I've been a member and volunteer with the Essex Wildlife Trust for years now, I love being outdoors be it only to enjoy nature or explore even the tiniest of nature reserves and there are a large number of those in the UK.
Some 10 years ago I watched a nature documentary with Alan Titchmarsh, 'The Nature of Britain' and with every episode came a 15 minute addition called 'The Nature of Britain: A Users Guide'. A brilliant idea as it turned out.
Last weekend two friends and I went to Canvey Island, in the river Thames, where there has been an industrial brownsite (disused industrial complex if you are not familiar with the term), this had been featured in Titchmarsh's series.
The site was meant to become a huge underground storage area for liquid gas, but the owners, Occidental Ltd., went bust in 1976, before even the first tank could be filled. Nothing was ever done to the installations there ever since, until one day when a friend of mine from the local museum went there and discovered that nature had pretty much taken over and how.
These days it is a nature reserve, including all the abandoned industrial equipment and fixtures and it is run by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and Buglife, a charity working in the preservation of insects across the UK.
What is really remarkable about the site is the abundance of orchids, snakes, lizards and of course waterfowl.
Below should appear a few pictures a friend took on Sunday, he is an entomologist and has a fantastic eye for any creepy-crawly's.
Common Marsh Orchid
Closeup of the same plant
The last blooms of this years Bluebells
The Seawall on Canvey Wick
The Gas Pipeline, intended for pumping the gas into the underground storage
All the industrial fixtures have been taken over by nature, a truly beautiful sight, though better weather that day might have added to our enjoyment, still, we spent nearly all day there but we were too late to catch any lizards or snakes out. Well, maybe next time.
As for some more pictures, I'll be over at his place later this week to go over them. If I find any more nice shots, I'll post them here (if anybody is interested, that is).