Urban exploration 29/12/2006
Forges de Clabecq, Belgium
A monstrous disused iron foundry in Belgium. Towering over the small town of Clabeque it used to provide employment for 6,500 workers but was shut down in December 2001.

The site is so vast it is hard to say how much of it we explored and took photographs of in the four hours we were there but it can have been no more than an eighth, staying on the west side of the railway that runs through. The hot rolling mill on the east side is still in use and it's interesting watching the remaining workers going about their business amongst the shadows of the monstrous, abandoned buildings of the former Forges De Clabecq.

Personally I can't see this amazing place being demolished any time soon because of the sheer size of it, but it really is very dangerous and so of course no one should try and visit it.  I apologise if some of the descriptions are poor or innaccurate, if anyone knows better please let me know at killrob at hotmail dot co dot uk.

Travelling to Belgium for some urban exploration
On the ferry to Calais		Ferry on the way to Belgium
Ferry again		On the Ferry to explore Les Forges de Clabecq
The English channel at 7:00 in the morning		Finding Les Forges de Clabecq
The entry point, west of the railway track that runs through the site		Massive disused coal bunker
First building: a huge coal bunker. It took us a while to adjust to the scale of things to come		Abandoned Clabecq Forges, Belgium
Looking over the main site and blast furnace that we didn't even visit
Les Forges de Clabecq: abandoned Belguim factory
Some sort of power supply building		Les Forges de Clabecq: urban exploration
Everything was a deep rust red		Heavy machinery at Clabecq Forges
An integral looking section. Anyone know what it does?		Exploring Clabecq Forges by torch
A torch was needed even though it was daylight		Concrete arch, Clabecq Forges, Belgium
I love how that massive disc, probably weighing 20 tons is just lying on the arch		Inside Les Forges de Clabecq
It was a very, very exhilarating experience
Climbing stairs, Les Forges de Clabecq
Yes, the walkways do have handrails.
Would I have worked there? Not a chance		Big, old and empty: inside Clabecq Forges
The entire structure is bolted and welded together from 'off the shelf' steel cuts		Rusting steel factory
In a place like this it is impossible not to get some interesting shots		Les Forges de Clabecq Machinery
It must have taken several years of production just to replace the amount of steel used to build the site		Photograph of the deserted Clabecq Forges
This is as high as we dared go: this site is incredibly dangerous		Exploring the top of Les Forges de Clabecq
It will take some time for nature to reclaim this site
Exploring Clabecq Forges
This chunk taken out the reinforced concrete surely can't have been an accident		Urban exploration at Les Forges de Clabecq
Despite the huge pillars and beams you still get the feeling it could all come down at any moment
Everyting was covered in a thick layer of fine rusty, sooty dust		Vast steel works building in Belgium
I didn't have one, but you need a wide angle lens if you want to fit anything in here		Photo of the decaying Clabecq Forges
The contrast between dark buildings and daylight made exposure tricky		Disused building at Clabecq Forges
Last photo: darkness was closing in and this is not a place to be in the dark

Kill Rob Productions