Re-surfacing

If anyone living in this area wondered why the road through Daisy Nook was closed last week, here's the reason why!

After months of work re-building the retaining walls alongside Stannybrook Road where it winds down the side of the valley, the road itself has been re-surfaced. The road is wide enough for little more than two cars and, as you can see, the tarmac laying machine takes up more than half of the road, so the road had to be closed while the work was being carried out.

This was the scene at the Failsworth end of Stannybrook Road, where it passes the Sul Lago restaurant (formerly the Crime View pub). The location can still boast a traditional K6 telephone box.

I came upon the work while I was enjoying a walk along the canal in Daisy Nook. If you click the StreetView link below and swivel to the right, you get a glimpse of Crime Lake through the trees.

The strip of fresh tarmac stretched right down the hill behind me toward the River Medlock. The machine still had to return and lay the tarmac on the other side of the road. I showed you a photo of road re-surfacing back in March but the road here is even narrower.

The drive down Stannybrook Road had become a bit rough so I am sure the finished road will be a great improvement!

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"Re-surfacing" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Crime Lake

Today's Sky Watch image is looking across Crime Lake, between Ashton and Oldham.

The weather has been rather hot lately, so the sky is rather hazy even though it was sunny. The hazy sky is reflected hazily on the surface of the lake.

In the distance can be seen the former cotton mills in Hathershaw. Apart from these distant glimpses of industry, you could imagine yourself to be miles from a town here.

Crime Lake was formed when the Hollinwood Canal was built on an embankment over a small valley, which was then allowed to fill up after a culvert collapsed. In Victorian and Edwardian times the lake was a popular destination for Sunday afternoons out.

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Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Riversvale Bridge

"B" is for "Bridge" and today's photo shows Riversvale Bridge, which crosses the River Medlock to the north of Ashton.

If you thought that Ashton under Lyne was completely made up of cotton mills and terraced brick houses then it may come as a surprise to find that this picture was taken within the boundary of Ashton.

The bridge at one time carried the winding main carriage road between Ashton and Oldham across the River Medlock, between Taunton and Bardsley, before the straight Turnpike road was built through Waterloo, taking a direct route.

These days the road across the bridge is used only by walkers, cyclists and horses making use of the network of paths in Daisy Nook Country Park. To the right of where I was standing to take the photo once stood the imposing Riversvale Hall demolished in the 1940s.

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"Riversvale Bridge" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "B" posts from around the world please follow this link.
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Weekend Reflections: Waterside Wander

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Where better for a Weekend Wander with the Autumn colours reflected in the water than along the bank of the disused Fairbottom Branch Canal? The canal runs along the boundary of Ashton under Lyne with Oldham, between Bardsley and Daisy Nook Country Park, where it joins the Hollinwood Canal.

It never fails to surprise me just what a haven of tranquillity exists between these two nearby industrial towns. The canal, of course, owns its existence to the area's industrial history, being built to transport coal from the pits that lined the river valley down to the cotton mills of Ashton and Manchester.

As the coal mines closed, so did the canal and, cut off from the waterway network, its route remains as a delight for anglers, walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

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For more Weekend Reflections from around the world, visit Newtown Area Photo.

Sky Watch: Sammy's Basin

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Today's Sky Watch shows Sammy's Basin in Daisy Nook Country Park, between Ashton and Oldham.

This is a return visit to the basin - we last saw it in March when it still looked fairly wintry.

The basin takes its name from Sammy Pearson, the canal's water bailiff, who lived in one of two cottages which at one time stood at the side of the basin, and who was a well-known character in the area. The basin, originally a round pound to store water between locks, is now a popular spot with local anglers.

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Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Sunday Stroll: Hollinwood Canal

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A very popular stroll to the north of Ashton is along the towpath of the old Hollinwood Canal as it passes through Daisy Nook Country Park.

This photo looks from the junction with the Fairbottom Branch of the canal towards Crime Lake. The spillway carries surplus water away down to the River Medlock.

Two walkers are crossing the bridge over the spillway, hotly pursued by a group of eight ducks who think that a plastic carrier bag means feeding time.

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Sky Watch: Sammy's Basin

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Today's Sky Watch shows Sammy's Basin in Daisy Nook Country Park, between Ashton and Oldham.

In March the trees are still bare against the warming sky, while the grass still has a brownish tint awaiting the new growth of Spring.

The basin was a storage pond between two locks on the now-disused Hollinwood Branch Canal. It takes its name from Sammy Pearson, the canal's water bailiff, who lived in one of two cottages which at one time stood at the side of the basin, and who was a well-known character in the area. The basin is now a popular spot with local anglers.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Waterhouses Locks

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Waterhouses Locks are a feature of the old canal remains in Daisy Nook Country Park, between Ashton and Oldham.

The derelict locks have been filled in but their mysterious shapes add interest to the area for the many visitors who come here for a walk.

Yesterday was a glorious sunny day in Ashton, sandwiched between two damp days, and people flocked to the area to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

Waterhouses was the original name for Daisy Nook, which was an invention of local writer Ben Brierley. The four locks and the big aqueduct that carried the Hollinwood Branch Canal through the area all bore the name of Waterhouses. The name has been largely forgotten these days.

"Waterhouses Locks" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.


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Goose

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"G" is for "Goose" and this one is strutting its stuff at Daisy Nook Country Park, between Ashton and Oldham.

There are a number of the proper white geese at Daisy Nook, but this one appears to have a touch of Canada Goose in its feathers! Canada geese are no longer a rarity in this country and are becoming something of a pest. In many places they have ousted the traditional white geese.

