A most productive year, with a revisit to Redcar, some abandonment – albeit explored with permission – and more experimentation with long exposures.

Pincroft Dyers – January 2018

I live at the other end of Chorley to this Dyeworks, pretty much the last remnant of Chorley’s textile industry that is still in use. It’s in Adlington which is a somewhat industrial village and has been there for many many years (although the locals still complain about the smells). I’d often seen the huge clouds of steam coming from the works and one very cold January morning I went down for a look.

Forton Lake – March 2018

I was visiting a supplier in the area and had some spare time in the evening so I had a quick drive down to Forton Lake for a look at this graveyard for old boats.

Mayfield Railway Station – March 2018

I missed out on exploring this place when it still had it’s massive roof over the platforms, but an opportunity came up for a look so – better late than never! There have been many redevelopment proposals for the place over the years, none of which have come to fruition, The most recent one seems to be the most viable, possibly because there are fewer development sites left in Manchester now and this is such a big site that it’s impossible to ignore. As of now it’s still derelict and I’m not sure when that will change.

Brent Delta – April 2018

I was a tad late going to see the slightly odd site of a North Sea oil rig on land as demolition had already started, but it was still recognisable. Able UK made quick work of it – I visited again in 2019 and it was a pile of scrap metal.

Redcar Blast Furnace – April 2018

It had been a few years since my last visit here and in that time the works had been closed, mothballed, re-opened and then closed again. The last closure was permanent though and the site is being decommissioned.

Cammell Laird – August / September 2018

The decline of British shipbuilding is well documented but ships are still built in Britain – just not that many. Cammell Lairds is one of the best known names in shipbuilding but their Birkenhead yard closed in the early 90’s. It was reopened for ship repairs a few years later and business steadily built up. More recently, the name of the yard was changed back to Cammell Laird, and shipbuilding has returned to the Mersey to complement the ship repair activity that continues.

Sarsia – September 2018

Just up the road from Cammell Laird lies the wreck of the Sarsia in Birkenhead Docks. I made two trips – one to check it out and a revisit to take these long exposure photographs. Definitely more successful than my previous attempts at Glasson Dock!