The View from Maplin

Maplin, sadly, used to be so much more explorable according to local rumour. Rooftop access was fairly simple back in the day, and is only slightly more tricky today. But apparently the two floors of empty offices above Maplin were once fully explorable until they became overrun by students doing drugs.

Similarly, once the offices were locked up, the rooftop itself became the place to go. Sure, I like it because it's a nice place to just chill out and relax, but it was too easy to get up there. One embarrassing incident springs to mind when I was up there taking pictures and a million college students sprung out of nowhere and acted shocked to see me already in their secret spot. They were even more shocked when the over-numerous group caught the attention of people in the area and they got into trouble, leaving me to convince people of my lack of association with them.

The rooftop of Maplins is nice, but ruined by an influx of visitors. Luckily they've made it more challenging to get up, but not too much to stop someone like me. It remains yet another example of why we strictly do not disclose the means of access, and we definitely do not vandalize, steal or force entry.
Here is the view from Maplin- click a picture to see it big.

In the last photo the Music Hall is visible on the right. Whereas the other two face different directions down the same street, while dead ahead is the Market Hall and that clock tower that features so prominently in my photos from other rooftops. Somehow I don't seem to have a daytime photo of the tower itself though.

It's a small roof but definitely and while we've dreamed and attempted to venture further down the street, it has yet to be done. But it remains a little treasure for anyone interested in photography or just chilling out above the town.