Imp 2024 The Venue, our Hosts and Local Area

From John Keane (Sandbach, Cheshire), Gary Mathews (Wigan, Lancashire) and Bob Allan (Warrington, Cheshire).

The Whitby Sports and Social Club
Dunkirk Lane, Chester Road, Ellesmere Port, West Cheshire CH65 6QF
Map reference: 53.2628 N; 2.9096 W

A large welcoming community club on the main road from Chester to Ellesmere Port, formerly known as the Shell Club which changed its ownership and name in 2001. Non-members are welcome in the bar which serves up to four cask ales and a good selection of food. Plenty of events are held at the club - see their Web site for more information. Some are held in the adjoining Oak Room which has a separate entrance and bar.

Venue Web site: https://www.whitbyclub.com

Directions

From the M53 (by car):

• At Junction 10, take the A5117 exit and continue west past Cheshire Oaks (left lane)
• At the first roundabout, continue straight on the A5117 Strawberry Way East
• At the Strawberry Roundabout, you will see the BP petrol station on the right. Now turn right into A5032 Chester Road
• Continue on Chester Road past the Groves Sports Club
• Turn right into Dunkirk Lane. You will see the venue signposted on the corner
• Turn right into Whitby Social Club

By Train to Ellesmere Port Train Station
Whitby Sports and Social Club is just a 35 minute walk from Ellesmere Port train station.

• Leaving the train station, head south-west along A5032 Whitby Road for 1.5 miles
• Turn left into Dunkirk Lane
• Turn right into Whitby Social Club

Facilities on Site

The proposed site layout is here.

In order for everyone to have a safe and enjoyable time, there are certain areas designated no go areas. These are clearly marked, to preserve the pitches for the clubs that use the site. Please adhere to the designated roadways and paths.
If you discover a problem please bring this to the attention of the organising Committee. Mobile numbers will be in the event programme.

Camp Site:

We have a Camping Exemption Certificate from Natural England. Please observe the Countryside Code.

Parking:

Cars and Trailers are permitted on site.

Toilet Facilities:

There are toilet facilitis in the main club house, the changing rooms and also extra toilet blocks on the rally field.

Showers:

There are showers in the changing rooms and also extra shower blocks on the rally field.

BBQs:

BBQs on the camp site are not permitted. There are plenty of catering options available, see below.

Waste Disposal:

There is a large skip provided for the disposal of all waste, location indicated on the map. Please do not place bags of waste anywhere on the rally field, or bins near to the club house kitchen, you must use the skip provided for the event.
All waste and recycling material can be placed in the skip, at the end of the event Ash Waste Services will process the content of the skip to separate out material that can be reused be that metal, glass, paper etc.
The end doors of the skip will be open to enable bags to be placed into the skip, when putting bags into the skip please throw them as far to the rear of the skip as you can.
A black bag is provided in your welcome pack and further bags are available from Rally Control should you need them.

Pets:

Dogs are permitted on site, but must be on leads at all times and mess must be cleared up immediately. Same rules apply to other potentially free-roaming pets...

Catering on Site

See menus and options here.

Some History

We think you will find there is a lot to see and do in the local area.

Ellesmere Port and Whitby

The village of Whitby dates back to Viking times but was categorised as part of Eastham in the Domesday Book. The villages of Great and Little Sutton and Hooton were included. Ellesmere Port owes its existence to the cutting of the Ellesmere Canal in the eighteenth century, which was designed to connect the rivers Mersey, Dee and Severn. The Severn part was never completed, but the canal connected to the Mersey in Netherpool in 1795 and the basin became known as Whitby Wharf and Locks. The Ellesmere Canal was later renamed the Shropshire Union Canal.
Ellesmere Port is now a medium sized town on the edge of the Wirral Peninsula, North Wales, Cheshire and Lancashire. It greatly benefitted from the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, which brought increased seaborne traffic to the port, together with the founding of the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the 1920s. The Vauxhall Motors factory opened in 1962 and a number of new housing estates, such as Grange Farm, were built to accommodate workers. As well as a service sector economy, Ellesmere has retained its large industries. There are also a number of tourist attractions including the National Waterways Museum, the Blue Planet Aquarium and Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet.

