Your quality of matching old photos to the location of where they are now, is simply sensational! Thankyou so much for your work, effort and knowledge 🙏🏼
My feelings exactly. I've done a bit of fiddling with Google Earth (and street view) trying to match those images with historic photos from my home town in California, and it's NOT easy! For reasons unknown, this video showed up in my TH-cam suggestions, and I'm very glad I clicked on it. Well done. I do believe I'll be watching a lot more of your videos in the near future.
As a life long local resident of the area, its lovely to see it being appreciated. It's heartbreaking to see what once once was such an epic example of British engineering in such a sorry state. Your visualisations of the old palace in relation to the present really bring home hat it must have been like... Brilliant! Thank you!
I grew up in that park in the 80”s. Scrambling around the ruins. There were a few tunnels and hidden basements here and there. Many have been closed off since. Annoyed that the parks move to become a ‘country park’ means they let everything get overgrown. This first steps at the north end were completely clear of greenery right up into the nineties. Also there is a blue stain porcelain floor under the brush at the top of the stairs there. Before the caravan park came in, in the late 80’s the other side of the wall was completely overgrown but underneath was several greenhouse frames complete with trees growing through from the floor that were once contained in pots still visible in the bark in pieces.
Deserves an award, what a fantastic documentary. I played there in the 1960's upto 1975 and I can't believe how much of the ruins has gone and has overgrown, there was much more to see and play around when I was a boy. I Remember motor racing, 2 fishing lakes, a zoo, an adventure playground, a ski ramp, fantastic dinosaurs and the ruins. From watching your excellent video so many memories have come flooding back thank you.
I live right next to the park and walk around it every day. I thought I’d seen everything in the park but clearly not! Can’t wait to go exploring tomorrow!! Amazing.
When I was a boy, in the early 60s, you could climb up and see into huge rooms under the terraces that were absolutely packed with statues from around the park. Fascinating place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Danke für dieses Video, Darren. Das ist immer wie eine vorher -nacher Show. Gut dass die Terrassentreppe erhalten geblieben ist. Passt jetzt gut zur Landschaft. Danke Darren ❤👍
Loving this, another subject close to my heart. When my Dad was 3 my Grandfather held him up to his bedroom window to show him the glow in the sky as the Palace burned. The reservoir was always roofed over and part of the North Transept. I understand it is still very much in use. The South Tower actually acted as a chimney when the Palace burned and although they wanted to save it, it was by then part of the local water supply network, the heat of the fire effectively sintered the brick work. As a Kid in the early 1970's Dad took me there on a couple of occasions. Back then you could still see where the molten glass had flowed down the stairs, still fenced of in those days. He also managed to wangle a short visit to the tunnel that connected the LCDR High Level Station under the road to the Palace entrance. I remember it as a dingy, dirty, dark place with a beautiful vaulted roof. Wish I'd taken more notice but I was a strange Kid who had been promised a visit to Foyles Bookshop (I still have the books I bought (wangled out of Dad)... Thank you so much for bringing back so many good memories.
Thanks for the memories Douglas. I wish I had seen it all those years ago. You might be right about the reservoir, it did look too flat. Part 2 is out next week.
I've lived in this area. all my life it was great to see how it used to look. Apparetnly my Grandad watched it buring down and like you say it could be seen from miles away. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this.
I used to live in Mitcham in the 80's & an old neighbour of mine said he put a ladder up against his house & climbed up to see it burning in the distance.
@@AdventureMe It's obvious this place was all Hydro Turbine Powered to me.. I doubt there is any old records of those installations though. It will have been deleted and replaced by fake history.
Thanks for the interesting video. I'm staying at the caravan site next to this atm and I took the dog for a wander round down the lane at 9:30 and onto the former site of the palace but wanted to know more about it's history.
That was amazing Darren. Love your fading past and present photos. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of this building. It’s end so tragic. Music makes me feel nostalgic. Very moving Darren very moving indeed. Thank you.
What. An. Incredible. Video! Mate, I really appreciate you doing this! I've lived in and around Crystal Palace all my life (40yrs) and have massively fond memories as a kid coming to the park with school and friends, learning about its history and everything it still had to offer. It's genuinely one of the most historic spots in London and perhaps the whole of England and you've done it justice with this stunning video! I've often walked the grounds as an adult and allowed my mind to drift into thoughts of how everything must have looked and felt. The way you pieced the old and new images together was simply spectacular and left not much to the imagination. Your knowledge is top tier, and I'm very impressed, and very grateful! I could honestly ramble on and on about how beautiful this video is. You've really done us proud! This is my Manor and you've brought back a lot of memories for me. I truly hope that 1 day, this can be rebuilt, just as it used to be - because it was absolutely glorious and an absolute spectacle. Thank you for this! I'm looking forward to parts 2 & 3!
I loved the zoo, and seeing guy the gorilla and seeing the penguin , and athletics , and the concert and fireworks and motor racing , on part of old tracks
I haven’t been to Crystal Palace Park since I was a child and I remember going on a 122 bus from Woolwich to Crystal Palace and when the pylon was in sight we knew we were nearly there. Happy childhood memories ❤️
A wonderful building that really should of been properly looked after,the likes of which we will never seen again . Great informative video well done .
