Powerhouse

Looming on the very edge of Formby, right next to the railway line, there is a disused factory known locally as The Powerhouse. It's an ugly building with sealed up windows and loading bays blocked by huge piles of soil and rubble. Such places naturally attract kids with nothing better to do and nowhere better to go and this is evidenced by the amount of graffiti on the walls and the drifts of cans about the site. It also attracts dog walkers, amongst them me and Jeff the wonder dog. The site is alive with rabbits too and Jeff occasionally spots and chases one there. He's a greyhound but wait, I'm digressing. Next to the approach road to the Powerhouse there is a wooded hollow which leads to the railway and it's this area that I want to talk about.
These same kids have turned it into a skateboard park. There's been a serious amount of work done here by these 'feckless ne'er do wells'. Wooden walkways have been constructed, earthwork ramps incorporating the leftover Calor gas bottles abandoned by the factory owners, water jumps and embankments. Just beside it in the wood itself there's a fairly substantial shelter of wood and tarpaulin with benches inside. I walked there one morning and found a cache of tools tied up with a chain and combination lock and every time I go there there's always some kind of an addition to some part of the ...well I'm going to call it a project because that's what it is.
More interestingly there is also what I can only describe as a shrine. A large flat piece of plywood has been set up like a billboard and spraypainted on it are the words' RIP HARO' The 'O' of Haro is represented as a solid white oval and inside it is painted a trident shape. I haven't any idea who Haro might have been and whether or not he's even real (or even a he!) A flag made of an old checked shirt flies on a flagpole nearby and there are broken bikes hanging in the trees. The other day there was a bicycle wheel, spray painted orange and set up like a steering wheel on a column in the same area. It's a fascinating site. I shall try to get some photos to post here because I fear that the authorities may wish to get rid of this place. I know it's not their land but as with the story of Lobby (see this blog earlier) what harm is being done? No-one else is using the land for anything. Watch this space!