The trams are coming!

The trams are coming back towards Ashton! It was in 1938 that the traditional trams stopped running in Ashton. Now, 75 years later, the new second-generation trams are heading back to the town.

Today saw the newest tram line of Manchester's Metrolink system opening as far as Droylsden. The rest of the line from Droylsden to Ashton is expected to be open some time within the next year.

The photo shows one of the new trams leaving Droylsden and heading towards Manchester and then on to Bury.

A Metrolink leaflet giving information about the new line can be found here. (.pdf) A map of the route under construction between Droylsden and Ashton can be found here. (.pdf)

When the line is complete, the trams will run every 6 minutes between Ashton and Manchester, transforming public transport in the world of Ashton under Lyne!

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"The trams are coming!" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Fairfield

A rural village? A small country town? No - this is Fairfield Moravian Settlement, in Droylsden, just 3 miles west of Ashton.

This delightful corner of My World could be in a time warp if it wasn't for the cars parked in the street.

The settlement was built in 1785, at a time when all around was fields. It had its own church, schools and inn. In 1796 the Ashton Canal was built, skirting the northern boundary of the settlement. Cotton mills, factories and rows of houses sprung up all around and yet Fairfield remained a haven of tranquillity.

One of the schools remains open as Fairfield Girls' School, a popular high school that occupies a combination of historic and modern buildings. The settlement is sometimes used as a location for television programmes.

For more information about Fairfield Moravian Settlement see this web page. For information about opening times for the Museum in Fairfield Moravian Settlement see this web page.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

Sky Watch: Hartshead Pike

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I can't stay away from Hartshead Pike, especially when there's a fine sunset. I have taken many photos here, each one markedly different.

This hilltop, just within Ashton's eastern boundary, with its dramatic pointed tower, attracts many visitors, as can be seen from this photo taken a couple of days ago. It is not very often that you get the place to yourself!

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. You are most welcome!

Box of Delights

What a pleasing sight! Just three miles to the west of Ashton town centre is this Victorian pillar box situated on the edge of the Fairfield Moravian Settlement in Droylsden.

I'll show photos of Fairfield settlement itself later on, but I thought you would like to see the colourful blooms surrounding this attractive post box before they wilt!

See Google Aerial View of this location.
See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.