Wow! As the Founder Chairman of the Crystal Palace Foundation established in 1979 who erected the Paxton Crystal Palace Corner (pcpc) on the palace site in 2008 (14:00 - 15:00 in this video) I would personally like to congratulate you on this jolly good film. Well done sir.
Nice to see you back in the south again to explore one of my favorite places to walk around . Is just so much to find there . Loving the overlays brings it to life . Part one was great , looking forward to parts 2 and 3 . Is nice to have someone else's view on something you know well . Keep up the great work Darren .
Thoroughly enjoyed your video and am really looking forward to the next two. The music had a fitting melancholy quality that suited the remains of the palace grounds. It's a real shame that Bromley council will not restore the stonework on the terraces. At least the subway is being restored at long last after local pressure. I really liked the way you managed to superimpose images of the Crystal Palace onto what is left today so seamlessly. Thank you for a fantastic documentary and I really hope that you can do more than just two more.
Absolutely brilliant as usual Darren. I stayed just up the road a couple of years ago to visit a travel trade exhibition at Excel and it was around Bonfire night. The fireworks display was awesome, but I now realised that walked right past that curved wall and never knew it was the base of one of Brunel's water towers. Incredible. The dinosaur park is excellent, so can't wait to see that, as well as the railway stations and hopefully the pneumatic railway remains too. A little side story. I was waiting for a train to crystal palace and a guy had just missed his train. He looked at the board and it said. 6 minutes till next one. He went nuts!!. "Six minutes..six minutes. ". he shouted. I said, try living where I'm from, north of Watford, where they are every hour, if you're lucky! He just went "Humph" and walked off. Lol. Many thanks for all your hard work, research and editing. Trust me, it is very much appreciated. Cheers.
Thanks. Yes 6 minutes is such a shock to us. They don't know how lucky they are darn sarf. The pneumatic railway and dinosaurs are in the next two, along with much more.
Yup, the blending in of the old buildings into the modern day scenes really brings the old back to life. Interesting stuff, looking forward to the next 2 parts.
The way that you corrected " concrete bases" into rendered brick (11:24) for instance, is the mark of a man happy in his skin. By not editing it out it shows how natural and flowing the presentation is and is one of the best ways to connect yourself with your audience. I've come here via Jago Hazzard in/on London and am all the happier for it. Thanks.
@@AdventureMe Thanks. Subscribed after a marathon sesh of all three Crystal Palaces. Thought I was the only nutter up and commenting at this hour, Saturday morning or no Saturday morning. Now for some shut-eye in an attempt to get shiny and perfect.
Great videos - a place close to my heart, my mum now in her 70s grew up in Crystal Palace, she lived on gypsy hill. Her and her friends used to play in the park growing up, she was fascinated by the palace, and would do similar explorations of the area and park same as you did, she said one day - playing up the top of the park - they a terrace feature that was normally boarded up - was open - they wandered in and found the old ornate subway that ran under the road to the palace. Later years they opened it up to the pubic, still do now I thing, needless to say as kids my mum and Nan would take us to the park, and showed us all the little hidden gems left from the Palace, I’m pretty sure over by the water tower base - the one you can get to - there’s a steel beam - bolted to the ground that looks like one of the old frame pieces? Really enjoyed this video, I just as fascinated as my mum. She’ll love this - I’ll send her a link :)
I remember going here as a child with my school, I remember doing the hedge maze that you mentioned, such a shame that a beautiful building like this was destroyed by fire, I bet it was stunning to look at and walk around
I cannot wait for the next video - this is absolutely fascinating! Your overlays of the past and present locations is stunning. Thanks for this wonderful content.
The best video of the history of Crystal Palace. This should be on BBC1 or something. It’s that good. Crystal Palace Park is an amazing place and it’s MASSIVE. Well worth a visit.
Superb! Visited a few years ago and this brought back good memories. The old picture fade ins work so well with the hauntingly good music. Top work and thanks for making these vidoes!
So happy you’ve made these! I’ve always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. Partly because of its iconic history and fame in its day and partly because there’s still such a ghost of the building and it’s surroundings remaining. Great video! Will look forward to the next one - thanks!
@@AdventureMe Haha... I did out of curiosity, I'd never heard of him before... so?... I'm being called a 'stud' eh? Lol I've been called worse things. Oh, while I'm here, can I ask a favour? Can you do more adventures when it's boiling hot so we get to see you with your shirt off... ;) lol
Absolutely loved that as I am also a huge admirer of The Crystal Palace. I am simply blown away not just by the sheer size and scale of the structure but its breathtaking beauty too. It is criminal that it was allowed to go to a state of disrepair and that it burned down was a massive tragedy. Can you imagine the visitors it would attract today? I am really looking forward to watching the next one and thanks for your hard work and effort; it is greatly appreciated and the overlays were stunning as per usual. Great job and loved the music too.
As a South Londoner I can only say thank you for shining a light and exploring such an iconic site! It's been years since my last visit... well worth a return!
