Culcheth Carrs Traditional Cache

New high resolution aerial photography available on Google Earth (and Google Maps) has certainly caused a stir. In early 2006, many excited contributors to Internet discussion forums had a heated debate. It concerned what they were convinced was maybe another DSDA location or Defence Munitions Centre between Culcheth and Glazebury near Warrington, Cheshire. 

The mysterious depot (below), alongside the A580 "East Lancs Road" between Liverpool and Manchester, is certainly laid out in the classic munitions underground bunker pattern and there's even evidence of a disused train branch line nearby too! Some of the forum board enthusiasts suggested it might also be a hitherto undocumented secure storage facility, using hangars to hide top secret military projects! 

If that wasn't enough there's even a "secret" junction on the westbound carriageway of the A580, allowing direct "back door" access to the depot by a dedicated private road. The Google Earth imagery shows that there's also a rather convenient gap in the crash barrier of the central reservation at this point!

A little straightforward research would have revealed that the site is indeed a storage depot, but it is the old Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Nobel Explosives depot, for mining and quarrying operations, etc.

  More recently it has been operated by Orica, the new global parent company name. They refer to the depot as their Glazebury Distribution Hub for UK operations.