Landguard Fort

Last Friday (yes, it's taken me a whole week to get round to posting these pictures - outrageous!) a bunch of four intrepid travellers went to Landguard Fort in Felixstowe. A rather unpromising (or, to coin a phrase from my younger daughter, "butt ugly") exterior belied an absolutely superb building inside. Being a strategic position, overlooking the entry to a large natural harbour, there have been fortifications on Landguard Point since Tudor times. Parts of the current building date back to the 17th century, although it was heavily modified during pretty well every war since - right up to the 1960s. It's now owned by English Heritage, and is kept in a state of "genteel decay" by the Landguard Fort Trust.

I have lots of pictures taken during the day, and here are a few of them. I haven't yet decided whether I prefer them in monochrome or colour, so I'm posting a mixture.

The ablution facilities were a little primitive...



Not sure I like the look of that crack in the wooden seat!



The bathroom was a bit cramped, but in a wonderful state of decomposition.




The shower block was equally enthralling, and housed the most wonderful cast iron boiler.



Pretty well every room in the fort had some kind of fireplace, with varying vintages. It would be easy to spend a week photographing all of them, but it was necessary to be selective. Here are two of my favourites.



There were also doors, cupboards, mantle-pieces etc., which cried out to be photographed.



There were also remnants of the most recent occupation, for example an operations room with its own telephone exchange. Not quite sure whether I prefer colour or monochrome here, so I've cheated and posted both.



I'll try and post some more of Landguard Fort in the future, but these will do for now. We spent the whole day at the fort (minus a short period eating bacon butties and chips from the trailer mentioned in a previous post), and this was rounded off perfectly thanks to members of the London Sinfonietta practising a piece in the astonishing acoustics of the inner courtyard. All in all a fabulous location, and one which is well worth visiting. See here for more information on the fort itself and its history.