Skwatch Friday: Looking down Gower Road

Someone called Alan who now lives in New Zealand asked me if I could photograph the view from outside 42 Gower Road looking towards the allotments, the valley of the Gower Hey Brook and Westend Lane in the far background.

Well here it is.

See the view in the opposite direction on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

£100 or £1000

At the bottom of Gower Road outside the allotments is an old rather worn out sign which says "Please take your litter home. Maximum Penalty £100". There is a black bin bag tied to the bottom of the post.

Meanwhile a newer sign attached to the telephone pole on the right states that this is a "Poop Scoop Area" and the maximum penalty for not heeding the warning is £1000.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Green Autumn

As the wintry weather rapidly approaches, I thought I'd post today a view taken a few weeks ago looking down into Gower Hey Woods from the top of Swain's Valley.

A contribution for Green Days on Raindrops & Daisies.

ABC Wednesday: F is for Fernbank Court

From the footpath by Gower Hey Woods between Smithy Fold and Clough Gate. Fernbank Court was built on the site of Fernbank Farm which was demolished in 2003.

For ABC Wednesday.

Signs at Clough Gate

Signs at the Clough Gate entrance to Gower Hey Woods.

There is a "No Tipping" sign which doesn't mean you don't have to give gratuities to anyone but is addressed to fly-tippers who dump rubbish (shame is they can't read).

Another sign is "No Firearms and No Motorcycles" - the latter seems sensible as there's certainly been problems with people driving motorbikes where they shouldn't. But surely firearms are illegal anywhere so why the need for a specific prohibition here?

Behind is a "Welcome" signboard with a map of the area and details of the wildlife that can be encountered here.

Also there's a gas-main indicator below another sign that appears to have been covered over (but is in fact a marker - see the comments).

A contribution to signs, signs.

Muddy steps into Gower Hey Woods

These muddy steps lead down from the TransPennine Trail into Gower Hey Woods. Normally duckboards provide a safe passage across the swampy ground at the bottom.

This photograph was taken a few weeks ago after a lot of heavy rain. The brook was obviously flowing too fast for the culvert and a small lake covered the duckboards.

See how it looked in April 2011.

Take a closer view on Hyde DP Xtra.

Since then we've had a great deal more rain and it is still falling so I imagine the water will have crept a lot higher since then but I won't be venturing down to take a look.

The Weekend in Black and White: From the bottom of Church Brow

From the bottom of Church Brow looking up at the tower of St George's church. A footpath leads into private allotments on the steep banks of the Gower Hey Brook.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White

Gas pipeline at Church Brow

By the allotments at the bottom of Church Brow, a sign warns of the presence of a gas pipeline underneath.

A closer view is on Hyde DP Xtra.

Looking over Woodend Allotments

Many of the allotments on the side of Woodend Lane have been abandoned (mainly due to the work of vandals) and some of the trees have been felled. Now a view is afforded across the valley of the Gower Hey Brook. Some allotments half-way down the valley are still maintained. Werneth Low can be seen on the horizon.

Compare with the view in April 2011 and the one from the opposite direction about a century ago.

There is another view of the allotments on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Over the Duckboards: 6 years of Hyde DP

This photograph of the duckboards over marshy ground in Gower Hey Woods is in the opposite direction to the one on my post twelve months ago on Hyde DP Vol.1 (2006-2011).

I can't believe it is now six years since I started these blogs.

I am away in St Annes until next Monday. A series of posts have been scheduled over the period but as I expect to be offline they won't be tweeted by me nor posted on Facebook.

Cobbled Path to Osborne Road

The cobbled path leading out of Gower Hey Woods towards Osborne Road. In the mid-19th century this was a busy road sett leading to an industrial complex in the valley but none of that now remains.

The coloured version of this photograph can be seen on Geograph.

A contribution to Cobblestones, the CDPB theme for April 2012,
The Weekend in Black and White and
Shadow Shot Sunday.

Shadows in Gower Hey Woods

Here is where Gower Hey Brook disappears under a culvert near Swains Valley. It eventually emerges on the far side of Dowson Road.

See how it looked in Autumn 2009.

View the opposite direction on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

The top of a tree

Yesterday I posted of photo of the bottom of a tree.

This is the top of that tree.

You can see the middle of the tree on Hyde DP Xtra.

If you are a tree-follower I suggest you check out Loose and Leafy.

This post is a contribution to Skywatch Friday.

The bottom of a tree

The bottom of this tree stands in Gower Hey Woods close to where the path through the woods steps out on to the TransPennine trail at Swains Valley.

I'll show you some more of this big tree tomorrow.

Marsh in Gower Hey Wood

It might look like a forest clearing but in reality this is marshland near the flat bridge I showed a few weeks ago.

St George's from the bottom of Church Brow

Looking up at the tower of St George's from the bottom of Church Brow. The path ahead leads to an allotment on the banks of the Gower Hey Brook valley. The church is reached via steps on the left up to Woodend Lane.

The coloured version of this photograph can be seen on the Geograph website, and the full set of 49 photos from my April 10th walk (with slideshow) is available on the Geo-trips site.

The earliest known view of St George's dates from 1840 and be discovered on Old Hyde.

ABC Wednesday: N is for No

This sign is at the entrance to Gower Hey Wood from Balmoral Avenue. Underneath is a notice made by pupils of the nearby Dowson Primary School which reads "We like dogs but we don't like their mess". Below that is a request not to leave litter.

Now hang on a minute; this is the UK not the USA; guns here are illegal anyway, so why the need to specifically ban them here?

For more N posts visit ABC Wednesday

Woodend Allotments

Although some of the smaller allotments on Woodend Lane at the top of the valley of the Gower hey Brook such as the ones I showed you in September 2007 have had to be abandoned, others lower down the valley are flourishing.

This one is home to several animals; see the goose in action on Hyde DP Xtra.

See the view from the opposite direction in this post from May 2008 and contrast it with the view a century ago.