Heritage crime

[Feltwell]

From the BBC today:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12426854

I think the "Urban Explorers" comment is a little unfair. Having spent some time in the past going through their forums (I confess to having a slight fascination with old industrial buildings) the contributors completely abhor any damage or interference with the sites they visit - all they want to do is access them and photograph them. You may or may not condemn what they do but they are at least at great pains to stress that they leave the sites exactly as they find them. The motivation seems to be the ability to access places that others cannot, and in many cases to take rather arty photographs of decay - a lot of these people have some pretty serious camera equipment.

The people who vandalise these sites are just that, vandals.

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree. I've also been fascinated by "urban photography" websites that record the dereliction of many old buildings and their seems to be quite a 'code of honour' among the people that do it seriously not to disturb in any way the buildings they photograph. In many cases, I'd say the 'heritage crime' is allowing the buildings in question to decay in the first place; the people who tresspass to photograph them are not contributing to their dereliction and may even help by bringing such things to a wider audience (yes, a bit of wishful thinking there )

Here's a fascinating example: http://www.urbanxphotography.co.uk/portfolio55632.html

The 'urban exploration FAQ' (linked on the above page) gives a good description of how seriously these people are about doing no harm.

And yes, vandals are vandals - a completely different thing altogether.