Best of Hyde 2013

The time has come to vote for the Best of Hyde Daily 2013.

On 1st January 2014 members of the City Daily Photobloggers community will be revealing their Photo of the Year. I have selected twelve contenders for Best of Hyde 2013 and am asking readers to vote for their favourites. Please visit Best of Hyde Daily Photo 2013 and vote for your top three photographs.

Closing date for voting is 12 noon GMT on December 28th 2013.

Note: these thumbnails are just a taster - you must use the form on the page to cast your votes.

Swains Valley on Christmas Day

Looking over the Swains Valley Allotments towards the houses in Markland Street.

Compare it with the view in July 2009.

Photo of the Year 2010

This photograph taken on the 2nd January and posted on 4th January was the overwhelming winner for Best of Hyde 2010.

The runner-up and full details of the results can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

The full-sized version of all twelve contenders can be viewed on Best of Hyde 2010.

Many City Daily Photo Blogs will be posting their own Photo of the Year today. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Sunday Bridges The difference from a week ago

The same view from the Eastern motorway footbridge by Hyde Bus Station looking under the Clark Way bridge over the M67 as I showed you last week. That was taken before the latest cold snap hit. This was taken on Friday morning.


As before, I zoomed in on the Pennine Hills but they are now so snowladen that it is hard to tell where the sky begins.

For a view of the footbridge itself and the view in the opposite direction see Hyde DP Xtra.

See more Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Snowy Roofs

A view over snowy roofs towards the Hare & Hounds on Werneth Low.

The morning sun is somewhere behind the tree on the left.

Distant Snow

A view from the Eastern motorway footbridge by Hyde Bus Station looking under the Clark Way bridge over the M67.

These were taken last Wednesday before the latest cold snap hit.


I zoomed in on the Pennine Hills to capture the slivers of snow.

Now it is white all over.

See more Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Icy Reynard Street

This is how Reynard Street in the centre of town looked a couple of weeks ago during our first bout of wintry weather.

Despite the conditions, the charity shop in Quadrant House was open.

More snow is now forecast and today or tomorrow it may well look something like this yet again.

Cold Seat by the Post Office

The snows may have thawed for now but a week ago it was treacherous in town. No-one was sitting on the old tramstop seat. Inside the Post Office the queues stretched to the door with folk buying stamps for their Christmas cards.

What a difference a week makes

Last Saturday morning and as can be seen in this shot of Clarendon Place looking from the Jolly Carter towards the Queens we only had but a scattering of light snow.

The snow finally hit with a vengeance on Wednesday morning.


Friday morning was fine, the main roads were clear and the buses were running, so I finally made it into town early afternoon. The side streets even in the town centre had hardly been touched and the footpaths were still full of hard packed snow.

Check out the slush on the other side of Clarendon Mall on Hyde DP Xtra.

The Milkman Always Gets Through

The snow finally hit us yesterday morning but the milkman still got through.

This was the scene around 7.30am. It snowed quite heavily off and on during the day and though the main road saw traffic flowing slowly hardly anyone tried to move their cars.

I don't think I'll be going anywhere for the next few days or so.

Masts on Werneth Low Road

These communication masts on Werneth Low Road are just up the road from Windy Harbour.

They can be seen in older views from 1993 and 1999 on Old Hyde.

For more M posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Site of Windy Harbour

Site of the restaurant at Windy Harbour.

Windy Harbour has had mixed fortunes over the years. Once it was a popular restaurant but at various times the buildings here have lain vacant. Despite plans for a new restaurant and hotel, the buildings were badly damaged by arsonists and demolished in 2000. Since then no plans to restore the facility have come to fruition. The carpark has been fenced off.

The only photographs I have of the old restaurant are from a distance but you can see them on Old Hyde.

Windy Harbour on Werneth Low

This is a similar photograph to the one I posted two weeks ago Hightailing it on Werneth Low. It was taken about half an hour earlier and a few feet further East. It shows the footpath leading onto the Low.

Winter Hill and the Lancashire Fells are in the far distance.

For visions of the sky around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Meanwhile, Renee of Rochester Daily Photo [dead link deleted] has sent us the Sunshine Award. Please see the details on Hyde DP Xtra. I've passed it on to 12 other deserving blogs. Please take a look and visit them if you can.

West from Windy Harbour

Last week I showed you the view North from Windy Harbour viewpoint.

This is the view East across the flank of Werneth Low. {Do click on the photograph to see it full size.}

In near-distance is the War Memorial on Hacking Knife. In mid-distance is Audenshaw Reservoir and beyond the Northern parts of the Manchester conurbation.

See the view East from Windy Harbour on Hyde DP Xtra.

Hightailing it on Werneth Low

Last week a friend, who regularly walks her dog on Werneth Low, took me up to Windy Harbour on the Eastern edge of the Low.

It was cold and icy but sunny. I took quite a number of photographs in an area that is normally a bit too far off the beaten track for me to get to. I'll be showing you some of them, off and on, over the next few weeks.

You can see the whole dog on Ackworth born, gone West.

Haughton Street from Swains Valley

Today's contribution to Skywatch Friday was taken on the first Sunday of the New Year when Swains Valley was covered in crisp snow.

The sun cast deep shadows [click the link to see] and a snowman was attacked by a black dog [click the link to see].

The road ahead is Haughton Street. The house on the right behind the squeeze stile is on Markland Street. You can see more of it on this Christmas Photo [click the link to see].

Markland Street used to run all the way down to Dowson Road but the section to the left is now blocked by the large garages you can see. I showed the detached part in yesterday's post.

Icy Pavements on Hamnett Street

Looking up Hamnett Street from the side of the Sorting Office towards the Abbey.

The cleared snow has been piled up on the edge of the pavement, obscuring the double-yellow lines denoting "no parking". I wonder where the traffic wardens were.

Down Gower Road

This was Gower Road off Dowson Road about midday on Christmas Day.

After Christmas there was a brief respite before the snows took hold again.

To see the top end of Gower Road three days earlier when the first snows came, visit Hyde DP Xtra.

Snowman Attacked

Out on Swains Valley a week ago I came across this dog enjoying itself attacking the remnants of a snowman.

You can see a close-up of the dog on Ackworth born, gone West.

All this snow has gone now and the green grass shows through again but it is still very cold with patches of ice in places.

For more shadow shots visit Hey Harriet.

Piles of Snow on the Market

It takes more than a bit of snow to put off the traders and shoppers on Hyde Market.

The children's carousel may be boarded up but the other traders have been busy clearing the snow into piles so the shoppers can still get around.

Another photograph from the opposite direction can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.