If you found the ruins of an old castle ahead of you, wouldn’t you want to explore, see at least something more of it from closer up? I’m an urban (rural too) explorer. I love to see old buildings, places and things up close. I photograph them and put my photos on Flickr for other explorers, family and friends to see.
But, in the case of a castle (or something else historical in that much older way), I wonder if this is really urban exploring or am I just another tourist?
I’ve debated this small urban exploration issue myself a few times. Is exploring much older, even famous, ruins and abandoned sites still urban exploration? Where do you draw the line? If you go to an old castle, built hundreds of years ago, is that urban exploring or are you just being a tourist? If you travel to Greece and wander around the traditional tourist spots, are you an urban explorer or an urban explorer on vacation being a tourist? Are we only urban explorers if we explore places few people have already seen which have only become abandoned in the last hundred years?
I was looking at photos of ruins on a Pinterest account by Elaine Redstone when the question popped up again. So, I decided to write about it.
Here are the main points for debate (as I see them):
- Old ruins are abandoned, sort of, since no one has lived in them for a very long time.
- Even if no one displays ownership, most historical ruins are open to the public for tourism.
- Old ruins are old and derelict and interesting to explore even if thousands of tourists have already been there.
- Urban exploration is partially about modern/ urban sort of history. Does ancient history count?
- Traditionally there is the element of trespassing and exploring places most people will never see or even find on their own.
Places to Find Castles in Photos Online
What Do You Think?
So, what do you think? Is an abandoned house the same as exploring an old historically known ruin? Is there a cut off for urban exploring or are they all ruins to explore? Are all those tourists trekking through old castles urban explorers but they just don’t know it?
Maybe it’s not the place you explore, but the attitude you bring to it. A tourist may snap photos and take a look around. An urban explorer will be looking at things differently, closer. We think about how to take the photograph, before we snap it. We look at the old stone, wood and iron and the way it was made and how it has weathered and kept together. I think we look at things differently and that is what makes the difference. It’s not so much about where you are then, but about who you are.
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