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Ever since I started becoming interested in derelict buildings, Houghton Grange was always somewhere I had wanted to visit but for one reason or another I never found myself in the right place, or with the right people, or whatever. However with plans for this weekend changed I was left with a free day so I hastily got on the phone to an old exploring friend and asked if he was about - after a discussion with his wife he told me he was able to come out and play so off we went Cambridgeshire-bound.
First stop was for me to show him the Old Rectory Care Home, which I found a whole load more depressing than when I first saw it in the summer - the floors have turned from 'minor deathtrap' to 'outright lethal' in a few short months and the water pouring through from the rain lashing down gave the whole place a real dark, dank feeling that I don't think either of us really enjoyed. So it was onwards to the main target of Houghton Grange and after a trek across the fields we made our way in. The site has clusters of buildings spread over a large area centred around the old manor house which is flanked by two sets of modern buildings. We explored for a while, it's a shame the place is so samey for the most part but then we got to the part of the site which has been dubbed 'Lab X' by other explorers. This building is almost completely dark inside and has an atmosphere to match, I always thought the old BIBRA labs in Carshalton that served a similar purpose which I explored a good few years ago would have been the only one to give me the jitters like that. The building is different to all others on site, the laboratory doors are thick reinforced jobbies doubled up with airlocks and there are extremely creepy concave plexiglass windows looking into each room. After that my friend had had enough - he was with me on the BIBRA explore too - and as time was chopping on anyway we made our exit.
The place has been done a million times before so I won't bother with the history, it was an animal research lab, lots of nasty stuff happened there, thats all you really need and probably want to know.
Thanks for looking 
