Vampires

Today I went geocaching near Plumley to do a wherigo (type of geocache) called Lost Places - Vampires. It was based on an old factory site near Plumley and was an incredible location. I would never have found this if it wasn't for geocaching.

We bumped into the owner of the site who told us it was private land but he wasn't in the slightest bit bothered about people exploring the area once we explained to him why we were there. He was clearing the path to the main building and told us he was trying to decide what to do with it. He said he would like to live in it but it would be a major Grand Design project and cost a fortune.

The cache itself was excellent. A great adventure around the site based on a vampire story and it probably took us a couple of hours.

I thought the photo would also serve for this weeks derelict Sunday challenge and included a couple of extras showing the outside and some spooky graffiti (nothing in the story, we asked the owner).

The building itself was initially part of the Ammonia Soda Works constructed in 1908. During World War I, the works were taken over by Brunner Mond who, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, began producing ammonium nitrate for use in munitions. This warehouse was used to store the munitions which were then transported via a connecting trunk line on to the Mid-Cheshire Railway. After the war the production was moved to another site in Northwich and most of the factory was demolished but this building continued to be used the nearby Octel company to store sodium drums. When the Octel company closed in the 1970s, the large brick warehouse was left abandoned with the rest of the site.

The owner told us that he bought it about 10 years ago when there were plans to demolish it. It is certainly a fascinating location and there are remains of other buildings all around the site.