They used to do walks where you could do in the tower remains. The museum is sadly shut at the moment. I'm pretty sure the stones are part of the stairs that were removed. The stairs at the back were added much later in it's life and lead to the first floor, underneath that was the basement. The metal posts you found were the original posts from the palace. That's the outside wall. They cut them off at ground level after it had burnt down. They are 8 inches wide, 8 feet apart. It was the worlds first modular building. Your images at 14 minutes shows where the posts were. The guy who was responsible for putting the column there took me on a personal guided walk. The rubble you found where it's raised up is from the blitz. They filled in the basement with it. There are old cars and bomb damaged buildings. If you go in many woods there are signs of bricks being dumped from WW2. The terraces have been restored in the past but need doing again. The statues were sold off after the fire and are copies of the originals. After the fire many were sold off. You can see some in peoples gardens and dotted around the local area. THe bolts you found were probably from the stairs you thought the cast iron posts were for. I"m pretty sure the back stairs were mostly concrete posts (but I might be wrong). Great video. I hope the above is of some interest. I used to be fascinated by the park and have been on many guided tours of it, including tours of the underground vaulted access from the high level train station.
I wonder if there had been more left of the place today had it not been for the two fires, maybe it would even still be standing and open to the public in a similar way to winter gardens.
love the vids cant wait for part 3 to drop! ...im not a londoner infact in from up north BUT crystal palace is on of the uk's sadly lost places and it was long gone by the time i was born but it still peaks my interest as i LOVE looking back in history and whats left even if it is recent from the 20th century ect! Fab vid and one of the ones i love going through the history and what is still left that folks dont know about same as me i never knew so much was left ..obv i knew aboth the sphinxes and the high level station ect but never knew about the aquairum and hidded stuff! love it all and thank you for bringing this hidden stuff in crystal palace park to folks that maybe never knew it was still there ! ...ps you look hot shirtless! 😀 but i mean that in a good way!
@@AdventureMe ashton under lyne ... greater Manchester originaly but have live in a village on the outskirts of Bristol for the last 16 yrs ...took me a while to adjust ect ..not like i can walk into town for a night out or catch a bus ect but still love where im living ....green belt ect ...only thing i dont like is when the local farm decides to muck spread 🤣
Fascinating stuff. About 15 to 20 years ago, I attended a 2 day athletics meeting at Crystal Palace and stayed in the 1960s tower block that lies between the stadium and the site where the Palace stood. I remember getting up on a sunny Sunday morning and looking out of the window of my room and trying to imagine what it would be like if the Palace was still there as the foundations were still clearly visible.
Amazing video! I live in Crystal Palace now, and I remember going to the park once and seeing all the ruins. It’s incredible to see the history of the place!
It is sad to see the beautiful structures of the past, now non existent. But because of you Darren, we can relive this past experience. Thanks so much. Will look forward to Part 2 and 3. Cheers mate! 🏴😊👍🇺🇸
Excellent, very interesting Darren, while watching your presentation l was studying the 3D Google Earth images at the same time, I never realised just how much still remains today, having never been there I assumed the site was all reclaimed parkland but looking closer as you show us there is a treasure trove of history.
Fantastic amount of research and facts. Exceptional period graphics, so well overlaid onto modern landscape. Brilliant work. The architect Owen Jones was indeed a talented man. From Thailand.
Thank you for this (and part 2) superb tour of Crystal Palace and the story behind it. Looking forward to seeing part 3. My Dad was 16 in 1936 and remembers seeing the glow of the fire from near Hanger Lane.
The Crystal Palace must have really been a sight to see. Wish it survived so it could still be enjoyed today. Another great watch. You seem to enjoy your work. Thanks again for your time and work.....
wow the effort you've gone to in this video is wonderful!!! i've visited the park several times and can't get my head around how massive the palace would have been, your before and after pictures really helped to put it in perspective. thank you!
I remember seeing the remains of the metal arches to the roof of the old high level station peeping over the walls! Me and my mate, years later, explored the site of the station and discovered the secret Alhambra covered way, which no doubt you will cover in further videos! Very interesting and clever transitions!
I remember my father telling me that he went up there when it was burning and saw molten glass running down the road. You wouldn't be allowed anywhere near such a disaster nowadays. Thanks for doing this, look forward to the next episode!
That was absolutely fascinating, learnt a load of facts. Superb merging as usual👍🏻 You're keen - London in the heat, no thanks!!!! Thanks Darren, roll on next week!!!!
What a fantastic video, being born in west norwood which is only a mile or so from the park, I spent most of my youth in and around Crystal Palace park, and whilst I’ve seen a lot of the ruins, some of the stuff you’ve highlighted in this video I’ve never seen or realised existed. Really in depth and the way you contrast the old and new is excellent. Keep up the great work. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
Fabulous video and looking forward to seeing the next installment. Amazing to see there are so many remnants in the park which relate to the Crystal Palace!
