Sunday Stroll: Knott Hill Reservoir (2)

For this week's Sunday Stroll picture we pay a return visit to Knott Hill Reservoir.

Of course, looking at this photo, you may well wonder where the water is! Knott Hill is a reservoir that is no longer in use. Much of the reservoir bed has gone back to nature, with bushes and trees growing, with a much smaller area of water in the lowest part of the reservoir bed. The path you see in the photo runs right around the old reservoir and originally was at the water's edge! The tree-filled valley was originally where the water was!

This is the point where the footpath that starts from Gorsey Lane, Hazelhurst, meets the path around the reservoir. It is a pleasant and popular short walk.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

The Junction Again

Today we have another visit to The Junction Inn at Hazelehurst, which we saw last week, but this time from the opposite direction.

This view is looking from Old Road, across Mossley Road towards Luzley Lane. There are bollards and a "keep left" island at the road junction to stop large vehicles taking a short cut along Gorsey Lane.

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

Up The Junction

Today's photo shows the Junction Inn on Mossley Road at Hazelhurst.

There have been three Junction Inns in Ashton - this one, the one on Turner Lane and one on Portland Street whose site is now part of the Ashton Bypass.

The Junction at Hazelhurst dates from 1835. In 1861 the landlord was charged with keeping a disorderly house after a visit by a plain-clothes policeman following complaints of after hours drinking on a Sunday!

The reason for the name of the pub is clear - it stands at the meeting of roads radiating in five directions! The modern A670 Mossley Road was the newer turnpike road, built around the 1830s, cutting across the older route (Old Road, Luzley Lane) at its junction with Gorsey Lane, as can be seen clearly on the Google aerial view.

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

Hazelhurst Road

Another visit today to Hazelhurst, on the eastern edge of Ashton.

Today's view is looking down Hazelhurst Road from near its junction with Old Road, with the junction of Ashbourne Road visible a short way ahead. This is the highest estate in Ashton and gets more snow than other parts! From the little park on the left there are long range views across Cheshire with Jodrell Bank telescope visible on the horizon.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Hazelhurst

Hazelhurst estate is the most easterly part of the built-up area of Ashton. It lies between Mossley Road and Gorsey Lane, near the site of the former Hazelhurst Mill, a small early cotton mill which was in operation between the 1790s and 1880s. The photo shows Hazelhurst Road, with the estate's shops on the left.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Sunday Stroll: Knott Hill Reservoir

Another popular short walk near Ashton is to Knott Hill Reservoir, in the valley between Hartshead and Hazelhurst.

The reservoir was built shortly after 1835 to replace the earlier and smaller Tongue Bottom (Tombottom) reservoir a short distance higher up the valley, behind the present Hartshead Inn.

Knott Hill Reservoir is no longer used and its water level was dropped to the present level when the dam embankment showed signs of instability. The photo was taken from the path that ran around the original waterline of the reservoir, which can also be seen on the opposite side and gives a good idea of how deep the reservoir was when it was in use.

Today it is managed by Tameside Countryside Service as a nature reserve and the path around the outside is a popular walking route. Hartshead Pike is seen on the hill in the background, enticing the more energetic walker!

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Gorsey Farm Cottage

A face-on view of Gorsey Farm Cottage, which was seen on Saturday's visit to Gorsey Lane.

The date stone over the door reads AD 1766. When the farmhouse was built it was surrounded by fields but in the 1790s Hazelhurst Nill, a small cotton mill was built on the opposite side of the lane. This early mill was powered by a horse walking round and round. A four-storey extension to the mill was built in the 1850s, by which time it was powered by steam and employed 50 people. It was rebuilt after a fire, but a second fire in 1883 closed it for good and there are now houses on the site.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Gorsey Lane

Looking down Gorsey Lane, from the junction with Ashbourne Drive, Hazelhurst. Gorsey Farm Cottage is on the right, with The Peaks pub further down on the right, beyond the pedestrians, who are opposite the chippie. The tennis courts seen yesterday are out of sight around the bend at the bottom of the hill, after the main road turns left to become Kings Road.

The layout of the road junction in the foreground changed a few years back, with traffic from the right having to give way to traffic from Ashbourne Drive. Behind the camera, the road narrows as it curves around towards the Junction pub and Mossley Road.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Alphabet Friday - Tennis Courts

"T" is for "Tennis" and these two tennis courts at Rose Hill Tennis Club are hidden away at the top end of Gorsey Lane, not for from The Peaks pub in the Hazelhurst area.

There are not many tennis courts left in the area now. I think there are some at West End Park and Stamford Park.

See Google Aerial View of this location.