Hartshead Pike

This week's Sky Watch is a return visit to Hartshead Pike. This pointed tower is situated on the prominent hill called Hartshead Pike about 3 miles north-east of the centre of Ashton and is one of my favourite places to photograph. As we saw a couple of weeks ago, it is not the highest hill in the area but its prominent position means it can be seen from many places. In turn this means that the Pike is a splendid viewpoint. It is also a fabulous place to come and watch the sun setting.

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!

Looking down on Hartshead Pike

This week's Sky Watch shows you an unusual view of Hartshead Pike - looking down on it from higher ground!

This blog has shown many photographs of the iconic tower on top of the hill known as Hartshead Pike. Half a mile east of the pike is Brown Edge, overlooking Mossley. This is not as prominent as Hartshead Pike, but is higher. The summit is marked by an Ordnance Survey trig point, seen here a few weeks ago. Today's photo is the view looking from that trig point down towards Hartshead Pike, with Ashton down to the left of it and Audenshaw Reservoirs visible behind it. If you click the image to see the larger version, you may just be able to make out a small and indistinct shape which is Joddrell Bank radio telescope, on the horizon between the trig point and Hartshead Pike. On the extreme left of the photo you can just see Alderley Edge on the horizon.

The photo features two objects pointing skywards. If Father Ted was here, he might point out that this one is small and that one is far away...

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!

Hartshead Pike

This week's Sky Watch features another visit to Hartshead Pike, the hilltop location just within Ashton's eastern boundary.

As the sun set over a hazy horizon, the massive outline of the tower contrasts with the darkening wintry sky behind.

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Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

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!

Hello, I'm on the Skyline...

Hello dear. I'm on the skyline! No, the skyline. You know - the horizon.

Yes, I'm just taking the dog for a walk up near Hartshead Pike. Would you believe it - there's some bloke crouched down in the grass over there taking a photo of me. Or maybe he's trying to photograph the sunset. I'd better get out of his way, otherwise I might spoil his photo by making an interesting silhouette against the colourful sky.

Okay dear, I'll be back home in about ten minutes....

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Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

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!

Photo of the Year 2011

During the year, many of you have been rating the photos that have appeared on this blog using the 5-star system below each post. Having now looked at the ratings for all of 2011's posts, I have found that the clear winner was this atmospheric evening view of Hartshead Pike:



Just for a change, this is the first time that the Photo of the Year has not been a snow scene! However, Hartshead Pike is always a popular subject and last year's Photo of the Year was a snow scene that included Hartshead Pike!

Sorry, but I didn't have time to draw up a short list of photos this year and had to rely entirely on the 5-star rating system, so please don't forget to rate the photos during 2012!

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View the Photos of the Year on other photo blogs by visiting City Daily Photos.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Thank you for visiting this blog during 2011. I wish you all the best for 2012 and hope to have the pleasure of your company here during the year.

A  Happy New Year  to you all!

Hartshead Pike Again

For today's Sky Watch image we pay a return visit to Hartshead Pike.

This photo was taken on the same evening as last week's photo, but looking in the other direction, away from the setting sun. The only tree anywhere near the summit of Hartshead Pike bends its barren branches towards the sky and the pointed tower.

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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!

Hartshead Pike

Today's Sky Watch image shows the tower on the summit of Hartshead Pike.

It is a long time since I included a photo of this well-known local landmark, which stands on the hill between Ashton and Mossley. Hartshead Pike commands a wide view westwards and is a wonderful spot for watching sunsets.

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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!


P.S. Apology to last week's visitors: I am sorry to say that there was a broken link to the larger version of last week's photo. The link is now mended but, if you missed it, the larger image can be viewed here. Sorry if this spoiled your enjoyment of last week's Sky Watch contribution from this blog.

Hartshead Inn

Today's Sky Watch image shows the Hartshead Inn, situated off Mossley Road in Ashton, with Hartshead Pike on the skyline in the background. The pointed tower which sits atop the pike is echoed by the picture on the pub sign. The tower and the chimney both draw the eye to the cloudscape above.

For most of its life the building was known as Tongue Bottom Farm and this name is inscribed on the stone mill wheel seen below the sign. The original Hartshead Inn, on Lees Road, was always known as The Red House and changed its name to just that. Tongue Bottom Farm was converted into a pub with large dining areas and it is a popular place for Ashtonians to drive up to for a meal.

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See Google Street 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!

Watching the Setting Sun

Surely one of life's little pleasures must be sitting on a hill watching the sunset? If you are in Ashton there is no better place to do this than Hartshead Pike, just a couple of miles north east of the town.

