Lucky Charms sewer junction

About 7 years ago Bradley Garrett left his job as an archeologist and moved to London to do a PhD on urban exploration. He quickly realized that exploring the hidden spaces of the urban present was a much more thrilling line of work than studying the ancient past. Since beginning his work on urban explorers Garrett has  climbed skyscrapers, wandered through abandoned victorian hospitals, and snuck into the vast networks of sewers, utility tunnels and train stations below London — all without permission from anyone.

In his new book — Subterranean London: Cracking the Capital — Garrett shares some of the amazing photographs his collective of explorers have taken while traversing  the hidden world underneath London. Their images reveal the the past, present and future of the city, and suggest that urban development and ruin are just different sides of the same coin.

Last week I got to chat with Bradley about his life as an urban explorer. We talked about place hacking, the politics of trespassing, surveillance and a notorious security guard named the Hammer.

Finsbury Park Reservoir

The Northern City Line in London. Built by the Great Northern & City Railway in 1904

“The primary colour coding of these cables and ducts delighted us, and offered bright relief from the ubiquously dark and drab surroundings” – Bradley Garrett in Subterrenean London

Fresh Bore. The new tunnels currently under construction in London.

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