Photo View of 2012 - part two

As the year draws to its close I have been taking a look back over some of the photos that have appeared here in 2012. Part one appeared yesterday and part two today - in the final hours of the year.

It was a disappointing year weather-wise with some really hot days but also with more than our usual share of rain and dismal days.

The second half of the year included the Heritage Open Days which included the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of the historic Parish Church and to climb the church tower to get a different perspective on the town.

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Part one can be seen here.

Thank you for visiting this blog during 2012. I wish you all the best for 2013 and hope to have the pleasure of your company here during the year.

A  Happy New Year  to you all!

"Photo View of 2012" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Photo View of 2012 - part one

As the year draws to its close I am taking a look back over some of the photos that have appeared here in 2012.

Among the images are pictures of the Olympic Torch being carried through Ashton, the archaeological dig and historical re-enactment at Newton Hall and the Whit Friday brass band contests.

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Part two will be posted tomorrow.

Christmas Lights

Christmas Eve's view of My World shows the Arcades shopping mall in Ashton with its festive lights helping to get shoppers into the Christmas spirit!

A  Merry   Christmas  to all followers of this blog! Thank you for visiting.
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"Christmas Lights" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Going places

This week's Sky Watch simply shows what you might see unexpectedly when casting your eyes upwards. It is not unusual to see a vapour trail (or "contrail") as an airliner passes high overhead. It was rather surprising to see three in what appeared to be close proximity.

Of course, even though it looked as if these planes were close together, there would have been differences of thousands of feet vertically between them.

Planes fly fairly low across Ashton on their way to land at Manchester Airport. However, Ashton is also under several of the higher level air corridors. The plane to the right has most probably come from London and is heading towards North America over part of the Arctic. The two heading in the same direction may be heading for somewhere like Schiphol or Frankfurt.

A useful website which will show you where the planes you can see have come from and where they are going is flightradar24.com. When you look up and see planes flying in all directions, it is sometimes interesting to give a thought to the places where all those travellers are going!

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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!

Christmas Trees

"Wanna Christmas tree? Pot plant, perhaps? A bit of greenery to brighten up the home on these dark and cold December evenings?

"What's that? No, sorry - that big one with the lights on over by the Town Hall isn't for sale. Besides, you'd have a job to get it into the taxi. Now - how about this nice one at the front?"

This week's view of My World shows a cold Ashton Market with only a few hardy shoppers braving the wind while others take refuge in the Market Hall or the Arcades mall. However, I'm sure that, when Christmas gets closer, the tree trade will become brisk!

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

Mossley Station

Mossley Station is just two stops up the line from Ashton, but the area surrounding it is very different. The railway runs along the side of the Tame Valley and Mossley os surrounded by the steep Pennine hills.

A damp December evening provides the atmospheric setting, as the lights reflect on the wet car park and platform, and the darkening outline of the hills forms the backdrop.

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

Hamilton Street

The City Daily Photo theme for the beginning of December is "My Street". The photo shows Hamilton Street in Ashton's West End.

This is not the street where I live (stalkers, please take note) but I have chosen it for today's theme as it is so typical of the streets in Ashton under Lyne.

Like most of the housing built in the town 100 to 150 years ago, the street is made up of neat terraces of red brick houses. Even so, the houses are not all the same - those on the left have small front gardens. Those on the right have decorative stonework over the windows and doors.

The many rows of similar houses throughout Ashton were built to accommodate the workers of the cotton manufacturing mills that had sprung up around the town. The houses of Hamilton Street would have been built for the workers of Ryecroft Mill, seen in the background.

These days the cotton spinning machines have gone and the mill produces Weetabix rather than cloth.

See Google Street View of this location.

"Hamilton Street" is a contribution to the City Daily Photo theme day "My Street". Click here to see other streets from around the world.

Ashton Parish Church

This week's view of My World shows a view of the interior of Ashton's historic Parish Church. This is the parish church of St Michael and All Angels and there was a church on this site before the Norman Conquest. The earliest parts of the present building date back to the 15th Century although most of what you see in the photo only dates back to Victorian times, when the church was given a major update.

The altar is at the far end, below the ancient flags and the huge east window. The church has boxed pews which all face the unusual three-tiered pulpit which can be seen half-way down the nave on the left hand side.

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

Ashton Market Again

This week's Sky Watch shows another view of Ashton's open market. It was taken a little earlier in November, before the trees shook off the last of their leaves.

In the background, the Town Hall can be seen. To the left of that is part of the Tameside Council offices which are apparently doomed to disappear.

The thinning trees, along with the empty hanging-basket frames on the lamp post, frame the pleasant autumn sky.

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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!

Albion Church

This week's Sky Watch shows Albion Church on Stamford Street East.

Ashton was a hotbed of non-conformist and independent worship in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a wide variety of churches attracting congregations. Albion United Reform Church opened in 1895 as a Congregationalist church, but it had its origins in a room in a house as early as 1780. A Refuge Chapel was opened on Penny Meadow in 1817, enlarged and rebuilt as Albion Chapel in 1834. When the present magnificent building was constructed, the congregation insisted that it be called a church rather than a chapel, as they refused to think of themselves as in any way inferior to their Anglican neighbours. This spirit of rivalry resulted in the spire being built two feet taller than the tower of the Parish Church!

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!

St James' Church

This week's Sky Watch shows St James' Church on Cowhill Lane, which punctuates the sky with its twin spires.

The church of St James the Apostle, opened in 1865. The land was given by the Earl of Stamford and most of the £3,500 cost of building was met bt mill owner Oldham Whittaker.

There is a plaque commemorating John Bradford of Manchester, a Christian martyr burnt at the stake in 1555.

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!

