In this video we look at additional footage that we didnt originally show you at the Brickworks. This video is a spin off of our canal lock video at Tardebigge just outside Birmingham. On the Worcester and Birmingham canal. We visited a brickworks and a brick reclamation yard. This is footage that wasnt in the original video. We look at the actual reason Staffordshire blue bricks look the way they do and why they have that blue look. We hear a story about an old house and a famous British Sculptor Arnold Machin. From Cawardens brick reclamation yard. Plus we see the bespoke brick making area at Ketleys Dreadnought works. Finally we re join the Canal & River trust at Tardebigge lock to hear about the way you can support them with their buy a brick appeal. Every brick tells a story in the history of bricks.

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Every Brick tells a story ..... ?

In this video we film with an Insta 360 camera. We take it into the entrance to Standedge tunnel and then go up onto Marsden moor. On Marsden moor on the pennine hills. We look around and find a shaft for the Standedge tunnel. I put the camera in and although its not the best in low light you get a look down the shaft. We also look into Redbrook engine house and look at the Georgian canal engineering. I hope you enjoy this experimental 360 interactive experience.

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Marsden Moor, shafts and tunnels. Experiment in 360

In this video we visit Tardebigge locks on the Worcester and Birmingham canal. It is top lock number 58. The third deepest canal lock in the country. The lock walls have had problems with one side of the lock structure brickwork bulging. The lock was constructed and opened in 1818. A structure over 200 years old it is a testament to the Georgian canal engineers and navies that built it and the height of the canal building era. The Canal and River trust hare faced with repairing this lock and are adhering to strict conservation rules. The front facing bricks are being reclaimed and cleaned and so this takes us to Cawardens a brick reclamation yard.  We see the treatment the bricks are given in order to re use them. For the bricks that cannot be used new ones will be put in place. A staffordshire blue engineering brick has been chosen as the nearest match to the original bricks. So we go to a massive clay quarry to see the clay that has been sourced and then onto a brickworks. Ketley brickworks established in 1805. So we see bricks being made at the factory, bricks being reclaimed. A fascinating story of heritage and conservation on Britains canal. By the Canal and River Trust.

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How do you repair a canal lock ?

This video is about the Standedge canal tunnel. We journey by Kayak through the longest, deepest, highest canal tunnel in Britain. Work commenced in 1794 at the peak of the canal building era. Standedge tunnel is situated on the Huddersfield narrow canal. Chief engineer Benjamin Outram encountered many difficulties in the Pennine hills on Marsden moor. The unexpected geology affected the tunnelling and delayed the project to 17 years. The canal tunnel finally opened in 1811. It remains a feat of Georgian engineering and one of the wonders of the canal building era. At 3.2 miles long the canal tunnel goes underneath the Pennine hills between Diggle and Marsden. The canal river trust invited us along to Kayak through this tunnel. We look at the terrain and the shafts up on the pennine moors and get an insight into what it took to build the longest canal tunnel in Britain.

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Standedge canal tunnel.The Longest, The deepest, The highest !

In this video we Visit Manchesters Lost river. The elusive river Cornbrook. We have followed this lost river over 4 episodes and now we are at part 5. During most of its course the river is underground in culverts and underground tunnels. However we are now at West Gorton in Manchester and the river now runs open. West Gorton and Ardwick are responsible for the Birth of such things as Manchester city football club and lots of Victorian Industry. One of those industries was an Iron foundry and also the famous Galloways Boilers. In this underground journey following a river we delve into the History of Manchester. In particular the History of Gorton and Ardwick. Honorary mentions have to go to the ICL tower in West Gorton and also the comedy TV series Shameless that was set in this area. The journey finally reaches Daylight.

