Explored with Bigjobs
Creeping up the hill through the dark trees, we scoped out the live site in front of us. The whole place was a hive of activity, so we decided upon our entry point and shot across the road and into a warehouse. From here we made our way through the site, creeping and hiding behind stillages laden with new glass to stay out of sight of passing forklift trucks and workers. Our main goal was to get to the production line, so we made our way through various warehouses, yards, and conveyors until we had reached the massive line.
Info:
Founded in 1826 under the name St Helens Crown Glass Company, the company changed name several times and is now known as Pilkington Group Limited. The Cowley Hill site was set up in the early 1870s to produce sheet glass. Between 1953-1957 Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff inveted the Float Glass Process, a way of manufacturing smooth, clear glass by floating molten glass over a bath of molten tin - avoiding costly and time consuming finishing processes associated with older methods.
If you’re thinking about doing an infiltration, be sure to check out this handy guide.
After a close brush with a worker, we made our way outside in search of epic stuff
We climbed up into the top of the conveyors, seeking ways into the main building. The constant noise of glass breaking and rattling about as it was dropped onto the conveyors filled the air.
We were now entering the depths of the system, it was gradually getting warmer, more dusty, and noisier. We proceeded until we found access to the main production line.
We climbed up onto the catwalks alongside the line. It was ridiculously hot around this particular section.
We’d had a good look round and seen what we were aiming for, so decided to call it a night and get out while we were still undetected. Great fun!