Mobil Oil, Birkenhead - August '11
Visited with Kromax, Xan Asmodi, ex0 and fishbrain.
Visited with Kromax, Xan Asmodi, ex0 and fishbrain.
Having travelled with Fishbrain considerably over the summer months, I have come to learn one thing... avoid the M56... as it will inevitably lead to navigational failure that usually sees us missing the M6 turn-off and heading toward unwanted territories. It’s like our Bermuda triangle or something!
However, we'd had a masterstroke... ‘if we go to Mobil’s former oil plant in Birkenhead, we will for once be heading in the right direction as we blindly drive past the now-unwanted M6 signs... Genius!’
Gleeful upon arrival at Birkenhead Docks, and feeling like real men who actually know how to navigate vehicles successfully... we inexplicably dropped our guard for one second. The navigational fail was back! Confusion set in... there were roadblocks and diversion signs... frantic pointing ensued... and sure enough, we were catapulted uncompromisingly into the company of an apathetic-looking Mersey Kingsway tunnel toll booth operative... this was not the plan.
...25 minutes and two toll fares later... we made it to Mobil thinking...
‘This better be good!’
History
The Mobil plant is on a 25-acre site at the Birkenhead Docks, where lubricating and hydraulic oils were produced since 1906.
From what I can gather, the majority of the site closed in 2001 with facilities being reported to be moved to Essex (I assume the 2002-built Coryton site). Although some production of wax emulsions continued at the plant after this, it soon became essential to shut down operations at Birkenhead completely. It would appear the balancing of assets from the Exxon-Mobil merger of 1999 may well have had a large part to play in its eventual demise.
Since then, the place has become famous for being completely stripped by copper thieves... with one silly sausage falling to his death inside the complex.
The sheer scale of the site is impressive and it's not immediately obvious where to head to see the best bits, but with the help of the local Wirral lads, we got to see the lot! I think ex0's done this place 12 or 13 times, and I do distinctly recall Xan saying, "I hate this f00king place" and "I'm never coming back here again"... despite also claiming it to be "probably the best site in the North West"... which suggests to me he's done it once or twice before, too!
All in all, we had a blast! Not literally
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