Stanlow

Stanlow derives its name from the old English word "Stanlaw" meaning stone hill. There was originally a Cistercian monastery close to the current site which was founded in 1178 and later abandoned in the late 13th century.
Stanlow refinery dates from the 1920s, when Shell built a plant to blend and distribute imported oil products. Before long, the plant also began to manufacture bitumen and special solvents such as turpentine substitute.
By the outbreak of the Second World War, Stanlow's products included aviation spirit, which was vital for the wartime air force.
The construction of a complete crude oil refinery began in 1949 - part of the post-war move to locate refineries close to growing customer markets. It was completed in 1952.
Since then, the refinery has grown in size and sophistication with the addition of a number of units designed to extract the maximum value from crude oil.
For information and history about the Stanlow Oil Refinery see The Wikipedia article here.
There are some fascinating videos on YouTube showing the construction and first production days at the refinery: I, II, III

Thornton

The Shell Technology Centre on the other side of Stanlow at Thornton was an automotive engineering research facility. Innovative work involved fuel cells, aircraft engines, environmental research and fuel efficient vehicles.
Alongside producing fuel and lubricants for the Ferrari F1 racing team, low energy vechicles were designed. In 1977 it was predicted that oil would run out by 1990. The Shell Mileage Marathon run by the Centre took place at Mallory Park in July 1977, with teams from 23 universities. The Shell vehicle had a Honda 50cc engine and managed 1,252 mpg. A former Imp Club member helped to design the vehicles.
After its closure, Thornton Science Park was purchased by the University of Chester and continues to be a thriving research hub.

Nearby Attractions

Norton Priory

There was a very significant Augustinian priory from c.1134-1236 nearby at Norton Priory. Many important artefacts remain on that site which is open to visitors. Tudor Road, Windmill Hill, Runcorn WA7 1SX. See The Wikipedia article here. Also Norton Priory Web site.

Cheshire Oaks

The McArthur Glen designer outlet at Cheshire Oaks. Blatantly commercial, but a must for some... See Web site.

Blue Planet Aquarium

A marine and freshwater aquarium located by the Cheshire Oaks complex. When opened by the Queen in July 1998, it was the largest aquarium in the UK, and is still the largest in North West England. Longlooms Road, CH65 9LF. See Web site

Chester Zoo

Fun for all the family, as seen on TV. Chester CH2 1LE. See link to Chester Zoo here.

Eureka!

Exciting Science Discovery for children. Seacombe Ferry Terminal, Victoria Place, Wirral CH44 6QY. See Eureka Web site here.

National Waterways Museum

Explore the history of the UK's canal network. South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 4FW. See Web site.

Hooton Park Hangars Museum

RAF Hooton Park was a Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in World War I. During the early to mid-1930s, it was one of the two airfields (with Liverpool Speke) handling scheduled services for the Merseyside region. Hooton Park was home to No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron and, post World War II, to No. 611 (West Lancashire) and No. 663 (AOP) Squadron.
Rootes built WWII bombers in the Speke area.
The airfield closed in 1957 after the dis-bandment of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, but the three pairs of Belfast Truss hangars erected in 1917 survived the closure. The site was bought by Vauxhall Motors, who built their Vauxhall Ellesmere Port plant there, and produced the Astra. Nowadays it focuses on electric vehicles. A small remaining section of the airfield site is now owned and managed by The Hooton Park Trust. The hangars are also home to The Griffin Trust and an aircraft preservation society named The Aeroplane Collection. Another part of the old airfield, including a length of the old paved runway, perimeter track and the apron used to park Meteor jet fighters, remains in the ownership of The Naylor Trust. A Second World War B1 hangar is also on this site.
Ellesmere Port CH65 1AN. See Web site.

Manchester Ship Canal

The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36 mile long inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Cruises are available from Seacombe or Liverpool terminals. See Web site
For history, see The Wikipedia article here.

Further Afield

For things to see and do further afield click here.

Web site developed and maintained by R.J. Allan "Hand Knitted Software" 2023-24

Comments on and contributions to the Web site should be sent to Bob Allan (e-mail).

Page last modified: Saturday, 12-Aug-2023 11:54:16 CEST