Urbex: the exploration of off-limits components of the manmade environment. Mild Urbex: venturing to little-frequented structures in a less illicit manner.
Mild Urbex - Warrington Transporter Bridge
A transporter bridge is a mighty metal structure once used to carry goods and vehicles across navigable waterways. Fewer than a dozen remain globally of which three are in the UK. Middlesbrough's closed in 2019 for safety reasons, although thankfully I went in 2017 so have had the joy of a suspended crossing. Newport's is currently closed for renovation and should be reopening to the public at some point along with a new visitor centre. And finally there's Warrington's, the world's last surviving rail transporter bridge which was once used to carry chemicals across the River Mersey. It last shuttled in the 1960s and is now on the Heritage At Risk register but you can still visit, stare and admire if you know how to get there. And that's a proper peculiar mild urbex adventure.
In 1814 Joseph Crosfield opened a soapworks on a significant bend in the Mersey close to Warrington town centre which eventually developed into Bank Quay, a chemicals-based industrial site. 100 years later (under the ownership of Brunner, Mond & Company) a cement plant opened on the opposite site of the river, and the transporter bridge was completed in 1916 to allow the finished product to be whisked away onto the wider rail network. In 1940 the bridge was converted for road vehicles, in 1953 it was strengthened to carry heavier loads and in 1964 ICI closed it after adding a normal bridge a short way upstream. It's been quietly decaying ever since.
But seeing it is hard because one side is screened by an industrial complex and the other is an inaccessible peninsula. That enormous blue blockage is the former Unilever detergent factory where the manufacture of Persil Automatic ended in 2020, and low down to the left is Warrington Bank Quay station, a principal stop on the West Coast Main Line. There's no obvious way through, indeed it might look intractable, but the Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge have kindly explained how to do it on their website with full photographic directions. There are two routes, both doable with a side dose of "seriously? wow", and you can't ask for better mild urbex than that. [Google map]
Route 1: Through the chemical works(½ mile)
For this you need to head west out of Warrington town centre and cross over the mainline along Liverpool Road. The defensive industrial perimeter is strong, with an electronic gate where I had to wait for a large tanker to pass and a private turnstile that definitely wouldn't let you out again. But if you continue to a tall pink building painted with an eye, a cobbled backroad bears off towards lock-ups and a self-storage centre where an open level crossing leads to the dark side. It feels awkward being here, but look to the left and a narrow alleyway squeezes between the railway and a long wall of stacked containers. I'm not sure I'd have risked it if the Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge hadn't put up a sign saying public footpath, and spotted a waymarker for the long distance Mersey Way toppled alongside.
At the far end of the curve a loudspeaker suddenly kicks into action with a warning that you're about to enter an operational chemical facility, which would have been most unnerving had the website not pre-warned me this was going to happen. The announcement also tells you to follow the green line on the ground and definitely not stray off the path, as do several notices along the way. The painted stripe ducks beneath a tangle of pipework, then follows the edge of the railway tracks towards a large cluster of silos where the silver tanker I'd seen earlier was piping its caustic load. As I continued across the site several hard-hatted employees emerged from a grey shed while a forklift driver stacked bags of something silica-based into a trailer. This is not the normal territory for a permissive path.
The green line then steers you over to the riverbank where the path continues outside a protective fence and the bridge finally comes into view. It has a fabulous latticed silhouette, ideal for emblazoning on a t-shirt, and the bend means you can briefly see it side-on. The bridge is 103m long with a span of 61 m, and crosses 27m above the grey waters of the Mersey at high tide. Best of all if you continuealongthe bank for a couple more minutes you can stand right underneath where the rails once continued and stare up at the symmetrical steelwork above your head. I got the whole place to myself and there's no reason why you shouldn't too, given how remote this is. Or you could have arrived up the path from the opposite direction...
Route 2: From Warrington Bank Quay station(¾ mile)
Exiting the station there's no indication where the staircase at the end of the taxi rank goes, no signage whatsoever. But if you're tempted up, as you should be if you want to see the transporter bridge, you enter a Ballardian passageway that feels more like walking through a narrow overgrown cage. People sitting on platform 1 looking down through the railings may well wonder what on earth you're doing. After a bit of isolated up and down, definitely not recommended after dark, the path emerges onto a sideshoot of Slutchers Lane that has no pavement, so be careful. You could of course have walked in straight from the top of the lane, or indeed driven, but where would be the mild urbex in that?
The lane passes a slew of sidings and then bends underneath the mainline through a choice of 3 low brick arches. Take care because traffic heading through to the repair shops, e-karting circuit and cheerleading workshop on the other side won't be expecting pedestrians. Expect a really poor first glimpse of the bridge between two sheds, then bear off by the RSPCA rescue centre to follow the edge of a surprisingly rural field. You could continue to the tiny car park at the far end but trust me, the grass path is a decent short-cut. Aim for the telegraph poles on the far side where a gravel path slopes down to riverbank level, then immediately doubles back to pass beneath the replacement bridge that led to the transporter bridge being closed. I hope the four office chairs in the mud are a temporary feature.
A wonky (and potentially muddy) slope then ascends to a wooded fringe which the FoWTB website insists is overrun with giant hogweed, hence unwise to follow. Thankfully someone's been out since with a strimmer and cut everything back, leaving a decent path above the high water mark that's finally easy to follow. I must have timed my visit for the immediate aftermath of an autumnal wind event because a full harvest of apples was spread across the path. And here we are back at the transporterbridge again, not so easily viewed from this side thanks to persistent vegetation but nothing's stopping you from exiting via the alternative, clearer, industrial route. As I said there are fuller access details on the FoWTB website, or you can get the general idea from the 15 photos I've uploaded to Flickr.
Britain's two other transporter bridges may be easier to see but if you want an intriguing short hike with a frisson of mild urbex, Warrington's abandoned hulk is the chef's kiss at the end of a proper mini adventure.
