Tameside & Rochdale

Well not really, it is in fact a view over to ‘Buckton Vale Quarry’ near the small town of Mossley and nearby Carbrook. We have followed the ‘New Direction’ road as seen in the preceding picture and now we have this fine winter vista. We had intended to walk down to the foot of that large dome where there is yet another small reservoir but these dark clouds forced us to turn tail. ps the quarry is used for gritstone and sandstone extraction. Enjoy full screen.

A walk above 'Higher Swineshaw reservoir' in Tameside. Another winter isolation walk for us, just a few minutes drive from our home. Enjoy full screen.

What can be more pleasant than a weekend walk along the canal on a dry sunny autumn morning? Here we are in the small town of Mossley, one of those places where new homes are springing up by the week, so a walk along the canal path with someone you love or maybe your dog is a real bonus. For me though, it would never be the same without such light and reflections that give me the feeling that someone more powerful is also accompanying us here. As is usual with my photos, best viewed full screen

A great week of local walks and photos brings me to a part of our Huddersfield canal that I rarely get to here at Mossley. We are lucky that the sun is bright but soft in the slight misty haze, and the leaves are still golden too. Another walker pushing a pram accompanied by his dogs and companion also enjoys the scene, and fresh air no doubt. Of course, as per usual, it’s the light that matters here for me. Enjoy full screen

Another moorland view, well above the hamlet of Carbrook. Here we also see an old pump-house and metallic structure. I once read that a large pipeline ran from another more local reservoir; Chew, to these just below me; Swineshaw. The idea was that the slightly higher Chew reservoir could keep these four reservoirs here topped up. Furthermore these here are all used for drinking whereas my local ones in Saddleworth are not. The tripod construction sits over a covered grid dropping deep to that pipe, so no doubt was used with a winch for transporting materials up and down the shaft. The pips shows Swineshaw reservoirs and Chew reservoir in Winter. Another best viewed full screen.

Our second big outing on the ease of our lock-down. At the foot of the Pennines here, not far from my home, a view of nature and mans work combined. You don't see too many walkers up here at all. Beneath us are two of the four reservoirs comprising what are commonly known as the Brushes Reservoir group. The nearest one here is 'Higher Swineshaw' with' Lower Swineshaw ' just in the far distance. To get here we have walked about 2.5 miles up past the reservoirs and over the dam wall of the higher reservoir. We are actually on a rather nice narrow path that still has the old iron railways lines just about showing under the grass, that once transported stone from the quarry's behind us to help in the building of theses reservoirs. Listen with me here and hear the sound of Meadow Pipits in the rustling grasses. Nice full screen.

Just after the steep valley of my path to here we arrive at last at the old Iron works itself. Now a heritage centre park with even a little café and local interest museum (unfortunately mostly closed). The big footprint area had lots of different buildings and the biggest that ran parallel to the valley bottom here has long since gone. Now try to imaging too, a giant railway viaduct arching over this valley in front of us starting and finishing above the high trees. Yes it was all there. See in the mono photo below. (pip) Wiki: “Samuel Lees junior founded Park Bridge ironworks in 1786 on 14 perches of land rented from the Earl of Stamford. Originally the ironworks produced raw iron; the ironworks was one of the largest in 19th century Tameside, and one of the earliest ironworks in the northwest. The ironworks which produced rivets for worldwide use was expanded including the construction of a weir and a water power building on the River Medlock. The success of the ironworks precipitated the construction of worker housing in the 1820s. Further worker housing was added in the 1840s and 1850s. The ironworks remained the largest such works in Tameside, including a nearby colliery and associated with the Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway. The ironworks started to decline at the end of the 19th century with the cessation of coal mining in the Medlock Valley in 1887. Competition from the steel industry over a long period and the closure of the railway in 1959 further dented the profits. The ironworks finally closed in 1963, still under the control of the Lees family. The abandoned ironworks fell into decay and was demolished or reduced to ruins in the 1970s. In 1975 the Medlock and Tame Valley Conservation Association opened the Park Bridge Museum to encourage interest in the historical significance of Park Bridge. In 1986, the museum became a visitor centre, and in 1995 was renamed the Park Bridge Heritage Centre. " This is the end of this journey into my local countryside and industrial heritage. Thanks for joining me here. As usual best view full screen. PiPs Ps The figure in blue is my grandson.

