Leeds urban explorer photographs forgotten Powys buildings

Kyle Urbex, originally from Leeds, travels around the world documenting “forgotten structures” of the past, gaining a large following on social media for his spectacular finds. During this he has been travelling through Powys to reveal some of the places in the county frozen in time.

“I first started with urban exploring back in June 2020 and I decide I was going go to an old maternity hospital in Leeds with my friend, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Kyle. “It was shocking how much had been left behind.”

Since then, his exploration has exploded, covering the length and breadth of the UK as well as documenting forgotten structures across Europe including an abandoned Human Zoo in Paris and a derelict UFO shaped café in Poland.

However, he has found that Powys has been a great source for some of his work.

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“I’ve been to Welshpool a few times now on my way to other locations in Powys,” said Kyle. “For example when I visited an abandoned teddy bear house that was just on my way to another stop in Builth Wells.

“When I go somewhere and it has not been vandalised and it’s not damaged, it’s just how it has rotted away over time due to natural decay it makes it very photogenic.”

The scoutmasters house near Welshpool (Image: Kyle Urbex)

Some of his highlights include two properties in Welshpool – the Teddy Bear House and the scoutmaster’s house.

“The Teddy Bear house is small two bedroom house with garage was last occupied by an elderly couple with a keen interest for Teddy bears and it became apparent that a child also either lived or frequented the property as some children's toys were stored away in a cupboard,” said Kyle.

“Once getting to the isolated location of the Teddy bear house I was stunned to see all the statues in the now overgrown garden of various animals and of course the Teddy bear sat on the bench,

“Once inside it was like stepping back in time with all the furniture and memories still remaining from beds made to furniture still intact albeit it a bit of vandalism in the kitchen where kids have clearly had a party inside. I found this one a unique location given the amount of Teddy bear memoribilia inside and outside of the property.”

The scoutmasters house was once “a fully functional farm occupied by an elderly couple with grandchildren that often frequented the property” and the elderly couple who lived there “were regarded as one of the kindest couples to ever grace the area” however it has stood empty for at least 10-15 years.

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“Once arriving at the site and obtaining access into the house I was greeted by vintage styled carpets and lots and lots of dolls and children's toys such as kids prams, board games and so much more,” said Kyle.

“It was very eerie inside as most of the rear windows of the property had been boarded making it quite dark in the old bedrooms. Navigating round, I uncovered an old vintage sewing machine and decaying toys which gave me the creeps not knowing how long they had been there.”

To see more of Kyle’s work visit you can visit his Instagram page.