SALT OF THE EARTH
This other-worldly tower of thorns wouldn’t seem out of place in JK Rowling’s next magical yarn Blackthorn Salt’s magnificent 26-foot high tower of thorns marks the revival of a centuriesold salt-making technique, discovers
Standing proudly above the Firth of Clyde, Blackthorn Salt tower is magical in both appearance and function
This other-worldly tower of thorns, located on the aptly named Saltpans Road and overlooking the Firth of Clyde, wouldn’t seem out of place in J. K. Rowling’s next magical yarn. Enchanting in both function and appearance, this is the world’s only salt-producing graduation tower, using just crystal-clear seawater and the forces of nature to create one of the most necessary ingredients of all.
This majestic structure was built under the watchful eye of former architect and fifth generation master salter Gregorie Marshall. After researching the art behind sea salt production for over ten years, he launched the company Blackthorn Salt with the help of his wife Whirly Marshall and salter Malky McKinnon. In doing so, they have revived a centuries-old salt-making technique and breathed new life into an industry that once boomed in this corner of the world.
‘Bringing salt making back to Ayrshire and Scotland is something I’ve always wanted to do,’ says Gregorie, whose ancestor John Craig Peacock established the family business Peacock Salt, the largest distributor of salt products in the UK, 140 years ago. ‘You go to the Mediterranean and they use the sun to make salt because they have the weather for it. But I tried to find something that was going to utilise the local environment without just sticking a load of heat underneath it.’
Gregorie travelled to Poland and Germany to visit some of the world’s few remaining blackthorn towers which are now used as tourist centres or ‘inhalatoriums’ to aid respiratory health issues. ‘I thought this was something we could use in Scotland because the climate is quite similar,’ he says, as he explains the inspiration behind his own 26ft high, 23ft long tower at home in Ayr.
Enlisting the help of structural engineers and local builders, as well as several research students who studied the necessary angles for the tower in minute detail, Gregorie’s long-standing dream suddenly became a
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It is a remarkable combination of worldclass engineering and sheer alchemy
reality. ‘To find someone who was mad enough to take on the challenge was great,’ he says, speaking fondly of builder Archie McConnell who was at the helm of the project. ‘He got five mates who all had their own timber businesses in Dumfries and Galloway to come together and build it.’
It is a remarkable combination of world-class engineering and sheer alchemy. After seawater is pumped to the top of the tower, droplets gently cascade down the stacks of blackthorn branches, seeping along every twig and thorn. This maximises its exposure to the sun and wind, taking the brine from a concentration of 3-3.5% sodium chloride to the necessary 20-22%. It is then transferred to a ‘panhouse’ where the last 10% of water is evaporated, creating beautiful geometric salt crystals, each one of them unique.
‘The flow of the brine is handaltered by 54 wooden taps, looked after by Malky,’ says Gregorie, going on to explain the importance of carefully and continuously monitoring wind direction, wind speed, and intensity of sunlight throughout the process.
Intricately woven together in glistening stacks, the blackthorn itself – which is a sloe bush native to Scotland – will be held within the tower for around 10 years and then given back to the land to enrich the soil, contributing to Gregorie’s vision of a sustainable, environmentally friendly business. He has even designed the Blackthorn Salt box to avoid single-use plastic.
‘It’s not until you’re actually inside the tower that you fully appreciate the size of it,’ says Gregorie. ‘When you’re enclosed with the branches and you can just hear the water trickling down, it’s quite a calming, serene place to be in.’
The final product possesses a sepia hue, owing to tannins from the blackthorn, as well as a sweet, mellow flavour.
This incredible structure, towering high above Ayrshire, seems like a living and breathing sculpture; a work of art. But it’s more than that. Resurrecting an age-old tradition in an area where eight saltpans once stood within a four-mile radius, Gregorie and his team have set the bar high for the future of the industry. Sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and already on the radar of Scotland’s top chefs, the very essence of the West Coast is being brought back to our tables.