Report - WW2 Concrete Barges, Lymm - August 2011.

[Ojay]

WW2 Concrete Barges, Lymm

Hidden away in a small corner of woodland, just off the Manchester Ship Canal in Lymm are these 3 concrete barges

The area is quite overgrown, but easy enough to access once you know where to look

Possibly linked to "Mulberry Harbour"

The Mulberry Harbour was built for D-Day in June 1944, it's purpose was to ease and speed up the unloading process so that Allied troops were supplied as they advanced across France after breaking out from Normandy and was one of the greatest engineering feats of World War Two


Whilst in the Area with Stepping Lightly looking for venues for a highline we decided to take a quick detour to see the barges up close

 

[Matt Shard]

How do I put one of my own pictures up

 

[Thecretefleet]

They are FCBs (Ferro Concrete Barges) built in large numbers in WW2, mainly (but not exclusively) in Barrow-in-Furness by Wates. These three were almost certainly used on the Manchester Ship Canal…Most were never registered at Lloyds and generally speaking they are pretty impossible to specifically identify…The best known ones are at Purton

 

[tigger]

Sketchy childhood memories......
Six were dumped here in the early 1970s (and another six further down the ditch in Wilderspool, close to Walton Locks (another tourbus destination). The ones furthest along the appendix were fairly quickly hidden by vegetation (though the hatch tops remained visible).
The entrance to the old river was partially blocked using old lock gates (still visible if you look from the ditch or if you walk from the public footpath on the old part of Pool Lane).
The ones at Wilderspool were covered over (from memory about the same time as the old Black Bear canal was filled) but re-discovered when the shop area was being re-developed.

 

[OysterJam]

Cool pics! Kinda looks like there are just some random barges sunk into the ground in a field since they're so green and mossy. Would love to just stumble upon something like that.

Also really nice aerial shot at the start. Assuming this wasn't your own drone pic since it was 2011? A pic from a heli on Google or something?