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The Lost Rivers of Manchester. The Cornbrook Part 5

In this video we explore one of Manchester's lost Rivers. The River Cornbrook. This is part 4 and the River Cornbrook now traverses underneath the Ardwick area of Manchester. We start near the Ardwick Apollo theatre. Towards Hyde Road and then underneath the Hyde Road Bus depot. We end up in Higher Ardwick Manchester in an area of former railway sidings. In this underground river urbex . We also take in the history of Manchester. As we look at the sight of the former Ardwick Cemetery. The wonderful architecture of the Nicholls School building and take in some old photographs of Manchester. As per usual our Cornbrook underground journey turns into a historical tour of Manchester

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The Lost Rivers of Manchester The Cornbrook Part 4 (V2)

In this video we go searching for Victorian Industrial relics around the village of Norden near Rochdale, Greater Manchester. This area of Lancashire was famous for its woolen mills, powered by the local watercourse the Naden brook. As well as processing the wool they also carried out fulling, and dyeing and bleaching of the cloth in Lancashire. Around the Fulling mills were wooden racks in fields called tenters. Tenters were how the woollen cloth was dyed. Obviously these mills were powered by coal from the local colliery. In our search for hidden history we find an old Victorian mill chimney with its chimney flue still intact. We get into this victorian brick structure constructed sometime in the 1840's we crawl up the flue and into the chimney. We also find an old victorian Ice house that served a manor house that one of the mill owners lived in. The Ice house is hidden in the woods and is a very unique brick structure. Join us on this Urbex journey to find Hidden Victorian Industrial historical relics.

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Victorian Industrial relics

In this video we visit the Village of Wycoller. Wycoller is in Lancashire. Wycoller Hall is a beautiful old English Hall that dates back to the 16th Century. Over the past 400 years its had quite a history. With many aristocratic families living there. Eventually falling into the ruin at the end of the 19th Century.  It still remains a Grade II listed building and a wonderful remnant of English Heritage.  Nearby are two very old bridges. One is called the Clapper Bridge. It is a medieval bridge that dates back over 500 years. Possibly even older. The clapper bridge spans the Wycoller Beck. Beck being a Northern British name Norse in origin for a small watercourse. A clapper bridge is the simplest form of bridge and is literally two plates of granite stone that span a river in order to get livestock across. The second bridge is the Packhorse bridge , again believed to be over 400 years old and difficult to date. It has a groove worn in the top from years of mill workers in clogs walking over it. Wycoller Hall and the village have two cultural references. The village featured in the 1970 film The Railway Children. Also Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre had a fictitious manor called Ferndean. Wycoller is believed to be the inspiration behind this. Of course no old English manor house would be complete without its ghosts and Wycoller hall has two ghosts that haunt it.

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Wycoller ! What happened to the Hall ? How old is that Bridge ?

In this video we look at old Industrial remains in the hills around the town of Buxton. Our walk, urban exploration urbex, starts Just outside the town of Buxton in Derbyshire. It is centred around a small former industrial valley. The Valley has old abandoned Victorian industrial engineering. Some of the old infrastructure goes back to the 18th century. We look at a bridge on the former Cromford and High Peak disused railway line . We then go on to look at two river culverts on the River Wye. The first culvert took the River Wye under an embankment for the Burbage reservoir. The Burbage reservoir is now long since gone. The second culvert has a spectacular outfall an takes the River Wye underneath the track bed of the former Cromford and High Peak railway. Along a river valley we walk until we get to some industrial weirs on the river that took a water supply via an old Victorian pipeline to the former Burbage reservoir. There is an old industrial shaft with water control valves that we enter to look at the water control pumping mechanism. Finally we end our walk at the site of Goyt colliery an old coal mine and look at some coke ovens now abandoned in the hillside.

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What did we find ? An abandoned Industrial Valley.

