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Sunday 21 June 2015

Zombie Manor - June 2015

Welcome to Zombie Manor, you will want to leave.

 Zombie Manor

Built in 1759, a Grade II listed county house built in a Georgian style formally used as a country residence, a residential home for the handicapped and an illegal cannabis farm of late.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention to mention it was used as a zombie holdout after Chester and Warrington finally fell to the zombie horde of 2010.

Now sitting rapidly rotting away, Daresbury Hall is sadly clinging on for dear life and reflects everything that is wrong with the preservation of buildings in Britain. The main house is death on a stick with floors waiting to drop and holes aplenty. So lets have a mooch.

 Dead Inside - Zombie Manor

We headed for the main house, via the pool

Dead Pool - Zombie Manor

Dead Pool - Zombie Manor

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Inside the house, it was hot (on a cool day) and smelly, with ceilings down and rotten floors, death on a stick in most parts.

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The Cellar was weird with a drying room with, well white stuff...

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And out to the outbuildings

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Visited with Zer081, following a failed earlier visit with both Judderman and Zer081 earlier on in the year which whilst Zombie free had loons with splat guns.

A tad disappointing, I'd give it 5/10 including an extra 2 points for the pool.

Photos later used in a Daily Mail article

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Saturday 20 June 2015

Bolton Burnden Viaducts - June 2015

Here at Fraggle Towers we like a bit of good news.

For years the disused railway viaducts of Darcy Lever and Burnden Park sat unused and gated off, the final trains crossed in them in 1970.

Darcy Lever Viaduct, Bolton

Darcy Lever Railway Viaduct


So June 2015 they have finally been reopended to the public as part of a footpath and cycleway between Bolton and Bury.

Sadly not much to see, but a walk I've wanted to do for a about 40 years and a cracking short cut across from Leverhulme Park across into Bolton.

Couple of pics.

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Only thing I would say is, given its only been open a week, dogwalkers pick up your dog shit you dirty scumbags.

Sunday 14 June 2015

Birch Hill Hospital, Rochdale - June 2015

Visited with Tbolt, ZerO81 and the fashionable young whippet known only as The Underdog. 

Opening in 1877 as a workhouse known as Dearnley with the addition of an infirmary in 1902, Birch Hill became a hospital in 1948 and finally closed in January 2013.

With the vast majority of the buildings now demolished, the last part of the building including its clock tower sits surrounded by a residential building site.

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Time for a mooch, this place is all about the clock tower.

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And up to the clock tower.....

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but I'm not sure if this one is better in B&W????

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Anyway, a nice simple potter - 9/10 (just for the clock tower).

Bolton from the air, again - June 2015

A last minute diversion minutes before preparing to land at Barton gives me rather fittingly photos of my home town, on what was my final trip out.

I've pottered over Bolton many times, hit the search button if you fancy a gander.

Anyway on with the final bunch with a shot of Bolton Parish Church and a curving view of Bradshawgate, Bolton

Bolton Parish Church, Bolton

The local council flog postcards of this next view or something very similar and as a kid at school we had to do a project on Bolton - mine from memory consisted mostly of postcards of Bolton Town Hall and Le Mans Crescent.

Bolton Town Centre, from above

Interesting view this one, I suspect most people don't realise the Bolton Town Hall contains a internal court yard.

Bolton Town Hall, from above

Bolton Town Centre, from above

Bolton Market Place with its half built crane for the construction of the new cinema in the town centre - which is strange as I know of a least 4 in the town centre that got demolished, two relatively recently. Sadly Bolton Council is run by.......

Market Place, Bolton

Bolton

Anyway they seemed to be doing a bit of a returf down the road at the Reebok, sorry Macron Stadium, I still can't get my head round the change of name. Anyway lets hope Bolton Wanderers have a better season than the last few shockers.

Macron Stadium - returf

The massive Horwich Loco Works, soon to be demolished.....

Horwich Loco Works

So I'm going to finish with a shot of Rivington Pike, a bit deceiving this picture - as all would know that have walked up it.

Rivington Pike, from above

End of an era, thanks Tiger.


Friday 12 June 2015

Sheffield, from the air - June 2015

Wrapping up my what now is my final flight I took a spin over Sheffield with my intrepid pilot, Pugwash.

I've fallen in love with Sheffield over the last year with it's wonderful street art and the many derelict industrial sites ripe for urban exploration - so time for some aerial photography.

Now I'm not a football fan, but I do like a stadium, first off Hillsborough famous to many for all the wrong reasons.

Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield

Obviously we had to snap Bramall Lane

Bramall Lane Football Ground, Sheffield

Then the now derelict William Stones Cannon Brewery, which I had pottered round a few months before.

William Stones Cannon Brewery, Sheffield

and on round the city

Sheffield City Centre, from above

Sheffield, from above

Sheffield, from above

Sheffield, from above

Owlerton Greyhound Stadium

Owlerton Greyhound Stadium, Sheffield

I bloody love Sheffield