Blandford Street

Blandford Street is typical of many of the streets of terraced brick houses in Ashton. The houses in this area were built in the late 19th Century on streets which formed a grid pattern.

The photo looks eastwards towards the town centre from close to the junction with Richmond Street. Assheton House, a block of flats, is prominent in the distance.

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Photographing the Sunset

When I went up to Hartshead Pike a couple of weeks ago, I found that I wasn't the only one who had gone up there to photograph the sunset. In fact there were at least three others there with cameras pointing westwards!

The others had much fancier cameras than me, with filters and so on. I found that, although the sunset was colourful, the limited amount of cloud made it too dull as a subject by itself. So, being a bit devious, I decided to photograph the photographer (or one of them, at least). He is using the stone pillar, a few yards north of Hartshead Pike tower, to steady himself as he gets his shot of the sunset.

This was the same evening that I took last week's photo of the two figures silhouetted against the sky.

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!

Currier Lane

This is the view looking down the western end of Currier Lane towards Scotland Street, with the tower of Ashton's Parish Church in the background.

Now a quiet backwater, Currier Lane is an ancient highway and was the main route towards Stalybridge and Mottram before the present A635 Stamford Street East was built.

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Henrietta Street

Looking north up Henrietta Street at Lees Field, with Lord Street to the left and Canterbury Street a short way ahead on the right.

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Mossley on Monday: Toll House

Today's photo shows the former toll house on Manchester Road in Mossley.

Manchester Road was built in 1825 by a private turnpike trust who charged tolls for users of the road. A gate or bar blocked the road, which was opened on payment of the toll. The toll gate keeper lived in the cottage so that he was available throughout the day.

Before 1825 there was no road running along the valley bottom. The earlier turnpike roads, Stockport Road and Huddersfield Road had run high up along the valley sides.

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Sky Watch: Walking along the Skyline

While out for an evening stroll with my camera at Hartshead Pike last Saturday I noticed this gentleman and young girl walking along the top of the ridge. They made wonderful silhouettes against the dying sky so I started to take photos. The gentleman apologised for getting in my way!

I hope you spot this, sir, and thank you for being in the right place at the right time! Another image may well appear here in a few weeks.

The distant outline of Winter Hill can be seen in the background on the right.

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!

Stamford Street West

Stamford Street West looks very different today than it did when I first saw it nearly 40 years ago. At that time the main A635 road from Barnsley to Manchester ran down Stamford Street westwards, with eastbound traffic going up up Old Street. The building on the right was Ashton's swimming baths and the street was lined with shops that were still quite busy, although fading a little.

In today's view, looking eastwards from Henry Square, this section of the street is nearly deserted. The shops are gone and replaced by the area's health offices on one side and car parking on the other. The old swimming baths has stood empty for over 30 years. The area is still in the process of being regenerated and life brought back to it.

In the distance the tower of the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels can be seen, with the Pennine hills in the distance.


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Town Hall Steps

One of Ashton's landmarks is its Town Hall with its grand steps running down to the Market ground.

The original part of the building, seen here with its Corinthian columns, was opened in 1840. Inside the main entrance was the Mayor's Parlour to the left and the Committee Room to the right. Upstairs was the large hall for formal occasions such as banquets. There was originally a Police Station in the back of the building.

Parts of the building now accommodate the Museum of the Manchesters.

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Sunday Stroll: Woodland Waterway

A stroll along the canal towpath is a nice easy way of getting a bit of fresh air and there are plenty of places to walk by a canal within easy reach of Ashton.

Today's photo shows the wooded section of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal between Stalybridge and Mossley. Locks 9w and 10w are close together, so the short pound between sometimes gets a bit shallow.

There was at one time a lock keeper's cottage on the right next to this lock, but that has long since gone, along with lock keepers.

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Highland Laddie

The Highland Laddie pub on Old Street started life in 1813 and was the Spinners Arms until 1820.

It was re-built in 1900, along with the neighbouring properties, to form a terrace with the present rather grand frontage.

In recent years it has been known as the Camel Bar.

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