In this video we are looking at a disused railway line and a disused railway tunnel. The now abandoned railway branch line was called the Delph Donkey. Situated just outside the town of Oldham in Lancashire. It ran from Oldham through the village of Lees and on into Saddleworth terminating at the village of Delph. A myth about the service was that at some point the train was pulled by a Donkey. However its was a single steam locomotive that did a push pull service. The Steam locomotive pulled the train from Oldham then pushed it back from Delph. We look at old heritage railway photographs of the now closed line. The line was populated mainly by Cotton mill workers that commuted from Oldham into Saddleworth. The line served the villages of Greenfield, Grasscroft, Dob Cross, Grotton, Lees and finally Delph. The branch line closed to passengers in 1955 and finally to freight trains in 1963. The railway lines were removed in 1964. The trackbed is now a walk and cycleway on the outskirts of Oldham.

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Looking for The Delph Donkey ? Forgotten Branch Lines

In this video we visit the Goyt Valley in the Peak district and go to the ruins of Errwood Hall. This is the story of a classic Victorian Mansion that only lasted 100 years. Samuel Grimshaw was a rich Manchester Merchant he purchased the land in 1832 and had the hall built in 1840. Errwood hall was a classic mansion very grand, it had servants and groundsmen. Renown for its extravagant high society parties it must have been quite a place to visit on the Victorian VIP list. Unfortunately the hall was demolished around 1934 as  on the death of the last of the Grimshaws it was compulsory purchased by Stockport Council. It was deemed too near to the construction of the Errwood and Fernilee reservoirs that were built to provide the town of Stockport with fresh drinking water. We get to see the ruins of the hall and some poignant Victorian and Edwardian photographs of  Victorian society back in the day. The day is a wonderful walk in the peak district and Goyt valley. It makes a great day out.

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A classic Victorian Mansion. Why was Errwood Hall demolished ?

In this video we take a look at a former railway sidings and disused railway line in Manchester. The land is being developed in Collyhurst near the River Irk. This was the Redbank carriage sidings. Historically the area was known as Great Horrocks. We find that the area had the first Public Baths in Manchester. In 1836 The Dolphin public baths was opened in the area. It was a pioneer of the Victorian Public baths. We actually get down on site with the civil engineers and look at the land and a former railway turntable that was a piece of hidden history. Finally we take a look at the river Irk. The river bed was dry due to work being done. There was a temporary dam on the river. It was great to see the stonework on the Weir. Plus look at all the civil engineering infrastructure.

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Hidden history uncovered by a modern development

A brilliant piece of Manchester music history. In this video we go to New Orders old Rehearsal rooms in Cheetham Hill Manchester. The building off Cheetham Hill road was mainly famous because the video for New Order's Perfect Kiss was filmed there. The director was Jonathan Demme who went on to direct The Silence of the Lambs. This would have been the location where Blue Monday would have been tried out by the Band. Purchased in 1981 This former Gas board premises was bought by the band to rehearse in They would of probably been putting together classic albums such as Power Corruption and Lies, Lowlife and the classic Blue Monday. Blue Monday being the biggest selling vinyl 12 inch of all time. We uncover the original deeds to the building and see the documents that New Order a Factory Manchester band signed in June 1981. If your a fan of Factory Records, martin Hannet, New Order, Joy Division or music from the 1980's then this video is for you.

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Where was Blue Monday written ?

In this evenings video we do some voluntary work with the @canalrivertrust We are in Sheffield tackling a menacing Buddleia bush. Buddleia is an invasive species in the UK and Britains canal provides a thriving environment for it. So we set off on the Sheffield and Tinsley canal to do our voluntry work. If you want to get involved in this kind of work be it gardening, pruning or Lock keeping you can look at the Canal River Trust website for more details.  Get our enjoying Britains canal network

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Whats it like to volunteer with the Canal River Trust. On Britains Canals

In this video we visit the site of an old Wesleyan cemetery that was in Cheetham Hill in Manchester. The cemetery is now a Tesco car park. The old cemetery was developed in the early 2000's. This involved removing the gravestones, exhuming the bodies and re locating them in cemetery's around Greater Manchester. However something went wrong. When some of the remains , mainly bones turned up on a landfill site in Oldham. It looks like the contractor put the remains in the wrong skip, thus causing the calamity. This was a scandal in Manchester and the city council were involved as well as grieving families. In the second part of the video we look at some Manchester Music trivia as behind the Graveyard was New Orders old rehearsal room. Bernard Sumner was convinced something from the Wesleyan Cemetery was poisoning the water in the studio.

