Best of Hyde 2011

The time has come to vote for the best of Hyde DP 2011.

View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs.

Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

Shadows entering Hattersley

Shadows fall across the A560 on a sunny morning a few weeks ago.

Across the road is a boundary stone marking the entrance to Hattersley.

A close-up of the stone can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

For more shadow shots visit Hey Harriet.

St Barnabas, Hattersley

St Barnabas is the Anglican church serving Hattersley. It was built in 1965 and has served residents from when it was first opened in October 1966. Before that the residents had worshiped in homes from the very first weekend of moving into Hattersley. The church building was renewed following storm damage in January 2005. It is in an Interregnum since the retirement of the Vicar Rev Derek Akker due to ill health in January 2009.

Behind the Back of Hattersley

This was taken in October from Chain Bar Lane.

Behind the tree on the left used to be houses on Winterbottom Grove.

Behind the fence on the right is Mill Hill Green.

The yellow crane you can see was engaged in the replanting of the Hattersley Monkey Puzzle Tree.

ABC Wednesday:U is for Underpass

This one passes under Stockport Road at Hattersley.

It leads from Chain Bar Lane into the estate proper.

Visit ABC Wednesday for more U posts.

Trans Pennine Trail behind Hattersley

A section of the Trans Pennine Trail behind Hattersley.

In the background are houses on the other side of Stockport Road. There used to more houses on the East side but these have since been demolished.

Winterbottom View

The waste ground in the foreground of this shot used to be Winterbottom Grove on the Hattersley Estate. It is part of the area East of Stockport Road that was demolished in recent years.

We are here overlooking Mill Hill Green with Mottram church in the background.

Pylons over Hattersley

These pylons (or towers as they are known as in the electricity transmission industry) form an electrical bridge over Ashworth Lane at Hattersley and across the site earmarked for a new Tesco superstore before marching on towards Harrop Edge.

A source I'm unable to name told me that this line was due for renewal in 2011 and opined that if a supermarket was to built here then their route would need to be realigned.

A wider view of these pylons can be seen on Geograph.

A closer view of the top of a pylon can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

See more Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Mill Hill Green

This green sward off Ashworth Lane is the new home for the displaced Hattersley Monkey Puzzle Tree.

Below the dip is Chain Bar Lane.

The houses in the background are on Stringer Avenue.

ABC Wednesday O is for Old Manor House

The Old Manor House is on Chain Bar Lane at the back of Hattersley Estate.

Probably only the TV aerial and the security camera give away the fact that this is a recent photograph.

More photographs of Chain Bar Lane showing the house in context and colour can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

I know nothing of its history.

For more O posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Monkey Puzzle Move

In September 2008 I showed you the Hattersley Monkey Puzzle Tree and two weeks later another view of it.

The tree had been planted in the garden of a house on Garnett Road. The houses were demolished in 2008 as part of a planned redevelopment of the Hattersley Estate. The tree which had been a treasured local landmark for many years was allowed to remain.

Now Tesco have been granted planning permission to develop the site. At much expense, the iconic tree was moved yesterday to a green space on the opposite side of Ashworth Lane.

Further photographs of the move can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra and also on my photoblog sithenah.

A Walk up Pudding Lane:Longlands to Hattersley

Pudding Lane is an ancient route from Godley to Mottram.

What exists of it now leaves the present A57 Mottram Road opposite Longlands Lodge.


As we climb past some large private houses, looking to the left we see a row of tall trees lining Mottram Road. One of them has taken a mighty fall.


As we come out of the wood we can see the edge of Hattersley housing estate ahead. The estate was built in the 1950s to house Manchester's "overspill".


The lane is now paved as we approach Bridestowe Avenue. Behind the fence on the right is the site of Harehills Primary School. It closed in 2002 and pupils moved to a newer school.


This section now has houses on it. When Hattersley was built few people had cars and so many areas of the estate have rows of houses without direct road access. Many of these "walks" are being replaced with more provision for car parking.


This is where Pudding Lane peters out. The houses on this section have been demolished as part of the regeneration of the area.

For the return walk visit Hyde DP Xtra.

Cherry Blossom on Wardle Brook Avenue

I was on Hattersley estate about a week ago and found this cherry tree in full blossom.

Come back on Sunday and I'll take you for a walk up and down Pudding Lane.

Sign for the New Inn

Sometime last year I posted a photograh of the New Inn on the A57.

I don't know any more about it than I did then, but today I show you a closer view of the inn sign.

M67 past Longlands

Recently I brought you Barmhouse Lane Bridge over the M67 motorway and showed you the view looking West towards Hyde.

This is the view looking East. Mid-week and mid-afternoon it may well seem very quiet, but if you look at the signs, you'll notice it is about to drop from 3 lanes to two as it approaches the end of the motorway at Hattersley. About a mile beyond this point it crosses over the lane by Westwood Farm from where there can be standing traffic.

Look closely (as always, do click on the photograph to view the larger version) and you should see a mobile phone mast. It is the same one as can be seen in another photograph from last year, Edge of Hattersley.


As I said then, Linda in Australia was seeking information about Longlands because she went to school there in the summer of 1967 but Longlands was demolished to make way for the M67 Hyde By-Pass.

This second photograph was taken from the lane leading from Tetlow Farm at the top of Barmhouse Lane to the bridge, looking across grazing land to Longlands Wood.

Where that wood is now, there used to be a school but it ain't there now!

Will the Royal Mail Get Through?

No, this isn't a post about whether your Christmas cards and presents will arrive on time.

I recently showed you the M67 underpass near Westwood Farm.

Here we see the entrance to it from the North. The two diverging lanes below are quiet cul-de-sacs leading to farms and open countryside. Above, on the motorway itself, is standing traffic queuing for about a mile from the end of the M67 at Hattersley.

Don't worry about the Royal Mail shown here though; this photograph was taken in early October and the traffic will have cleared long ago.

Under the M67 at Westwood

The lane past Westwood Farm leads to an underpass that seems to be popular with dog walkers.

This is the view looking back towards the farm.

Westwood Farm

Westwood Farm lies off the A57 opposite the New Inn.

It is down the lane to the farm that I discovered the Poop and Scoop sign.

Answer to November Quiz

Last week I posted the November Quiz and asked - what is on the warning notice up the tree?

There were some great answers given. I especially liked Marley and Hilda's idea of trolls living under the bridge. Mandy came closest with "take your litter home" but the true answer is

No Dog Fouling
Poop and Scoop area

An uncropped version showing the lane, the tree, the sign and the tunnel under the M67 motorway can be seen on the Geograph site.

New Inn

The New Inn on the A57 at Hattersley.

How new?

Well I'm told it dates back to the 1600s and was known as a highwayman's inn. There are tales of it being haunted by a ghost named Mary.

In the background is Wardlebrook Avenue on Hattersley. The house where Ian and Myra did their nefarious deeds has thankfully been long demolished.