A high view of the path through this rocky area. The River Medlock winds below us and we can just about see on the far bottom bend, the fenced off area recently used in my recent HFF contribution. To get to this high point, I have to walk down this path for some distance more, past the weir, over the bridge and then past the pump house. All recently catalogued here. As can be ascertained and reasoned, this is part of our recent socially isolated exercise walk in these days of Covid 19, and you can perhaps see why, too. Our walk started a couple of miles up through this valleys beyond the distant farm house. Best full size.

This little corner was part of the coal colliery that was sited here. It will have certainly have housed a steam engine as running from here and still present is a small water-way that leads to the weir. Later in its life it was also used in conjunction with the nearby iron works. To me, it has always been a ruin, that should not be a surprise as the cessation of coal mining here was in 1887. Nice full screen.

HFF wishes from the Park Bridge Country Park. We are just approaching the steep rocky valley, outlined in the series of photos before this. These fences stop people and animals venturing into the two small area’s which are in fact depressions in the ground with now covered deep holes, possibly caused by mining tunnel collapses as this was coal mining country. This at one time would have been a busy place but now it’s generally quite lonely. The trees are a new addition. HFF, enjoy your weekend

A single track railway line went over this narrow bridge at one time and I am old enough to remember seeing Steam-shunters going over it too. To the left of the river here were old coal mine workings and a steam pump-house -hence the weir. The track to the right went through quarries and into a big iron works including foundries that made railway lines etc. All gone now, since many years. Enjoy the colours in the still water today.

A vision to cool you down in this hot start of Summer. Another reflective view of the small pond created by the weir. This one taken some time back, way in 2010 with my Olympus. Notice the absence of trees on the clifftops and hills compared with today. Nice full screen

Continuing with this series, here is the same waterfall/weir photo but in Winter. This taken just a couple of years back now so you can see how often I walk this way. Quite a different feeling to the Summer shot here. Enjoy full screen.

A view here of this, what we used to call 'The waterfall' in the country park of Park Bridge. Always a pleasant sight, especially in this lighting. many times I have seen people taking a quick picnic sat on the rocks on the left here. On our return trip today, we passed some boys taking a quick dip in here in their underclothes. Not a thing that I would do, as in years passed, this was one of the most polluted rivers in this area. See too, my alternative views and times here. (ps -this is my second posting as I accidentally deleted this from here some minutes back.)

Put here to accompany the adjacent photo of the same scene taken a few days back (May 2020). This taken a few years back in Jan 2014, experimenting in long exposures (see exif here).

Another look at this area, this time looking across the small damming of the river by a weir resulting in a small mirror lake. To the left of this used to be a small canal like structure which fed water to a steam water-pumping house. Yes, this was coal mining country. High above are the cliffs of 'Roger Rocks' which I can remember finding fossils in, when I was a kid exploring this area. You see here our lonely path to the right too. Enjoy full screen.

As we here in England take the first steps to normalisation in this C19 lockdown, we get natures reply. Taken on a recent isolation exercise walk, this is along a place I know as ‘Roger Rocks’. In reality it is part of the larger Country Park area called ‘Park-Bridge’ in Ashton-under-Lyne. Running down the centre of the photo from left to right is the River Medlock, almost in draught condition. Of course the colours and verdant wild-flowers of late May in this beautiful lighting attracted me to this. As usual best view full screen on black.

These residential back-gardens are locked in by fences, a little like our lives by this C19 virus. On a brighter note, we see here a favourite reflection subject along this stretch of the ‘Peak Forest Canal’ in Greater Manchester. HFF, enjoy the weekend.