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The Bodies were found on a landfill tip

This video is our new year review of 2024. Containing outtakes. A look back at our favourite explorations what did we love and what did we not enjoy. It features previously unseen clips of urban exploration that never made it into a video. Each one of the team chats about our favourite explorations of 2024 in a Podcast style presentation. This is a new year round up a review of some of our videos. Contains behind the scenes and outtakes.

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Our podcast review of 2024. Contains with unseen clips

In this video we look at the work of the Canal River Trust. We start at Lock 69 on the Rochdale canal in Manchester. The Canal and River Trust are replacing the lock gates at this location as part of their rolling 25 year replacement and canal maintenance program. We ask the question where are the lock gates made. This took us to the Bradley workshops just outside Wolverhampton. We look around the lock gate workshop and see the history of this former canal basin. There is a canal boat dry dock where once the canal boats were repaired. The lock gates are made of English oak and its great to see the canal lock gates being built. Meanwhile in Manchester on the Rochdale canal the old Lock gates are taken away and the new lock gates are delivered.

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Where are canal lock gates made ?

In this video we take a look around the TransPennine / Siemens train care facility in Ardwick Manchester. This is definitely a video for the rail enthusiasts and trainspotters. This is where the TransPennine class 185 diesel multiple units are based and maintained. We look around the train depot and see class 185' s being serviced and maintained. We see the wheel turning lathe and the refuelling points. We get to see the diesel engine that powers the diesel multiple units undergoing maintainance. We take a class 185 through the wash as part of the train's maintenance schedule. We get to have a train driver experience on the driver training simulator. The driver training simulator creates real scenarios for train drivers in training and  to test experienced drivers and test their knowledge of safety procedures. This is a brilliant behind the scenes look at a modern train depot.We were kindly invited along to see what happens at the facility and it was arranged by Don Coffey. You may know him from his Youtube channel.

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A look around the TransPennine/Siemens Traincare facility in Manchester

In this video we get to try and review the Cyrusher Rumble. the new step through E bike from Cyrusher. With its powerful 250 Watt motor and 6 power levels its great fun out and about cycling.  We took it to a local park in Sheffield UK to give it a good test over the varied terrain and up and down hills. The E bike comes with front and rear disc brakes. 7 speed Shimano gears for when riding manually without assistance. Adjustable front suspension. A maximum distance of 58 miles on a full charge. It has really good wide tyres and coupled with the suspension and comfy seat combined the ride is really smooth. If your new to cycling or haven't cycled for a while, worried about fitness levels this is the bike for you. The E bike is from Cyrusher's step through range so getting on and off is very easy for all levels of fitness. The Cyrusher Rumble retails at £1399 but you can use the discount code 'Martin Zero' to get £80 off the price.
UK Cyrusher Rumble E-Bike: https://bit.ly/47xHwyc
US Cyrusher Rumble E-Bike: https://bit.ly/3ZyYfiG
£80/$80 Off Code: martinzero (works for both links)

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Whats it like to ride The Cyrusher Rumble E bike ?

The Elland road steam museum houses the largest working steam powered Mill engine in the world. Situated just outside Manchester this engine house from the former Elland Road mill is now part of a working steam museum. The steam museum as well as housing a huge working cotton mill engine also has a Lancashire boiler to power it. We visit on steaming up day. The lancashire boiler is fired with coal. The engine is a twin compound steam engine rated at around 2800 horse power. Possibly the most powerful in preservation. The museum also houses a Whitelees beam engine. The static mill steam engine was built by J&W McNaught of St Georges Foundry Rochdale Lancashire in 1920.  There is a 220 foot mill chimney on sight as well.

