Frosty Toft Golf Course Walk

A few images from the very frosty dawn on January 11th - I was surprised to find so many golfers out on the course - frost must make it difficult to find the ball! Back in the early 70s, when this area was rough pasture, we once ringed 10 different Kingfishers in one day on this stretch of the stream during a similar cold period (thought to be on the move towards the coast following streams etc). I intended to walk further up over the fields towards Wimpole Estate you can see in the distance in the panorama but decided on breakfast instead!!

 

Bollington, A Town Based on Cotton Production

From the late 18th through to the mid-20th centuries, Bollington was a major centre for cotton-spinning. The high humidity enabled Clarence and other mills to produce the finest cotton in the world, and was sought after by lace makers in Nottingham and Belgium. .Clarence mill was the first in Bollington to be built for steam power.  The raw materials and finished products were transported on the Macclesfield Canal, designed by Thomas Telford. There was also a railway which served the town.

Greenwich and the Thames Path

On Sunday, we visited Greenwich and I retook the view that I had taken on my father's camera in 1953 and repeated in 2017. We then walked along the Thames path to the O2 Dome - so many new building have replaced the derelict factory sites though the Catholic church and Power Station still remain. 

Full panorama 2024

Same view in 1953 and 2017

Charlton London

 I lived in Charlton for the first 18 years of my life and wanted to see how it had changed; the answer is very little as regards Charlton Village and Charlton House and Park. My school, however, was very difficult to equate with the single building in my day and the open access and playgound. The views across London are very different but100 Canberra Road looked almost exactly the same as when I lived there over 60 years ago.

Entering Another Decade of My Life

I was born on this day in 1944 so enter a new decade. Here a selection from those years ending with a birthday shot 5 years ago in the Arctic - it felt almost as cold on the Bird Walk at Paxton Pits today.