Where's The Chocolate?
CLOCK TOWER
"It's not Terry's it's mine!" Maybe you have to be of a certain age to remember this, maybe not, but we all know of the famous chocolatiers. This was on our list for a long time before we made the pilgrimage to York to see it. Having very little details we were riding blind the first time. We knew of on site security and cameras but not much of the fences. As it was we got lucky, but only to the tune of getting in the grounds and seeing the clock tower that morning. We had to leave one lad at the car as the gap in the fence was unforgiving, and to be fair I wouldn't manage it now. The clock tower had enough of a stair climb to make me not want to do any other exercise that week but as always the view from the top was worth the effort! We were met with security turning up just as we we'd made our exit and was walking to the car. We kept him talking so our mate could sneak in through the front gate and get a quick few snaps of the tower.
FACTORY
Our second visit was a planned trip to see the admin block and alas, it was not to be. The place was sealed and cctv'd up to the max and we really didn't know how to get round it, so we snuck round the back of the factory and found a hole in the ground that took us up through the basement. Not much to see here but the strong sun that morning made for great window light and shadows. Also the tiling inside, the thing that drew me to the place originally, had me drooling. It's still one of my favourites due to the decor.
ADMIN BLOCK
Four attempts to see the inside of this building, the hub of the business, the lair of the UK's own Willy Wonka! Previous attempts had seen us literally walk into security, who had a hut next to it, at 5am one morning. We went home with our tales between our legs that day. The second time got us close but we were picked up on cctv and security called out. The 3rd try saw me leave empty handed as I couldn't figure out an access point. Finally, another explorer took me and showed it was possible to squeeze a man's frame through the tiniest of gaps! The stairs were based on the design of the Titanic stairs with a gorgeous Yorkshire Rose skylight pouring sunlight down onto it. Really glad I got to see these buildings before the residential development started. One of my top ten this place!
