The BP Castrol manufacturing site in Stanlow was responsible for the blending and filling of castrol GTX, GTX magnatec and Duckham oils before production there ground to a halt in March 2010 in favour of outsourcing the work to existing European plants. The site closure lead to a loss of 60+ jobs, with the majority of these being lost prior to March 2010 while the production at the site was gradually being brought to a close.
I have visited this site a number of times since its final closure, though never with a camera in hand. BP Castrol is a large, sprawling site with something new to find on every successive visit. The most notable area of the plant being the large factory space devoted to filling barrels, aswell as the subsequent storage areas both of which are mind bending in stature. This is especially true after darkness, where no mortal head torch can penetrate the entire expanse of the place.
(visited with TheFlu24 - who i'm sure will add some shots at some point)
A number of storage silos line the open areas of the site
And they are easily climbed for a view of one part of the plant
Loading bays towards the rear of the main buildings
Miles and Miles of small pipes wind their way inbetween the buildings on site
Small sample jars within an office - I would assume these contain various fractions of oil
In the same office, an upturned ex-employees helmet sits next to rather a long list of "job hunting" web addresses stuck to the wall
Some explorers might favour the 'lonely chair' - I personally am a fan of the lonely butter
Within one of the large filling areas, these large storage tanks are numerically ordered. Gives you an idea of the scale inside...
Various pumps for filling various barrels
Following the conveyor belts in the filling area leads you through to the giant expanse of storage areas on site
This factory contained what I can only describe as the worlds largest forklifts...
So I got TheFlu into shot for comparison !
Overall an absolutely awesome site - and certainly worth a few more visits to cover the rest of the place with photos !
Cheers for looking,
Leaf
I have visited this site a number of times since its final closure, though never with a camera in hand. BP Castrol is a large, sprawling site with something new to find on every successive visit. The most notable area of the plant being the large factory space devoted to filling barrels, aswell as the subsequent storage areas both of which are mind bending in stature. This is especially true after darkness, where no mortal head torch can penetrate the entire expanse of the place.
(visited with TheFlu24 - who i'm sure will add some shots at some point)
A number of storage silos line the open areas of the site
And they are easily climbed for a view of one part of the plant
Loading bays towards the rear of the main buildings
Miles and Miles of small pipes wind their way inbetween the buildings on site
Small sample jars within an office - I would assume these contain various fractions of oil
In the same office, an upturned ex-employees helmet sits next to rather a long list of "job hunting" web addresses stuck to the wall
Some explorers might favour the 'lonely chair' - I personally am a fan of the lonely butter
Within one of the large filling areas, these large storage tanks are numerically ordered. Gives you an idea of the scale inside...
Various pumps for filling various barrels
Following the conveyor belts in the filling area leads you through to the giant expanse of storage areas on site
This factory contained what I can only describe as the worlds largest forklifts...
So I got TheFlu into shot for comparison !
Overall an absolutely awesome site - and certainly worth a few more visits to cover the rest of the place with photos !
Cheers for looking,
Leaf
