Peat works near Goole

Half way between Crowle and Swinefleet next to the Humberhead Peatlands / Thorne Moors is an abandoned peat works.

The original mill was built in 1886 and closed in 2000. Peat was removed from the moors and milled and bagged here before being taken to the Ouse for export as animal bedding.

After the Second World War peat was used by the horticultural industry and later extracted in increasing intensity before environmental concerns brought the enterprise to an end. For more detailed information on the mill see Swinefleet's Wikipedia page.

The outside shell of the building has many holes, and there's little inside except girders and a short processing shaft, which is possible to inspect.

Here are some photos of the visit:

Main platforms

The girderage and walls provided decent climbing practice

Finally, here's an experimental YouTube video of the visit using the "Video Star" music video app (unfortunately will only open on desktops and tablets).

Steel city

Scunthorpe's steelworks is the UK's largest steel processing centre - at over 3 square miles, it's the size of a town.

View from north

It's one of Tata Steel Europe's two major integrated plants in the UK with facilities such as four blast furnaces, continuous casting and a rod mill. It employs over 4000 people (excluding contractors) and is noted for heavy pollution.

History

On checking an old map, I can see iron working was present on the same site (and others) at the turn of the 19/20th century but the Scunthorpe was tiny by comparison. Some key dates include:
1860 - iron ore first mined in Scunthorpe
1967 - British Steel nationalised
1988 - British Steel privatised
1999 - becomes Corus
2007 - Corus acquired by Tata

The Visit

The Tata works cover the majority of the area. Entering by car via Brigg Road puts you within distance of several central plants.

There's an oily, chemical, sooty smell. Naturally, there's a lot of dirt and blackness, and the heavy cloud added to the brilliant gloominess. Reddish coloured pipes and grey shafts crisscross the many roads and railway lines, connecting plant with plant. Vents billow steam at every turn, safety notices are everywhere, and road names like Basic Slag Road and Ore Blending Road give clues to the function of the numerous areas.

Most plants are active, with hums and clangs and whirs and hisses adding to the soundscape. Around the central blast furnace works the giant metal arms come together and flow into and around the furnace towers.

On with the photos..

View from west

Entrance to the 'Four Queens of Ironmaking', the blast furnace area

Miscellaneous shots

Military exploratory: RAF Kirton in Lindsay

This RAF base was decommissioned in 2013.

Originally there was a WWI airfield in the vicinity, and a new base was built in WW2. Numerous units were based here and this base saw plenty of action in the Battle of Britain.

It became an army base in the 1960s, then returned to RAF use in 2004, and hosted the No.1 Air Control Centre (1ACC) - the RAF's only deployable ground-based early warning and air control system. In March 2013 it was announced that it would close.

The facility can be divided into two areas, firstly the barrack area, which features dormitories, the 'Phoenix Club' and other miscellaneous buildings. Some of the buildings have been seriously damaged, including what looks like missile damage and feel unsafe to interfere with too much. Then there is what I'll call the 'military operations' area, with aircraft hangars, a radar room, control rooms, rooms with signs warning of dangerous substances, an armory, and various more.

Here are some photos:

View of the control building, radar dome and hangars

 Inside a hangar

Empty corridor adjacent to a hangar

A view towards the tower

Boiler room

Another view of the (control/watch?) tower

View from the tower

Some kind of pump / engine room

Part-destroyed buildings

Upstairs at the Phoenix Club

Wrecked corridor

Large wall picture: "No.1 Air Control Centre"

Finally, here's a YouTube timelapse video.