Ashton Market

This week's view of My World shows Ashton's open market. As you can see, it was very sunny for a November afternoon but, not surprisingly, it wasn't too warm.

In the background, the market hall has Christmas lights fitted to the walls, as have the lamp posts around the market, in readiness for the season ahead.

I hope my brief absence has not caused withdrawal symptoms for regular visitors!

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

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!

Albion Church

This week's view of My World shows Albion Church seen from the tower of Ashton Parish Church. Albion Church was the largest Congregationalist church in the north of England.

In the foreground is Ashton's telephone exchange and behind the church is Tameside College. Behind that is Ridge Hill, covered with houses and dwarfed by the bulk of the Pennine hills in the background.

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

Roughtown

This week's Sky Watch shows you a view along the Tame Valley towards the part of Mossley called Roughtown.

The view is from Mossley Hall, formerly a mill owner's house then later the local town hall. St John's Church, Roughtown, dominates the skyline with it steeple. To the right of that is the hill Wharmton, with a television mast on its summit.

In the middle distance the Manchester to Huddersfield railway line and the A635 road curve around the side of the valley. On the left is the former gatehouse to Mossley Hall and, behind it, the tower on the former Wesleyan Sunday School. This dramatic view is only 4 miles from the centre of Ashton.

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!

Wet and Windy

This week's view of My World shows a damp view of Ashton Market.

Wet and windy weather, such as we have had today, is not good news for the stallholders on the outside market as many of the shoppers hurry quickly between the Arcades shopping centre and the Market Hall. Ans who can blame them?

In the background is the same fruit and veg stall seen here last week.

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

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!

Market Stall

This week's view of My World shows a market stall on Ashton Market.

The stall is one of the fruit and vegetable stalls - the one at the end facing the indoor Market Hall. The clock tower of the Market Hall can be seen to the right of the picture. In the background are glimpses of the grey stone of the Town Hall and the red brick of the former fire station.

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

Ten Houses

This week's view of My World shows the remote terrace of cottages known appropriately as Ten Houses. The row is surrounded by fields and is situated 100 yards outside the boundary of Ashton at Park Bridge.

Although it is now a peaceful location, accessed only by a narrow lane, 100 years ago the nearby valley bottom was a thriving industrial location with the Park Bridge Iron Works, a corn mill and a coal mine all a few minutes walk from these cottages. Park Bridge Iron Works are reputed to have been where the rivets for the Eiffel Tower were manufactured.

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See Google Street View of this location.

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

Portland Basin

This week's view of My World shows Portland Basin on the Ashton Canal.

Ashton is very lucky to have this peaceful, picturesque spot tucked away, making a big contrast with the busy roadways not too far away.

It is hard to imagine that only 40 years ago the area was derelict, with the canal overgrown and in danger of being closed. Yet it was 40 years ago, in 1972, that thousands of volunteers descended upon this area to begin a massive clean-up operation that eventually led to the canal's reincarnation.

The junction here between the Ashton and Peak Forest Canals is now a landmark on the popular Cheshire Ring canal route.

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

Roadside Planter

This week's view of My World shows a roadside planter at the side of Ashton's newest road, Albion Way.

Albion Way opened a few months ago and bypasses the Market area, making life easier for shoppers to get to bus stops and to Penny Meadow. To brighten the road up, the council has placed a number of metal flower boxes alongside. These are painted in the town's colours of dark blue and silver (like this website) and bear the town's name and coat of arms.

I can't show you the Google Street View of this, as Mr Google hasn't driven past here since the road opened.

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

Ashton Market Hall

This week's view of My World shows Ashton's iconic Market Hall. It is seen from the Town Hall step. The open market is off to the right of the photo.

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

High Point

This week's Sky Watch takes you to one of the high points around Ashton - the summit of Brown Edge, which overlooks Mossley.

This is the highest point on the ridge between Ashton and Mossley and the concrete object is a triangulation pillar, or "trig point" which was used in the making of maps until the recent arrival of satellite technology. It is a good spot to come to be closer to the sky!

The view is looking south-eastwards, right over Mossley to the Pennine outposts of Noonsun Hill, Alphin Pike and Buckton Moor. Out of sight to the right is a view past hartshead Pike over Ashton towards Manchester. Behind the photographer the view is towards Oldham.

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!

Albion Sunday School

This week's view of My World shows the former Albion Sunday School, situated between Crickets Lane and Penny Meadow in Ashton.

Opened in 1862, this was the largest Sunday School in England! In more recent times it has been a carpet warehouse and now an office furniture warehouse.

It is a Grade 2 Listed Building because of its splendid architecture. It is built of red brick with stone banding. As the photo shows, nearby apartments have been built in a matching style.

The photo was taken from the Memorial Gardens.

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See Google Street View of this location.

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

The Other Trafalgar Square

This week's Sky Watch shows you the other Trafalgar Square - not the famous one in London, but the one here in Ashton under Lyne's very own West End.

Ashton's Trafalgar Square doesn't have a column with a statue of Nelson, but it does boast a statue of local Victorian mill-owner and social reformer Hugh Mason, who is seen here standing out against a warm and summery sky.

Hugh Mason is looking across towards the elegant terrace of twelve Victorian houses known as the "Twelve Apostles", which he had built for those of his workers who had large families.

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!

Blue Sky Over Ashton Market!

This week's Sky Watch shows something that has not been too common this summer - a blue sky over Ashton Market!

We had plenty of hot weather (some of it very hot and sunny ) earlier in the year, but now that it is supposed to be sunny, the weather has turned changeable, with sun one minute and showers of rain the next.

Behind the tree the tower of the Market Hall points skyward, flanked by the new roof ridges of the Market Hall, re-built after being destroyed by fire in 2004.

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!