There are also swans and mallards on the canal at Daisy Nook, adding interest to a pleasant spot for a relaxing stroll!

Today's location is the same one seen here last month, but looking in the opposite direction!

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"Goose" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "G" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Daisy Nook

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"D" is for "Daisy Nook" and this photograph, taken this afternoon, shows part of Daisy Nook Country Park, on the border between Ashton and Oldham.

The water in the picture is the junction of the Hollinwood Canal and the Fairbottom Branch. These are the forgotten canals of the area, which the Hollinwood Canal Society has been working to preserve, with the aim of eventual restoration.

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"Daisy Nook" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "D" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Sunday Stroll: Boodle Woods

The ground throughout Boodle Woods, in Daisy Nook Country Park, is a carpet of golden leaves at this time of year. This is the footpath that leads from the former canal tunnel towards the site of Riversvale Hall. The River Medlock can be seen on the left, at the bottom of a steep slope.

A little further along this path was the location of this wintry scene that appeared in February.

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Sky Watch: Crime Lake

You wouldn't think that this scene is just a few miles from the centres of Ashton and Oldham - it is such an oasis of rural tranquility, with plenty of sky to add perfection to the photo!

Crime Lake is an unusual feature in Britain of being a lake that is part of a canal. The canal came into the lake bottom right and then curved round to the right, behind the tall trees. The towing path follows the edge of the water. The lake extends to the left and was formed when a small valley became flooded when a culvert under the canal embankment collapsed. Rather than re-build the culvert, the canal company bought the land in the valley and allowed it to flood.

In Victorian and Edwardian days Crime Lake was a popular destination for Sunday outings, with rowing boats and a steam launch offering visitors to chance to get afloat. Nowadays the lake is part of Daisy Nook Country Park and is popular with walkers and anglers.

The canal is now disused but the Hollinwood Canal Society have been carrying out work to preserve what is left and have ambitious plans to re-open the canal eventually.

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Sky Watch is the regular Friday feature on this photo blog. It will link with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Sunday Stroll: Sylvan Steps

Today's photo was taken on a recent stroll around Daisy Nook Country Park, situated between Ashton and Failsworth.

For some reason I had never come across this particular path before, leading from Sammy's Basin down towards the River Medlock. I was enchanted by the quality of the light trickling through the trees in this sylvan setting.

As the steps wind downwards between the trees there seems to be a compulsion to follow then and see where they lead!

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Daisy Nook Ducks

A family of ducks enjoys the June sunshine on the canal overspill in Daisy Nook Country Park.

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Sky Watch: Medlock Valley

Today's Sky Watch photo shows a cloudscape and treescape looking down the Medlock Valley from Daisy Nook.

Forty years ago you would have had a job to fins any trees here at all. Now you can't see the River Medlock in the bottom of the valley for all the trees. And all this just two miles from Ashton and three from Oldham!

Sky Watch is the regular Friday feature on this photo blog. It will link with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Sunday Stroll: Daisy Nook Horse Ride

This is a view of Daisy Nook Country Park not seen by many walkers as I had to step a couple of metres off the normal footpath to take this photo!

A horse ride or bridle path runs right through the Country Park and is well used by customers of the several stables and riding schools in the area. These rides are mostly separated from the footpaths to avoid conflict of interests. However, while enjoying my stroll, I looked through a gap in the hedge alongside the towpath of the Fairbottom Branch Canal and saw this delightful scene.

Who would have thought that this rural setting is less than two miles from the busy town centre of Ashton and less than three miles from Oldham?

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Sunday Stroll: Riversvale Drive

Riversvale Drive runs off the main Ashton to Oldham road near Bardsley Bridge. It heads towards Daisy Nook along the south side of the River Medlock.

It was originally a carriage drive from the turnpike road to Riversvale Hall, a grand house built in 1847 but demolished after a fire in 1948.

The path and the surrounding strip of woodland are now part of Daisy Nook Country Park and it is a popular route for casual walkers.

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Sunday Stroll: Boodle Woods in the Snow

Boodle Woods in Daisy Nook Country Park is always an interesting place to go walking, as long as you don't mind the steps that go up or down the steeper parts of the path.

In the snow of a couple of weeks ago, Boodle Woods felt magical. I almost expected Narnia's White Witch to arrive on a sleigh. For most of my walk I had the place to myself and experienced the peculiar stillness and quietness that you get when it snows. Luckily a couple of walkers and their dogs appeared to add a human touch to my otherwise empty photos!

In the Daisy Nook car park, just five minutes walk from this spot, the café was selling bacon butties and hot drinks!

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Fun in the Snow

With some of the local schools being closed during this week's wintry weather, some of the older children took themselves off to Daisy Nook Country Park to have a bit of fun in the snow.

Between Waterhouses Locks and the Fairbottom Branch of the canal, a grassy slope proves ideal for sledging. Children don't make home-made sledges from odd bits of wood, as they once might have, but instead buy ready-made plastic sliding devices. These are just as much fun when it comes to sliding down the hill, but don't hurt so much if they land on top of you when you fall off at the bottom!

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Sunday Stroll: Knott Lanes

This delightful wooded scene was photographed from the towpath of the Fairbottom Branch Canal, part of an easy walking route through Daisy Nook Country Park.

The horses are leaving the bridle path onto Knott Lanes, just downhill of Valley Aqueduct. Knott Lanes, now a dead end for motor vehicles, was once the main route between Ashton and Oldham. The River Medlock can be seen through the trees on the right, at the foot of a steep bank.

I was standing on the Oldham boundary, so everything you see in the photo is within the boundary of Ashton, proving that it is not all mills and chimneys!

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