Boats

A visit to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port saw us investigating all manner of barges and canal artifacts. The museum is sited at a major dock complex where the Shropshire Union and Manchester Ship Canals meet. A fine Thomas Telford warehouse contains the interior exhibits and the surrounding docks contain a number of barges and boats, both historical and contemporary.

The former ICI boat, Duddington is one of those, and this image features the top. This part of Cheshire is a major centre for the oil and chemical industries, including the oil refinery at Stanlow (almost next door to the museum) and the former ICI plant at Runcorn. It seems odd to be attracted to a bit of ICI nostalgia given I spent much of the late 80s and early 90s campaigning against their production of ozone depleting substances and other pollution, but is all part of the story of how we have used and abused the natural world to construct the world and lifestyles we inhabit. And the rust is pretty.