Y is for Yew Tree Maze

I first blogged about the yew tree maze in Veronon Park, Stockport six years ago on Ackworth born, gone West. I recently took another look to see its progress.

It still has a long way to go before it will become much of a puzzle. One can still walk through between many of the trees and indeed directly from the entrance to the middle. None of this takes anything away from the magnificence of the central tree.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and NF Trees and Bushes.

Sweeping up outside Bhs

British Home Stores was founded in London in 1928. In 2009 when it became part of Green's Arcadia Group there were 193 stores employing over 17,000 people. By 2015 there were only 171 stores employing 11,000 staff. BHS was sold to the consortium Retail Acquisitions Ltd for the nominal value of £1. On 2nd June 2016 it was announced that the company would be wound down following failed attempts to find a buyer.



A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Flora and fauna in Vernon Park

The fountain at the ornamental pond in Vernon Park may not be playing but the ducks are.

A female mallard and one of her ducklings can be seen here swimming around the blue flag iris.

Three mallard drakes watch from the perimeter wall.

Meanwhile moorhens try to hide amongst the water lilies.

A contribution to
Floral Fridays;
Weekend Reflections;
Scenic Weekends;
Saturday Critters;
Camera Critters.

Bredbury Curve

In 2015 plans for the Bredbury Curve Development were recommend for acceptance by the council.

The plans were rejected in 2016 - see details.

The proposal involved the filling in of the existing railway cutting with inert materials and the construction of 60 dwellings with associated new highways, a junction with Stockport Road East, landscaping, parking and amenities.

The site was previously a railway cutting that accommodated a rail line which linked the Glazebrook to Godley Line to the Ashbury Junction to New Mills Junction line. The scheme was designed in such a way that a corridor would be retained along the northern corner of the site in order to enable a future tram/train line to be constructed between the Ashbury Junction to New Mills Junction line and Whitefield Road and then onwards towards Stockport Town Centre.

Peter Whatley's photograph published on Geograph and taken from the crossover bridge at Bredbury Station shows how it looked in 1989.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Marketplace Studios

The latest occupant of this mock-tudor faced building is Marketplace Studios. It has been set up by the Manchester School of Art as an initiative providing start-up business support to creative graduates. It has two floors of incubation studio space for graduate practitioners, who receive business support tailored towards the Creative Industries to help them succeed in their new enterprises. On the ground floor are shop/gallery/exhibition space and project spaces to run courses for the general public.

More information can be found on their website.

The original photograph can be viewed on Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Orchard, Pyramid and Sky

Looking from Hollywood Park over the Community Orchard towards Kings Reach and the "Pyramid".

The Community Orchard is one of 12 in Stockport - see Stockport.gov.uk for more details - established around 2011. I was told by a passing dog-walker that it was originally a bowling green. Aerial views would seem to indicate that it was once a football pitch. It looks rather neglected but that may be just the time of year.

For more information about the pyramid see my post from 1st April 2013.

You can view all 20 photographs from my recent walk through Hollywood Park as a Geotrip plotted on a map and available as a slide-show.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Lamppost art in Hollywood Park

Yesterday when I posted Shadows at Hollywood Park I promised to show you a closer view of the old photograph on the lampless lamppost.

Around 2014 as part of the Stockport Arts Trail, an independent group of young people, working towards an Arts Award Qualification at Stockport Central Library, created the images for one face of the artworks, located on lampposts in and around Edgeley. Historic photographs from the libraries archives are on the other face, giving people an idea of how the area looked in times gone by.

The text on the reverse of this piece of lamppost art reads:
"In the winter there was this fog, caused by all the
coal fires and mills, it was
terrible, it was like walking through pea soup,
you had to fight your way through it."

There are eleven lampposts in total along the trail. More information is at Healthy Stockport.

I featured another example of lamppost artwork on 8th October 2014

A contribution to Monday Murals and signs, signs.