It’s such a lovely park and the remains of Cyrstal Palace is very interesting. Have you been in the tunnel from the high level station that goes under the road to the palace it is fabulous We have been going to Cyrstal Palace Caravan club site for about 20 years for about 10 days a year. The site is just by the north tower but sadly it is close December 21 Look forward to the next 2 video’s
Love your enthusiasm, the photo overlays are brilliant as they were on your Butlin's Filey video. I too have been fascinated by The Crystal Palace (this is my second time watching this video), looking forward to the rest of this series and will be having a mooch around this park in the future hopefully.
Very interesting video, I always thought the palace burned down in Hyde park, I never knew it was moved, and if I am not mistaken it was Prince Albert who came up with the idea of building the iron and glass structure for the great exhibition. 👍👍.
I grew up in the 80s in grange wood park spa park and the Crystal Palace park thank you so much for making this truly amazing film you’re cinematography is sublime and brought back so many happy memories of cycling round this park on my bmx pretending to be street hawk little did I know or the rich history around me at the time. Thanks again and please keep up these amazing videos 👍
Great video, I grew up in Crystal Palace, spent so much time in that park truly is a magical place, explored the old tunnels years ago around the top station, very eeire along with the headless statues etc haha
Ah this was a brilliant watch didn't want it to end. love the then and now scenes fascinating stuff would love to see more like this thanks you for posting
Just stumbled across you videos absolutely brilliant I love looking at history of old building and ruins and seeing what they once was fantastic work love the matching of the photos to today brilliant looking forward to more vids mate
Very interesting and great quality video mate. Also very sad to watch, imagine all the great times families had in the park over the years and yet no attempt of restoring this magnificent building was made, a real piece of history.
Your quality of matching old photos to the location of where they are now, is simply sensational! Thankyou so much for your work, effort and knowledge 🙏🏼
Thanks Emma. My speciality.
I agree. Excellent work 👍🏻 would have been a sight to behold that’s for sure …
My feelings exactly. I've done a bit of fiddling with Google Earth (and street view) trying to match those images with historic photos from my home town in California, and it's NOT easy! For reasons unknown, this video showed up in my TH-cam suggestions, and I'm very glad I clicked on it. Well done. I do believe I'll be watching a lot more of your videos in the near future.
As a life long local resident of the area, its lovely to see it being appreciated. It's heartbreaking to see what once once was such an epic example of British engineering in such a sorry state. Your visualisations of the old palace in relation to the present really bring home hat it must have been like... Brilliant! Thank you!
Thanks Steven
I grew up in that park in the 80”s. Scrambling around the ruins. There were a few tunnels and hidden basements here and there. Many have been closed off since. Annoyed that the parks move to become a ‘country park’ means they let everything get overgrown. This first steps at the north end were completely clear of greenery right up into the nineties. Also there is a blue stain porcelain floor under the brush at the top of the stairs there. Before the caravan park came in, in the late 80’s the other side of the wall was completely overgrown but underneath was several greenhouse frames complete with trees growing through from the floor that were once contained in pots still visible in the bark in pieces.
Deserves an award, what a fantastic documentary. I played there in the 1960's upto 1975 and I can't believe how much of the ruins has gone and has overgrown, there was much more to see and play around when I was a boy. I Remember motor racing, 2 fishing lakes, a zoo, an adventure playground, a ski ramp, fantastic dinosaurs and the ruins. From watching your excellent video so many memories have come flooding back thank you.
Great video. This makes me nostalgic for an era that I wasn’t alive for .
I live right next to the park and walk around it every day. I thought I’d seen everything in the park but clearly not! Can’t wait to go exploring tomorrow!! Amazing.
Thanks Leigh. Enjoy the exploring.
@@AdventureMe I never realised there was still that amount of parkland left in the area.
When I was a boy, in the early 60s, you could climb up and see into huge rooms under the terraces that were absolutely packed with statues from around the park. Fascinating place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Your layover photos, placed in the same place now, where it was then is super magic.
Thanks 👍
Danke für dieses Video, Darren.
Das ist immer wie eine vorher -nacher Show.
Gut dass die Terrassentreppe erhalten geblieben ist.
Passt jetzt gut zur Landschaft.
Danke Darren ❤👍
Loving this, another subject close to my heart. When my Dad was 3 my Grandfather held him up to his bedroom window to show him the glow in the sky as the Palace burned. The reservoir was always roofed over and part of the North Transept. I understand it is still very much in use. The South Tower actually acted as a chimney when the Palace burned and although they wanted to save it, it was by then part of the local water supply network, the heat of the fire effectively sintered the brick work. As a Kid in the early 1970's Dad took me there on a couple of occasions. Back then you could still see where the molten glass had flowed down the stairs, still fenced of in those days. He also managed to wangle a short visit to the tunnel that connected the LCDR High Level Station under the road to the Palace entrance. I remember it as a dingy, dirty, dark place with a beautiful vaulted roof. Wish I'd taken more notice but I was a strange Kid who had been promised a visit to Foyles Bookshop (I still have the books I bought (wangled out of Dad)... Thank you so much for bringing back so many good memories.
Thanks for the memories Douglas. I wish I had seen it all those years ago. You might be right about the reservoir, it did look too flat. Part 2 is out next week.
