Tales of the Urban Explorer: Bowaters

Over two years later, I checked what 'Bowaters' actually is and found it was an old paper mill. It didn't look like that to me on 24th February 2024, when I entered what seemed like a huge industrial estate containing nothing alive besides bushels.

Except this isn't an Arizona ghost town; it's deepest Merseyside, and we don't have those famous bushels and dust along with a strong wind to blow them around.

Creepy; oh yes, as in February it's generally freezing cold and people don't go out unless they must. @lpff and I skirted around some gates thinking, 'is this massive place really vacant?'

I do remember climbing over said gates and landing awkwardly. My jumping techniques have somewhat degraded over the decades, and I need to be more careful.

Fuck it, what could happen besides a couple of angry Dobermans racing up to us with bared teeth and leaking drool? This would either be a peaceful explore, or we might end up as prime joints of meat for sale on a dingy Liverpool market.

...'Bowaters in 1951, it looks almost the same as now don't you think?'... - Source

How to get in? It looked dated, but sealed. That is, until we reached the mid-section of the massive building that lacked a door. That's one problem solved.

So there are doors, but is there going to be anything behind them besides pure unadulterated derpiness?

I struggled to find a concise history of 'Bowaters'. What I found was many other exploration reports. Suffice to say, 'Bowaters' closed its doors in 1997 facing adversity from foreign exports.

… and yes, it looks that way.

What surprises me is that it's been left in this awful state for so long. Generally, the local councils impose fines on the owners to demolish their left over shit, or keep increasing them, and/or threaten jail time.

What's a reel? I kept well away from factory industries when younger, so my terminology facts are poor. A reel of paper perhaps? The sofa looks in good condition, but I didn't take the time to remove the protective cover.

Another factory or mill; I have seen countless examples of scenes like these. My brief nightmarish memories of working in a factory came flooding back. I lasted under two weeks before walking out.

What were these piles of suspicious substances? I was not going to climb on them and jump around. What if it was powder-based asbestos? No… fuck that!

This building was built in 1951 and by the 1980’s the company was struggling with mass layoffs.

Welcome to 'Bowaters'. There's no welcome now, or at least we didn't get one.

The corridor leads to the outside world, the door at the end with protective gauze hindering the escapees.

Life must have been tough at 'Bowaters'. They supplied some not-so-comfortable temporary beds for distraught workers. It's a theory only.

It's not all factory space; the admin workers had to do their thing in these plush offices.

I did flick the switch; we all have to play our part and save the company a little money.

Imagine walking down this extra-long corridor in 1980. Due to the mass amount of windows, everyone would see you coming; so much for subterfuge.

Some of the many rooms had succumbed to nature; very colourful.

Yes, well, in today's 'Bowaters', you simply use the floor if you need to take a piss.

Nice wallpaper. What is wallpaper doing in an office? It goes well with the carpet of weeds, I suppose.

I can see tiles, but it doesn’t exactly say ‘Women’s Crapper’, does it?

Let's face it, EVERYONE smoked in the 1970's when 'Bowaters' was probably at its peak. The sign implies that if you simply went around the corner, then you could smoke?

As thought-provoking as this might look, I was not going to investigate what that pile of stuff was.

Pristine bags of the stuff, free for the taking. Ah, but as an Urban Explorer, I don’t steal anything. Well damn…

It must have been terrible for all those 140-a-day fag workers, and then that was almost all of them.

I was so tempted to 'Climb over the Conveyors' just to break the rules. What conveyors?

Could something alive emerge from this colourful pile of shit and attack me? We needed to be on our guard all of the time.

No Smoking again? It was a paper mill, and paper does tend to burn. Could they have hired only non-smokers? Impossible, as everyone smoked.

Talk about depressing. It was preferable to tolerate Mort at Kwiksave than work in a place such as this.

Your money was not paid into the bank, but rather given to you by hand in the form of cash. That was how it was then. Line up and get your hard-earned pound notes.

The one on the left was likely your boss at 'Bowaters'.

Only for the truly special employees; your own shitter complete with your name and whoa betide anyone who shits in your personal trap.

At today’s ‘Bowaters’, there’s no washing your hands anymore.

At least you are allowed to breathe, yet another benefit for employees.

The front door is hardly secure. The vehicles outside were just carcasses with nothing inside.

Caravans… The setting is unlikely, so what were these used for?

Not a bad place for the homeless to live; it is under a shelter so there's rain protection, but that howling wind may cause problems.

Getting inside here was a little tricky if you wanted to stay dry.

Another outhouse loaded with crap and little to see inside.

'Bowaters' I believe is still there, a little worse now than during our visit. It’s on prime industrial land that could be used for something else. It’s time to demolish this mess.

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