Over Yonder Bridge

The footbridge from the Peak Forest Canal towpath by Adamsons Industrial Estate to Raglan Street at Over Yonder was declared unsafe in 2006. Neither British Waterways, Tameside Council nor the owners of the industrial estate have agreed who is responsible for its repair and so it remains closed.

See its reflection in the canal on Hyde Daily Photo.

See the original photograph from which this was selectively cropped on the Geograph website, or all 49 photographs (with slideshow) from my walk of April 10th on the Geotrips website.

If you look closely (click your mouse on the photo to enlarge it) you should be able to make out a heron on the towpath. It flew across to the opposite bank later: see the photographs I posted of it last Saturday.

This is an early contribution to Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

What difference a day makes

The grassland at Swains Valley was covered in dandelions and daisies on Tuesday morning. There is a closer view of the flowers on Hyde Daily Photo.

On Thursday morning a council worker came round and mowed the grass.

Onward Chambers; A choice of Two

The first Onward Chambers in Hyde is at 34 Market Street. In Kelly's 1914 Directory it was listed as being the offices of the Brittanic Assurance Co. Now it is home to the restaurant, "Taste of India". For a clear look at the name over the door see Hyde Daily Photo.

The second Onward Chambers is on Onward Street. Recently it was the offices of the software company Wax Digital but now it is the home of the Hyde Islamic Resource Centre.

The lintel of the latter is in a distressed state.

For more O posts visit ABC Wednesday.

An old picture of St George's Church

The earliest known picture of St George's dates back to 1840. It was found recently in a distressed state and fragments were carefully pieced together and stuck on a mount.

In the foreground is a horse-drawn barge on the Peak Forest Canal. Midground is the valley of the Gower Hey Brook before it became filled with trees, houses and allotments. The artist appears to have taken a little license with the tallness of the tower.

I took a photograph of this and then used PaintShop Pro to remove blemishes and restore the colour.

You can view my "restored" picture on Old Hyde.

The road from Ennerdale

This is the road from Ennerdale, the last of the new homes to be constructed on the site of the former Automasters Engineering Works.

The trees casting their shadows across the road are on the banks of the Wilson Brook, an area which lay invisible to the public for years inside Automasters.

Beyond the railings is the Peak Forest Canal by the now spruced-up sluice gates.

See "The Ennerdale" under construction on Hyde Daily Photo.

Find more shadow shots for Sunday on Hey Harriet.

This is one of 49 photographs from a stroll along the Peak Forest Canal on April 10th 2011. See them in a sideshow on the Geo-trip website.

More shots of the heron

Here are three more shots of the heron I saw a couple of weeks ago by the Peak Forest Canal at Over Yonder.

You can see it with its reflection in the canal on Hyde Daily Photo.

I have to wonder if it is the same heron I saw in the same place two years ago.

You can view a slide show of all the photos I took that day on the Geo-trips website.

Free Parking, for now

For many years now the upper floors of the Clarendon Multi-story car park have offered free car parking for shoppers between 9.30 am and 6.30 pm.

Now (click on the image below to enlarge and read the full notice) the council are planning to extend parking charges to include the upper floors.


You can see the scale of charges in yesterday's post on Hyde Daily Photo and a close-up of the gate on today's post.

Goose at Woodend

A goose in one of the allotments at Woodend.

See the wider view on Hyde Daily Photo.

Roadworks on Hamnett Street

They were digging a hole in Hamnett Street the other week.

It was outside #3 which a century ago was home to a firm of undertakers - see today's post on Old Hyde for more information.

There is a closer view of the hole on Hyde Daily Photo.

Hattersley Pigeons

As I walked over the bridge on the A560 into Hattersley a few weeks ago I saw these pigeons perched there.

As I approached them they flew off, but after I'd passed by they returned as you can see on Hyde Daily Photo.

Mossy Logs

These old logs were part of the vast Gower Hey Wood. They lie now in a swamp crossed by duckboards.

Although these trees have died, life continues in the form of moss growing on the dead wood.

See the duckboards on Hyde Daily Photo which tomorrow celebrates five years by moving to http://hydedaily.blogspot.com/

Five Mile April Run

On Mothering Sunday last weekend some 100 athletes gathered at Swains Valley for a five mile run to Werneth Low and back.

(click on photos to view larger versions)
all photos © Gerald England


The event was organised by Jason Chapman the manager of Sweatshop Hyde.


Here the runners are leaving Swains Valley to join the Trans Pennine Trail.


Already some runners are cutting through the trees rather than rounding the pathway.


As they head along the trail towards Stockport Road, at least nobody is running down the bridlepath.


Half an hour later and the first returning runner (on the right) watches the fourth finisher come in.


The club have a facebook page which is open to public view.

A full report on the race can be found at the Kiwi Classic Events website.

Another of my photographs of the race can be found on Hyde Daily Photo.

Hattersley Boundary Stone

This boundary stone lies by the side of the A560 as one enters Hattersley from Stockport. I'm not sure how long the stone has been there nor have I been able to discover the provenance of the heraldry.

For its wider context see Hyde Daily Photo.

Norbury House

Norbury House on Great Norbury Street was a rest home for the elderly. It is not currently listed by Tameside MBC and I believe it is now closed.