly secret to anyone who is not in the know. In fact, it has become something of a local legend; stories of the underwater room have been passed down through generations but many believe that the tales are pure fiction.

(images via: CyberGibbons)

After the property’s original owner was convicted of fraud, he killed himself with a cyanide capsule and Witley Park fell into the hands of Lord Pirrie, the builder of the ill-fated Titanic. Escaping death on his own creation thanks to an illness that kept him at home, Pirrie owned the home for around 15 years before his own death from pneumonia. Since then, Witley Park has been used as a conference center and meeting room, even after the original mansion burned down in 1952. The underwater billiards room has been accessible to many, but today it is blocked off and guarded with a security system.

(images via: CyberGibbons)

Still, some urban explorers have been able to gain access to this incredible secret room. In the photos above, the glass dome is lit from the inside, providing an eerie glow to the water and the statue that sits atop the dome. From inside the dome, the glass panes are nearly entirely obscured by sediment and algae, making it difficult to imagine how stunning the view once must have been.

(images via: CyberGibbons)

On the other hand, the decay and neglect that have changed the hidden rooms and tunnels have given them a wonderful sense of mystery. The fact that the underwater billiards room has been steeped in mystery for decades only serves to make it more fascinating. Sadly, the property’s current owner is not likely to give permission to explore the property today, but plenty of previous visitors have shared their photos online of this incredible place.

(Special thanks to Andrew for the use of his spectacular photos of Witley Park)

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Parkour for Lazies: The Bizarre British Lying Down Game

Delana — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:00:16 +0000

It’s happening all around the world: people are taking pictures of their friends awkwardly lying face-down in all sorts of unlikely places. On top of statues, in the middle of roads, in front of famous landmarks – absolutely anywhere you can conceivably fit a horizontal human body, you’ll find someone playing the bizarre game. The weirder the place and the more people looking on, the better. You may ask why, but the people behind The Lying Down Game would rather ask “Why not?”

Lying Down Game creators Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon describe their creation as “Parkour…for those who can’t be arsed.” In other words, this is the lazy person’s urban navigation sport. There’s no dangerous jumping or athletic climbing required; just the ability to lie down and stop moving for a moment along with the bravery to tolerate people staring at you as if you are crazy.

Feel brave enough to participate? The rules are simple, according to the creators: “1) The more public the better. 2) The more people involved the better. Please be aware that the palms of your hands must be flat against your side and the tips of your toes pointing at the ground. Just as if you were standing, but vertically challenged. FACE DOWN!”

The game has been around as a Facebook group since 2006, but the meme really reached its peak in the summer of 2009. Mainstream media picked up on the story and the game was featured by news outlets around the world. After the attention, participation soared and the submitted pictures grew more and more outrageous. The game was at the center of a few controversies as people were caught lying down at work and in some rather unwise places, but lying down enthusiasts continued to play.

Aside from being a silly thing to do to amuse yourself, the Lying Down Game strikes us as a brilliant public art project. Seen separately, these photos suggest thousands of weird people all willing to do something a little crazy. But taken together, the photos of people all around the world lying face down in odd locations looks a lot like collective performance art. It helps that they all seem to be having fun while lying down.

The Facebook page for the group is still going strong after all this time, and it has now reached well over 100,000 members. Want to play? Be prepared for some stares and the occasional “Are you alright?” – and don’t forget to bring a friend with a camera to capture the ridiculous places you find to lie down in.

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Pomparkour: New Urban Free Running Sport with Ladders

Steph — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Anyone who’s already familiar with parkour – the jaw-dropping urban sport that involves astonishing acrobatics including gravity-defying jumps – probably stared in disbelief at a video showing a trio of parkour enthusiasts scaling buildings and bridges with the help of hooked ladders. Created as an ad for a sports drink, the video undoubtedly sparked many people to google the dubious new sport of ‘pomparkour’.

So what’s got people up in arms about it? As it turns out, pomparkour is the fictional creation of advertising agency BBDO for ‘V Energy‘, a guarana concoction from New Zealand. And conveniently left out of the video is the fact that these guys are professional stuntmen equipped with safety ropes which were edited out of the final video (check out proof below).

Around the same time the video debuted, a blog about the sport materialized, featuring a few photos and a small amount of info. A Wikipedia article on pomparkour also appeared, but was quickly flagged as a hoax or at the very least, mere self-serving advertisement.

So is it a fictional sport, or just a rad new form of parkour in its infancy? Time will tell whether serious practicers of parkour will embrace this offshoot and pull some ladder play into their movements. Even with safety ropes, the guys in the ad perform some breathtaking stunts, earning quite a bit of well-deserved attention.

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Look Before You Leap: Crazy Parkour Building Jump

Delana — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:23 +0000

(image via: English Russia)

A new video and set of photographs is circulating from St. Petersburg, Russia, where the Parkour movement is gaining a strong foothold among the city’s youth. The video shows a young man jumping from one rooftop to another, with 35 feet of height difference and about 20 feet of space between the buildings.

It’s inspiring mixed feelings from the public and from Parkour enthusiasts. While the stunt was impressive and the stuntman seemed to know what he was doing, it was incredibly dangerous. But the group featured in the video say that they were trying to raise awareness of the sport and point out the problem of a lack of safe, sanctioned places to practice it.

This Russian news story shows another side of the stunt. The man doing the first jump pulled it off perfectly without any problems, but when a friend tried the same jump he injured his leg. We don’t speak Russian so we’re not sure what the newscaster is saying, but judging from his tone it’s not entirely positive.

