Introduction
We went on holiday to Essex near a nuclear power station, which
was obviously the highlight of the visit. Actually, it's a disused
power station; the 'decommissioning' process has started (this appears
to be one guy with a JCB), although it's going to take another hundred
years or so before the reactors are cold enough to dismantle.
Anyway, after a painstaking struggle I managed to select only
twenty-four pictures (out of several hundred). Here they are.
Here's the sign for the site. (I cheated a bit; the sign is actually
supposed to be pointing down the road behind, and this road
is part of a disused airfield that's now just farmland.)
Overall views
The power station has two reactors, which used to produce about
242 MW. The containment vessels are an older type made from
steel rather than concrete, which didn't encase all the pipework
for the coolant, meaning that they used to gently irradiate the
surrounding countryside. (It's okay, nobody much lives here.)
Presumably the two reactors are inside the massive brick
structures here.
The power station viewed from a helipad. (Heli-lawn?)
Back of the power station. I think the long lower grey building
is probably the turbine hall.
Front of the power station again, looking dark and sinister,
from the beach.
One end of the power station. On this end, the windows appear to be
all glass rather than boarded-up (or plain fallen-out) like on some
other sides.
Back of power station from the fields with a nice sky overhead.
Another sinister-looking (and slightly heat-distorted) view of the
front, over wheat stubble.
Closer views
There are lots of interesting views and patterns in the power station,
which seems to have been built using as many construction methods
as possible.
Part of both reactor halls, complete with boarded-up windows.
Mmm, nice stains on the side of the building. (Wonder what those
vents were for, anyhow?)
Glass, brick, corrugated metal.
Mmm, nice stains (#2).
Colour patterns.
Corner of the power station.
Part of what might be the turbine hall.
View down the middle of the site between what might be the reactor
halls and what might be the turbine hall. (Shame Wikipedia didn't
have a site plan, or I could be a bit more definitive...)
Back of power station.
Large vat of something (probably not radioactive waste, but you
never know).
Outfall
A large structure in the middle of the river looks very sinister -
maybe a place where a nuclear submarine might park up? Actually,
it's the outfall for the warm-but-probably-not-very-radioactive
coolant water, but it still looks good.
Ominous sign on the bank.
Outfall structure. (I have no idea why it's so big.)
Okay, the sign wasn't really all that ominous when you lean out to
see the front, although I don't know if a power danger cable is
something you want in your backyard.
Close-up of the central part of the outfall structure.
End part of structure.
Mmm, radioactive crops.
Sign in farm field.
And finally
Let's say goodnight!
I didn't take a tripod with me and this is from miles away, so
it's not very sharp, but whatever.
