But I was mesmerized, and this video has had over 6 million views on YouTube. I sure wish they’d included “you can contribute to the preservation of this site by donating to Ayrshire Railway preservation” at the end.

The abandoned landscape is as beautiful as it is desolate. I wouldn’t have seen it without this video (part of a documentary produced for the television documentary series Concrete Circus.) And I see the landscape differently because of his interaction with it. It’s a kind of performance art, enhancing the structures and machinery kind of like wall dancing on museums. The footage seems solitary and contemplative (they do a good job keeping the film crew out of the picture). I was inspired to root around the web and find this follow-up video filmed at the site a year later (which is also well-done but it doesn’t move me in the same way) and read up on the various groups in the UK involved in preserving sites such as this.

So maybe next time someone comes to you with a really crazy proposal, you should watch this video again, and think about the possible upside, as well as the negative risks.