Parkour is generally seen as a physically challenging sport that’s somewhat dangerous, but not overly so. This video of Austrian traceur Sacha Hauser shows that Parkour isn’t just about taking the biggest risks and evoking the biggest reactions – it’s also a beautiful, artistic use of the human body’s strength.

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10 Black Friday Shopping Tips By Urban Ninjas

Angie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:00:08 +0000

Black Friday . . . are you preparing to battle the holiday shopping crowds? With the economy in a slouch, you had better be ready to fight for the best sales. You have to be fast and first into the store. You need amazing skills to navigate parked cars, blocked aisles, any obstacle that comes between you and that steal of a deal. Can you run faster, climb higher? Perhaps you should brush up on your ninjas skills before you go into the battle of the urban ninjas?

(image credits: morznet)

These skills have been around for a long time, but not always associated with shopping. It’s an extreme sport called Parkour. This is what might happen if you get between a free running, monkey-style shopper and his or her sale. Maybe you should take a few tips from this unique style. You can’t argue that these are some of the most awesome urban ninjas you might ever encounter, sale or no sale.

Will you meet this guy in the crowd or are you this guy?

Will you meet this guy in the crowded mall or are you this guy? Granted, he is not your average holiday shopper. However, he makes quick work of any urban obstacles and continues to travel smoothly on his set course. He is an urban ninja. His sport is parkour, free running, an extreme combination of martial arts, gymnastics, climbing and precision jumping.

What might happen with females, cell phones, and sales?

What might happen with females all calling each other on their cell phones and on the hunt for the best sales? What if you saw all those parked cars in the swollen parking lots full of shoppers as less of a pain, more like play? What if walls were not a barrier, but a mere challenge to vault or wall run? Could be your shopping excursion is an excuse to practice cat leaps, tic tacs, or precision jumping to navigate the urban jungle.

1st Person Battle Route for Beating the Shopping Crowds

The sidewalks will be crowded; you know the madhouse it will be on this shopping scene. It’s important to have a plan, a route that is faster than everyone else’s. So you have walls in the way or fences between buildings? Think out of the box to beat the crowds. Need help formulating that plan? If you strapped a camera on your chest, here is what it could look like free running your way to battle the bulge of people and the crowds for the Black Friday shopping steals.

Plan to swing on the clothes racks!

The advertisements show some great deals, but the department stores only stock 50 items at that price. The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually a big boom and those stores put out extra clothing racks in the aisles. That doesn’t really help clear the way for you to get to the racks with the great prices on clothes. It’s important to practice your urban ninja skills moving in and out of the racks. No clothes racks handy? How about honing your moves through bars like these guys? This is their video response to BARbarian.

Female hard work, you never know what you might do

(image credits: Parkour Generations)

That tree, the playground, there are plenty of places for you to practice your balance, your speed, your urban ninja skills in the urban jungle. Jump that wall. You might want to start practicing your Black Friday skills today as opposed to right after you’ve stuffed yourself with a Thanksgiving feast. Go over those people; take a shortcut up the tree and over them. Ladies, you know you work hard. Play hard. You never know what you might need to do in your quest for the best deals. Go forth and conquer!

Females can do it better…Shopping? Oh no!

How very different you might be able to plan the fastest shopping route if you cut through a playground or cut through abandoned buildings. Or perhaps jumping from pole to pole might get you the advantage? It wouldn’t hurt any of us to take a few shortcuts or to take some single-minded determination pointers from some of the greatest women free runners around. No offense, gentlemen, but females can do it better. Just shopping? Oh no!

Dude Spinning

Walls, playgrounds, tires . . . reoccurring themes that you might not encounter on your way to shop. However, if you did, you could learn some wickedly sharp moves like this dude. Most of us would give this guy some space. Or he might just spin over the top of you. He has some seriously crazy-slick spinning moves. How great of a shopping excursion could you have if you had freedom from obstacles via airborne inspiration?

You couldn’t stop this dude in a simple store aisle

Sascha ‘Cionn‘ Hauser of Austria looks like a normal guy in a suit. But if this dude wanted through or past you in a simple store aisle, you couldn’t stop him. He is also known as BARbarian, a free runner known for his amazingly creative and inventive smooth moves. If you could copy a page from him, no other shopper in the world would be able to stop you or dare to get between you and that steal of a deal.

Ladies…and you thought they were watching football?

(image credits: parkour rosario, King Fisher World, Parkour Generations)

Ladies, if you consider yourself the shopping queen not to be topped by a mere mortal man, then consider this for a moment. You thought they were watching football or out playing poker, but what if the man in your life is practicing up, ready to give you a run for your money? Not possible? Don’t be so sure. Take a look at these dudes. A crossbreed of skills makes them capable of being thieves who would not get caught or stunt men, all courageous and determined to beat you this year in the holiday shopping crowds.

Ninja Skills and Determination from Belgium

It’s fairly safe to assume everyone loves a great deal, so in that Black Friday crowd you can expect a few fellow shoppers in a less-than-jolly holiday mood. In fact, some might be near a foamy-mouthed frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. It’s time to break out your urban ninja skills, but remember they can be dangerous. Gaëtan Bouillet offers a few tips on what determination to win as the best can get you. Be thankful for your health. Be thankful the worst you have to endure is shopping in the crowds from hell. Perhaps try to inject a little holiday cheer?