Author: Bradley L Garrett

Walking the Doomway

Walking the Doomway

Posted by | Jul 19, 2014 | , , , |

“We don’t come fresh to even the most inaccessible of landscapes.” -Robert Macfarlane Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting the ‘nature’ writer and obsessive walker Robert Macfarlane and took him on a short journey into subterranean London on a different kind of walk. Robert was generous, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in what I described to him as the old paths of the urban underbelly – the forgotten waterways of London few people attempt to traverse. I even convinced him to pose for a hero shot in an abandoned Victorian Reservoir under Finsbury Park. Soon after, I received a copy of his book The Old Ways in the post. Inside,...

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Cosmetic Homicide: The Death of Battersea Power Station

Cosmetic Homicide: The Death of Battersea Power Station

Posted by | Jun 25, 2014 | , |

I stopped by Battersea Power Station this afternoon after Harriet Hawkins texted me to say the developers had finally begun to chip at the chimneys. There was a  sense of urgency in her text. When I got there, I saw why. On the side of the building, there was some new signage promising, as property owners are prone to do, that the future architectural simulation and simulacra envisioned on this choice riverfront real estate will retain an essence of place. Architectural homicide under the scalpel of cosmetic improvement almost always follows these sorts of proclamations. ‘Spot the difference’ the banner tells us. But is it ‘spotting’  the difference that we should...

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Mount London Launch

Mount London Launch

Posted by | May 28, 2014 | , , , , |

An invisible mountain is rising above the streets of the capital – and at over 1,800 metres, it is Britain’s highest peak… You are cordially invited to a party tomorrow night at Rough Trade East to celebrate the launch of a much-anticipated new title from Penned in the Margins: Mount London: Ascents in the Vertical City. There will be short readings from Joe Dunthorne, Chrissy Williams, Amber Massie-Blomfield and Justin Hopper, and a chance to discuss the book with editors Tom Chivers and Martin Kratz. Entry is free but please RSVP to [email protected]. There is a pay bar. Alpinists,...

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Trash Humpers: The Politics of Urban Exploration

Trash Humpers: The Politics of Urban Exploration

Posted by | Mar 23, 2014 | , , , , , |

“Young people everywhere have been allowed to choose between love and a garbage disposal unit. Everywhere they have chosen the garbage disposal unit.” -Guy Debord A few months back, I was invited to the Barbican to discuss my book Explore Everything with Will Self (seen above playing out Wanderer Above the Sea of Rubbish). As you might expect, Will ran circles around me in the discussion. However, in process of doing so, he opened out some really interesting points of contention around the practice of urban exploration, revolving around two central notions. First, Will took issue with the idea that the revolutionary need be exceptional. He argued...

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Matthew Power (1974-2014)

Matthew Power (1974-2014)

Posted by | Mar 12, 2014 | |

I lost a good friend yesterday. Matthew Power was on assignment for Men’s Journal in Uganda accompanying Levison Wood as he attempted to walk the length of the Nile. Matt fell victim to heat exhaustion, which is almost impossible to treat in the field. While I’m happy he died exploring, doing what he loved most, I’ve never felt loss so deeply and want to share my memories of Matt for friends and family. In 2008, Matt published an article in Harper’s Magazine called ‘Mississippi Drift’ about his adventures with a group of teenage vagabonds as they built a raft and attempted...

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