I Too used to love going to Foyles bookshop with my father. Thank you for the memories, I am 77 years old today!
@@peterbrameld696 It was fantastic! The smell of the place, all those books... Happy to make you smile Peter.
The underpass with that vaulted ceiling is still there.
This is an amazing video, so detailed. I need to go back to Crystal Palace park and explore everything I missed
I've lived in this area. all my life it was great to see how it used to look. Apparetnly my Grandad watched it buring down and like you say it could be seen from miles away. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this.
Thanks for watching
I used to live in Mitcham in the 80's & an old neighbour of mine said he put a ladder up against his house & climbed up to see it burning in the distance.
@@AdventureMe It's obvious this place was all Hydro Turbine Powered to me.. I doubt there is any old records of those installations though. It will have been deleted and replaced by fake history.
The Palace existed for 85 years (not all in that location), now has been gone for 85 years. Thanks for a fascinating video, well done.
Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the interesting video. I'm staying at the caravan site next to this atm and I took the dog for a wander round down the lane at 9:30 and onto the former site of the palace but wanted to know more about it's history.
Brilliant video, loved the matching of the photos 👌
Glad you enjoyed it
That was amazing Darren. Love your fading past and present photos. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of this building. It’s end so tragic. Music makes me feel nostalgic. Very moving Darren very moving indeed. Thank you.
Thanks Shirley.
Enjoy the video. This is a 3 part series with a new release every Sunday at 5pm.
Considering its size, it's not surprising that some of the foundations remain. Loving the video and how you show the before/after shots.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
What a fantastic video - well paced, excellent research and professional. Brilliant work.
What. An. Incredible. Video!
Mate, I really appreciate you doing this! I've lived in and around Crystal Palace all my life (40yrs) and have massively fond memories as a kid coming to the park with school and friends, learning about its history and everything it still had to offer. It's genuinely one of the most historic spots in London and perhaps the whole of England and you've done it justice with this stunning video!
I've often walked the grounds as an adult and allowed my mind to drift into thoughts of how everything must have looked and felt. The way you pieced the old and new images together was simply spectacular and left not much to the imagination. Your knowledge is top tier, and I'm very impressed, and very grateful!
I could honestly ramble on and on about how beautiful this video is. You've really done us proud!
This is my Manor and you've brought back a lot of memories for me.
I truly hope that 1 day, this can be rebuilt, just as it used to be - because it was absolutely glorious and an absolute spectacle.
Thank you for this! I'm looking forward to parts 2 & 3!
I loved the zoo, and seeing guy the gorilla and seeing the penguin , and athletics , and the concert and fireworks and motor racing , on part of old tracks
I haven’t been to Crystal Palace Park since I was a child and I remember going on a 122 bus from Woolwich to Crystal Palace and when the pylon was in sight we knew we were nearly there. Happy childhood memories ❤️
The transitions between old and new are done perfectly Can't wait for parts 2 & 3
A wonderful building that really should of been properly looked after,the likes of which we will never seen again . Great informative video well done .
A _wonderful building that really should_ *have* _been properly looked after_
What a shame your 11 years of free education were wasted!
Wow!
As the Founder Chairman of the Crystal Palace Foundation established in 1979 who erected the Paxton Crystal Palace Corner (pcpc) on the palace site in 2008 (14:00 - 15:00 in this video) I would personally like to congratulate you on this jolly good film.
Well done sir.
Thanks John. Hopefully I did it justice. Did you watch all three videos?
I have always been fascinated with The Crystal Palace coming from South London! Great video many thanks!
Me too. Thanks for watching
Brilliant! The way you match up the old photos is perfect!
Thanks mate
Nice to see you back in the south again to explore one of my favorite places to walk around . Is just so much to find there .
Loving the overlays brings it to life .
Part one was great , looking forward to parts 2 and 3 .
Is nice to have someone else's view on something you know well .
Keep up the great work Darren .
Great exploration, packed with fascinating architectural detail. Thank you.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
What I've always found amazing is how it was dismantled piece by piece from Hyde Park and reassembled at its final site.
Yes. Although it was totally remodelled too. Just the basic materials were re-used
The building wasn't the same to be fair, it was massively expanded by Paxton.
could you locate the spot where the middle center piece Glass fountain would have been ?
Thoroughly enjoyed your video and am really looking forward to the next two. The music had a fitting melancholy quality that suited the remains of the palace grounds. It's a real shame that Bromley council will not restore the stonework on the terraces. At least the subway is being restored at long last after local pressure. I really liked the way you managed to superimpose images of the Crystal Palace onto what is left today so seamlessly. Thank you for a fantastic documentary and I really hope that you can do more than just two more.
Thanks Gary. The photo fades are my speciality. There's lots more in the next two.
Absolutely brilliant as usual Darren.
I stayed just up the road a couple of years ago to visit a travel trade exhibition at Excel and it was around Bonfire night. The fireworks display was awesome, but I now realised that walked right past that curved wall and never knew it was the base of one of Brunel's water towers. Incredible.
