Some of you may remember the Lion Salt Works when it was a contender on the BBC TV programme called ‘Restoration’. It failed to win the money needed to restore it then, but now it is undergoing a £8 million restoration. Brine was pumped up from boreholes on site, processed and turned into lump salt. Most of the dilapidated Grade 2 buildings remain. They consist of a pump house with nodding donkey, brine storage tanks, 5 pan houses, boiler house, dry salt store, a Smithy and offices, and The Red Lion Inn which will be an exhibition centre. The Trent and Mersey Canal adjoins the site where the salt could easily be loaded onto boats for dispatch in the past. The lovely old boat Pearl, was No 81 of the Thos. Clayton fleet and has been moored here for quite sometime. The owner, a ‘continuous cruiser’ has been in dispute with BW, and now the Canal and River Trust for several years for exceeding his mooring rights. This red brick built cottage stands nearby, surrounded by a lovely big garden. Sunday lunch was at the Salt Barge Inn a short walk away. Just after returning to Oakfield the sun was turned off, it all went dark and the heavens opened with a terrific thunderstorm.
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