As a recent gorgeous sunny day drew to an end, I went up to "The Pike" to see the sunset. Unsurprisingly I was not the only person to have that idea. This couple and their dog had walked up from nearby Mossley to enjoy the spectacle.

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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!

Sky Watch: Tails and Trails

This week's "Sky Watch" image shows a couple of horses grazing in a field at Tonguebottom on the slopes of Hartshead Pike.

The horses are posing in such a way that their tails cannot be seen. However, that is more than made up for by the aircraft trails in the sky.

One recent vapour trail is still clearly seen, with another starting to spread out. Some strange atmospheric quirk that afternoon meant that trails from earlier in the day, rather than vanishing, had spread out into thin curtains.

The tower on top of Hartshead Pike can be seen in the centre of the image. Tongebottom, where the photo was taken, is the upper part of the valley in which Knott Hill Reservoir is situated. Before Knott Hill Reservoir was built to supply Ashton with water, a small reservoir (of which there is now very little trace) was situated at Tongebottom (or Tom Bottom, as it was known at that time), behind the present Hartshead Inn. Eventually the catchment area of the valley was not great enough to satisfy Ashton's demand for water, and the supply was pumped through from Brushes Valley and Swineshaw Reservoirs in Millbrook.

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See Bird's 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!

Waiting at the Gate

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"W" is for "Waiting at the Gate" and today's photo shows a horse doing just that. There isn't much grass to nibble at when snow is covering much of it, so there is no harm in hoping that someone will come along with something else to eat!

The horse is in a field at Broadcarr, on the slopes of Hartshead Pike. We saw the horse's companion in this field in an earlier photo.

"Waiting at the Gate" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "W" posts from around the world please follow this link.
Please leave a comment below.

Sky Watch: Wintry Sun

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Today's "Sky Watch" image shows a weak wintry sun attempting to make itself visible through thin cloud behind the tower on the summit of Hartshead Pike.

The snow in the field is not very deep but that is because the strong winds had blown it into deep drifts against boundary walls and in nearby lanes. On my walk on that particular day along the top section of Lily Lanes, I had to plunge through snow drifts three to four feet deep in places!

The black line separating the sky from the ground is actually a dry stone wall that runs along the top of the ridge.

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!

Sky Watch: Watching the Sun Go Down

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Standing on a hill watching the sun go down is one of life's pleasurable experiences! Not only that, but it is free and in full colour!

I am often drawn to the hills above Ashton to watch the sun set and, as you can see, I am not alone in this!

Today's photo was taken near Lily Lanes on the slopes of Hartshead Pike, looking across towards Winter Hill and Bolton.

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!

Sky Watch: Millstone Monument

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Today's Sky Watch photo shows the small structure made from old mill stones on the summit of Hartshead Pike.

This marks the site of the original tower that stood on the hill top before the present tower was built on a more prominent spot a few yards to the south.

See Bird's 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!

Heather on the Hill

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"H" is for "Heather on the Hill" and today's photo shows the heather on the hilltop at Hartshead Pike above Ashton.

There are only small areas of heather here, unlike on the slopes of the Pennine moorland, a mile or so to the east.

The photo looks southwards from the slopes of the pike, towards Luzley, Ridge Hill and Hough Hill, with the hills of the Peak District in the background.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

"Heather on the Hill" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "H" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Sky Watch: Broadcarr

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Today's Sky Watch photo is another sunset scene at Broadcarr, between Ashton and Mossley.

The sun has recently sunk down below the hill behind Hartshead Pike but the golden sunshine still lights up the clouds.

See Google Street 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!

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!

Sky Watch: Hartshead Pike

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A striking photo of Hartshead Pike, my favourite location, taken last week on the same walk as last week's Sky Watch photo.

The setting sun lit up the silky wisps of wafer-thin cloud that was making extraordinary patterns and textures. I'm sure I'll be able to find yet another photo from that evening for you soon...

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!

Sky Watch: Broadcarr

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This lovely cloudscape was captured looking towards Broadcarr, on the ridge between Ashton and Mossley.

It is a wonderful combination of different cloud textures lit by a disappearing sun.

On the left of the photo you can see the tower on Hartshead Pike, which has features in so many previous Sky Watch posts!

See Google Street 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!

Sky Watch: Hartshead Pike

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Another fabulous evening sky over Hartshead Pike, on the ridge between Ashton and Mossley.

If you are thinking that my camera wasn't quite straight when I was taking this shot, then fear not - it was the tower that was leaning, not me!

See Birds Eye View of this location.

See Google Street 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!