The dinosaur park is excellent, so can't wait to see that, as well as the railway stations and hopefully the pneumatic railway remains too.
A little side story. I was waiting for a train to crystal palace and a guy had just missed his train. He looked at the board and it said. 6 minutes till next one. He went nuts!!. "Six minutes..six minutes. ". he shouted.
I said, try living where I'm from, north of Watford, where they are every hour, if you're lucky!
He just went "Humph" and walked off. Lol.
Many thanks for all your hard work, research and editing. Trust me, it is very much appreciated.
Cheers.
Thanks. Yes 6 minutes is such a shock to us. They don't know how lucky they are darn sarf. The pneumatic railway and dinosaurs are in the next two, along with much more.
@@AdventureMe I totally agree mate.
Cheers
@@AdventureMe oh and thanks for the heads up on dinos and rail things. Cheers
Yup, the blending in of the old buildings into the modern day scenes really brings the old back to life. Interesting stuff, looking forward to the next 2 parts.
Really looking forward to this series! Loved the history intro
Thanks Angela
@@AdventureMe also want to say I absolutely love the photo overlays...thanks for taking the editing time to do that, it makes it really special
Many more to come in the next parts.
Thank you that was very interesting I didn’t realise the Crystal Palace lasted 80 years
Thanks Ron. Yes. Longer abandoned than open.
The way that you corrected " concrete bases" into rendered brick (11:24) for instance, is the mark of a man happy in his skin. By not editing it out it shows how natural and flowing the presentation is and is one of the best ways to connect yourself with your audience. I've come here via Jago Hazzard in/on London and am all the happier for it. Thanks.
Thanks mate. I like to make sure I am natural but also not afraid to admit mistakes. Nobody is shiny and perfect, least of all me.
@@AdventureMe Thanks. Subscribed after a marathon sesh of all three Crystal Palaces. Thought I was the only nutter up and commenting at this hour, Saturday morning or no Saturday morning. Now for some shut-eye in an attempt to get shiny and perfect.
Great videos - a place close to my heart, my mum now in her 70s grew up in Crystal Palace, she lived on gypsy hill. Her and her friends used to play in the park growing up, she was fascinated by the palace, and would do similar explorations of the area and park same as you did, she said one day - playing up the top of the park - they a terrace feature that was normally boarded up - was open - they wandered in and found the old ornate subway that ran under the road to the palace. Later years they opened it up to the pubic, still do now I thing, needless to say as kids my mum and Nan would take us to the park, and showed us all the little hidden gems left from the Palace, I’m pretty sure over by the water tower base - the one you can get to - there’s a steel beam - bolted to the ground that looks like one of the old frame pieces? Really enjoyed this video, I just as fascinated as my mum. She’ll love this - I’ll send her a link :)
I live around the corner and have only ever visited it a handful of times. Must go back again. Learnt so much from this video. Thank you.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
I remember going here as a child with my school, I remember doing the hedge maze that you mentioned, such a shame that a beautiful building like this was destroyed by fire, I bet it was stunning to look at and walk around
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Superb video, looking forward to the next one.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
@@AdventureMe cannot wait 👍
Superb video as ever.
Thanks joy
I cannot wait for the next video - this is absolutely fascinating! Your overlays of the past and present locations is stunning. Thanks for this wonderful content.
The best video of the history of Crystal Palace. This should be on BBC1 or something. It’s that good. Crystal Palace Park is an amazing place and it’s MASSIVE. Well worth a visit.
Thanks for watching.
Amazing work! Well done sir.
Very informative, well presented and the blending from new to old pictures is brilliant. Thank you.
Superb! Visited a few years ago and this brought back good memories. The old picture fade ins work so well with the hauntingly good music. Top work and thanks for making these vidoes!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
So happy you’ve made these! I’ve always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. Partly because of its iconic history and fame in its day and partly because there’s still such a ghost of the building and it’s surroundings remaining.
Great video! Will look forward to the next one - thanks!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Great video as ever Darren... amazing to see how much is actually left of The Crystal Palace... looking forward to Pt. 2
You look like captain Lee from below deck on your profile picture.
@@AdventureMe Pmsl... Not sure whether to take that as a compliment... but better than Santa or Uncle Albert from Only Fools And Horses I guess... lol
@@martint6819 You should Google captain Lee. He's a stud. The old gals love him.
@@AdventureMe Haha... I did out of curiosity, I'd never heard of him before... so?... I'm being called a 'stud' eh? Lol I've been called worse things. Oh, while I'm here, can I ask a favour? Can you do more adventures when it's boiling hot so we get to see you with your shirt off... ;) lol
I think I've made Darren blush... lol
Great video buddy 👍 looking forward to the rest
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Absolutely loved that as I am also a huge admirer of The Crystal Palace. I am simply blown away not just by the sheer size and scale of the structure but its breathtaking beauty too. It is criminal that it was allowed to go to a state of disrepair and that it burned down was a massive tragedy. Can you imagine the visitors it would attract today? I am really looking forward to watching the next one and thanks for your hard work and effort; it is greatly appreciated and the overlays were stunning as per usual. Great job and loved the music too.
