2011 was my first full year of fatherhood and the sleepless nights coincided with a lot of business travel. Consequently photography fell down my list of priorities as my camera was mainly aimed at my daughter. Nonetheless I managed to fit a couple of explores in, and got a few snaps of the PS Ryde on our holiday to the Isle of Wight.

Thorpe Marsh – April 2018

I’d heard that these cooling towers were on the verge of being demolished when I visited, as it was they stood for another couple of years. They were eventually brought down in rather unconventional fashion – holes were drilled through the walls and chains were fed through that were attached to bulldozers. These simply drive off and pulled the towers down.

Fernhurst Mill – April 2011

It was being demolished when I visited and the site is now covered in houses, so significant changes here. I was fortunate that at the time of this place being demolished that I was spending quite a bit of time at my employers Manchester factory, which was about ten minutes away from here – a number of other mills in Oldham have come down as well since then but I’ve not had the chance to see any of them.

Gwrych Castle – June 2011

There were ambitious plans at the time to convert the castle into a hotel but since then planning permission has run out and the castle has been bought by the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust. They plan on restoring the castle, it’s unclear how much progress has been made. It is possible to visit the gardens though.

PS Ryde – July 2011

There was a brief campaign to save this old steamer in 2019, which I thought highly ambitious as, although I’m not a maritime surveyor, even I could see that the ship was too far gone for preservation. I presume now that the remains of the ship will be broken up, a rather sorry end to its story.