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What is this huge machine for ?

In this video we look at the demolition of a gas holder, Gasometer in Manchester UK. The Bradford road gas works was established in Manchester in 1877. The Bradford area is a suburb situated in East Manchester. This area consisting of Gorton, Clayton, Bradford, Ardwick was very industrial. Victorian industry was able to flourish in the area due to the nearby coal resources. The demand for gas usage was increasing and so an additional gas works had to be built at Bradford road. These gas works at the time produced Coal gas or as commonly called ‘Town gas’ It was stored in huge Gasometers that dominated the skyline. Nearby was a Colliery, coal mine called Bradford Colliery. Although it eventually caused mining subsidence in the area and had to close. It was one of the main providers of coal for the gas works. The gasometer we are looking at is being demolished. It was built in 1908 and has dominated the skyline since. It is a telescopic gasometer, it rises and falls depending on how much gas is being stored in it. We have many old photos of Manchester that show the industrial history of the area. We see that stages of demolition at the hands of the cutters torch. Cut up with an oxy-acetylene torch the gas holder has been reduced to scrap metal. With the advent of Natural North sea gas not required to be stored it spelt the end for these kind of telescopic gas tanks, gas holders, gasometers. This is a video that documents the industrial and Victorian history of Manchester and the UK.

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What happened to Gasometers ?

In this video we look at what is being done on the River Irk in Manchester. The River Irk at Collyhurst in Manchester has recently been diverted a short way so that utilities can be passed underneath the river bed. This civil engineering project is fascinating as it exposes an old weir. For the first time the weir is dry and exposed. The weir is possibly around 200 years old. So for the first time possibly in our lifetime we get to see the exposed construction of this old industrial relic. This work is part of a bigger development in Collyhurst called the St Catherine's corridor along the Irk Valley in Manchester. Historically this area is very important because an old Corn mill was on the development site. Called Travis Island Mill, It was a water mill powered by the River Irk. We look at old maps to see that this old corn mill could possibly be exposed in the civil engineering work. The Mill and the weir look back to the start of the Industrial Revolution in Manchester. This is a video about Manchester's industrial history.

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What have they done to the River ?

This video is about the industrial history of Stockport and Manchester. We investigate The town of Stockport's old corn mill tunnels. These tunnels took water from the river Goyt to drive waterwheels for the old corn mills. We start the story at Stringers weir built in the 18th century at the start of the Industrial Revolution in Stockport and Manchester. Industrial wars and Stockport's famous workable sandstone created a situation where each mill owner ended up driving his own tunnel to utilise the precious commodity of water power. So much water was taken from the river Goyt that at times the river almost ran dry. This video overlaps with our Stockport power station video. As we got a glimpse at the old water tunnels in that video. We also further look at cultural references and this time we look at how the film A taste of honey utilised the back drop of stockport power station. Stringers tunnel is full of deep mud and proves to be a treacherous explore wading through the mud of the old water tunnel.

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Stockport's Old Corn Mill Tunnels

Subterranean Stockport. Stockport power station was also known as Millgate Power station. It was built in 1898 and was operational until 1976. It stood derelict until 1981 when demolition commenced. On the site now is a retail park and you would never know the Power station was once there. But underneath the original infrastructure of the power station is still intact. In the form of the old water intake tunnels for the steam turbines. The water intake tunnels utilised the old corn mill tunnels of stockport. Ancient Corn mill tunnels. These tunnels had their source at a river and sent water to turn waterwheels. We enter the Stockport power station tunnels via a water surge pipe. Then we have to pass underneath a partly closed penstock which is very frightening. Inside we can see the old chambers that took water into the power station for the boilers. The station was built to provide power for the Stockport tram system initially then domestic and industrial demand increased. The power station underwent various re fits one in the 1930's and one in the 1950's. Situated on the river Goyt in Stockport the power station was unusual in that it had two wooden cooling towers. This is also a part of Manchester history.

Martin Zero