Thanks Jeff. It is such a shame.
Brilliant video! I lived in Thicket Road back in the late 70s and often wandered around wondering what it must have been like.
Glad you enjoyed it
Beautifully presented, superb over lapping new and old pics, I've been wondering for years what the site looks like now. Can't wait for part 2.
Fantastic film. Amazing quality of the old vs the new. Thank you so much for bringing this to us in this unique way.
Glad you enjoyed it! More parts to come.
As a South Londoner I can only say thank you for shining a light and exploring such an iconic site! It's been years since my last visit... well worth a return!
I had to do it. Always been fascinated by it.
They used to do walks where you could do in the tower remains. The museum is sadly shut at the moment. I'm pretty sure the stones are part of the stairs that were removed. The stairs at the back were added much later in it's life and lead to the first floor, underneath that was the basement.
The metal posts you found were the original posts from the palace. That's the outside wall. They cut them off at ground level after it had burnt down. They are 8 inches wide, 8 feet apart. It was the worlds first modular building. Your images at 14 minutes shows where the posts were. The guy who was responsible for putting the column there took me on a personal guided walk.
The rubble you found where it's raised up is from the blitz. They filled in the basement with it. There are old cars and bomb damaged buildings. If you go in many woods there are signs of bricks being dumped from WW2.
The terraces have been restored in the past but need doing again.
The statues were sold off after the fire and are copies of the originals. After the fire many were sold off. You can see some in peoples gardens and dotted around the local area.
THe bolts you found were probably from the stairs you thought the cast iron posts were for. I"m pretty sure the back stairs were mostly concrete posts (but I might be wrong).
Great video. I hope the above is of some interest. I used to be fascinated by the park and have been on many guided tours of it, including tours of the underground vaulted access from the high level train station.
I wonder if there had been more left of the place today had it not been for the two fires, maybe it would even still be standing and open to the public in a similar way to winter gardens.
We will never know
love the vids cant wait for part 3 to drop! ...im not a londoner infact in from up north BUT crystal palace is on of the uk's sadly lost places and it was long gone by the time i was born but it still peaks my interest as i LOVE looking back in history and whats left even if it is recent from the 20th century ect! Fab vid and one of the ones i love going through the history and what is still left that folks dont know about same as me i never knew so much was left ..obv i knew aboth the sphinxes and the high level station ect but never knew about the aquairum and hidded stuff! love it all and thank you for bringing this hidden stuff in crystal palace park to folks that maybe never knew it was still there ! ...ps you look hot shirtless! 😀 but i mean that in a good way!
Thanks Sean. Where you from up North?
@@AdventureMe ashton under lyne ... greater Manchester originaly but have live in a village on the outskirts of Bristol for the last 16 yrs ...took me a while to adjust ect ..not like i can walk into town for a night out or catch a bus ect but still love where im living ....green belt ect ...only thing i dont like is when the local farm decides to muck spread 🤣
I used to live near Crystal Palace park and was there at the start of the Crystal Palace Foundation. Can’t wait to see your videos
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Lovely job. Cheers buddy
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Fascinating stuff. About 15 to 20 years ago, I attended a 2 day athletics meeting at Crystal Palace and stayed in the 1960s tower block that lies between the stadium and the site where the Palace stood. I remember getting up on a sunny Sunday morning and looking out of the window of my room and trying to imagine what it would be like if the Palace was still there as the foundations were still clearly visible.
Amazing video! I live in Crystal Palace now, and I remember going to the park once and seeing all the ruins. It’s incredible to see the history of the place!
Glad you enjoyed it!
It is sad to see the beautiful structures of the past, now non existent. But because of you Darren, we can relive this past experience. Thanks so much. Will look forward to Part 2 and 3. Cheers mate! 🏴😊👍🇺🇸
Thanks Martin
Excellent.Thanks Darren.
Thanks ste
Your photo transitions are spot on, love the fade in and out. It really gives you a sense of what was. Thanks for you work.
Excellent, very interesting Darren, while watching your presentation l was studying the 3D Google Earth images at the same time, I never realised just how much still remains today, having never been there I assumed the site was all reclaimed parkland but looking closer as you show us there is a treasure trove of history.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Wow, fantastic stuff Darren. I worked in Croydon for a couple of years and never walked across to see this, my loss!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Fantastic amount of research and facts. Exceptional period graphics, so well overlaid onto modern landscape. Brilliant work. The architect Owen Jones was indeed a talented man. From Thailand.
Thanks mate
Fantastic video. Love your work.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Thank you for this (and part 2) superb tour of Crystal Palace and the story behind it.
Looking forward to seeing part 3.
My Dad was 16 in 1936 and remembers seeing the glow of the fire from near Hanger Lane.
So interesting - can’t wait for the next 👍🏻
Thanks Kevin.
The Crystal Palace must have really been a sight to see. Wish it survived so it could still be enjoyed today. Another great watch. You seem to enjoy your work. Thanks again for your time and work.....
Thanks Mike. Yes I love telling these stories.
Been looking forward to this since I saw the teaser, disused railways included ofc lol, I love these videos, I'd love to join you one day :)
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
wow the effort you've gone to in this video is wonderful!!! i've visited the park several times and can't get my head around how massive the palace would have been, your before and after pictures really helped to put it in perspective. thank you!
I remember seeing the remains of the metal arches to the roof of the old high level station peeping over the walls! Me and my mate, years later, explored the site of the station and discovered the secret Alhambra covered way, which no doubt you will cover in further videos! Very interesting and clever transitions!
Thanks Michael. What's the Alhambra covered way? Do you mean the subway?
@@AdventureMe yes, the subway between the railway station and the crystal palace
I remember my father telling me that he went up there when it was burning and saw molten glass running down the road. You wouldn't be allowed anywhere near such a disaster nowadays. Thanks for doing this, look forward to the next episode!
Super video and very informative. Love the merging of old pics with today's view. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
I loved this!!! Great presenting and editing!
Thank you so much!!
That was absolutely fascinating, learnt a load of facts. Superb merging as usual👍🏻 You're keen - London in the heat, no thanks!!!! Thanks Darren, roll on next week!!!!
What a fantastic video, being born in west norwood which is only a mile or so from the park, I spent most of my youth in and around Crystal Palace park, and whilst I’ve seen a lot of the ruins, some of the stuff you’ve highlighted in this video I’ve never seen or realised existed. Really in depth and the way you contrast the old and new is excellent. Keep up the great work. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
Thanks for watching
Great video and this is my old Manor born bread around this place.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Fabulous video and looking forward to seeing the next installment. Amazing to see there are so many remnants in the park which relate to the Crystal Palace!
Thanks Stephen
Enjoyed all 3 excellent episodes. Brilliant superimposition of historic pics over current scenes...
Again, best wishes from Western Canada.
Many thanks Geoff!
It’s such a lovely park and the remains of Cyrstal Palace is very interesting.
Have you been in the tunnel from the high level station that goes under the road to the palace it is fabulous
We have been going to Cyrstal Palace Caravan club site for about 20 years for about 10 days a year.
The site is just by the north tower but sadly it is close December 21
Look forward to the next 2 video’s
Yes the high level features in part 3.
@John Nichols Is the caravan site closing permanently? What is the reason for that, it's been there for decades!
The council are going to build on the land. The lease on the land is up
@@NOWThatsRichy The Caravan site is open till late 2022 now the council want to build flats there
Love your enthusiasm, the photo overlays are brilliant as they were on your Butlin's Filey video. I too have been fascinated by The Crystal Palace (this is my second time watching this video), looking forward to the rest of this series and will be having a mooch around this park in the future hopefully.
Thanks Jon. Glad you enjoyed it.
Brilliant...! When we were kids, the stairs were used as seats for the motor racing. We sat there and watched James Hunt racing in about 1972...
Thanks John
Excellent. Fascinating, well produced
Nice juxtaposition of original photos on the remains today.
Very interesting video, I always thought the palace burned down in Hyde park, I never knew it was moved, and if I am not mistaken it was Prince Albert who came up with the idea of building the iron and glass structure for the great exhibition. 👍👍.
I grew up in the 80s in grange wood park spa park and the Crystal Palace park thank you so much for making this truly amazing film you’re cinematography is sublime and brought back so many happy memories of cycling round this park on my bmx pretending to be street hawk little did I know or the rich history around me at the time. Thanks again and please keep up these amazing videos 👍
Thanks for watching. More to come.
Absolute stunning Darren really enjoyed part 1
Thanks Alan.
what a beautiful giant of architecture, such a shame it's gone. great video and presentation!!!
Thanks for watching
Great video, I grew up in Crystal Palace, spent so much time in that park truly is a magical place, explored the old tunnels years ago around the top station, very eeire along with the headless statues etc haha
Thanks mate. Glad you liked.
Ah this was a brilliant watch didn't want it to end. love the then and now scenes fascinating stuff would love to see more like this thanks you for posting
Thanks Mick. Plenty of similar stuff on my channel.
Really, really interesting. Well put together. I love the picture ransitions. Looking forward to the next episode. Well done.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Just stumbled across you videos absolutely brilliant I love looking at history of old building and ruins and seeing what they once was fantastic work love the matching of the photos to today brilliant looking forward to more vids mate
Nice use of dissolve from new to old....
Thanks 👍
Very interesting and great quality video mate. Also very sad to watch, imagine all the great times families had in the park over the years and yet no attempt of restoring this magnificent building was made, a real piece of history.
Glad you enjoyed it
One of the best videos I have seen, brilliant mate
Thanks mate. Much appreciated.
Really enjoyable video. It's an interesting subject in its own right but I also like the way you put the video together and structure your reports.
Thanks mate. More to come
Fantastic video as always. Was gripped from start to finish.
Thanks mate
Well done again Darren. I`ve been here many times but never found half the stuff that you did. How interesting would a dig in that big mound be?
It sure would. A dig anywhere in that park would uncover all-sorts I'm sure.
@@AdventureMe Time Team, call your office.... :D