Above: Goyt Valley Romance was self-published by Gerald (below). Gerald Hancock’s ‘Goyt Valley Romance’ was the inspiration for my launching this website back in 2012. He sadly died some years ago, and was in the later stages of his illness when we...
Above: Neil on the left interviews yours truly at the ruins of Errwood Hall. Professional photographer, Neil O’Connor, got in touch a few weeks back to ask whether I’d be happy to be interviewed for a video he was creating on a walk passing the ruins of...
Above: Anne and Samuel Grimshawe’s memorial in Taxal Church. Although it’s usually locked, Taxal Church is well worth a visit if you can get hold of the key. There are some fascinating memorials inside, including one to George II’s ‘Yeaoman of...
Above: Samuel Grimshawe’s cousin, Fredrick Upton Gaskell (circled), pictured in 1883 with members of the annual shooting party. These four very similar photos were among a collection that Gerald Hancock, author of ‘Goyt Valley Romance’, allowed me to...
Above: the collection includes photos of some of the small steam engines that transported materials around the construction site, as well as navvies relaxing in their temporary pub. Many thanks to Norm from the Whaley Bridge Local History Group for allowing me to...
Above: Jack Hewitt (sitting at far left with his daughter) was manager of Castedge coal mine, which lay just below Errwood Hall. It’s one of five posts currently on the website which explore the topic of coal mining in the Goyt Valley. The very first post on...
Above: The lane from Goyt’s Bridge snakes around from the left before crossing the bridge and heading up the Valentine to Fernilee. (Shawstile Farm is top right.) It was only recently that I discovered an aerial photo showing a small stone bridge that now lies...
Above: I took this photo in May 2018, some 18 months after the FC started clearing the rhododendrons around Errwood Hall . I was hoping they’d be allowed to regrow. But that’s not going to be the case. The recent news that the Forestry Commission will be...
Above: This view across the reservoir has only opened up since the felling of the fir trees. I’ve circled the junction of the twin tracks, with the ancient holloway running up the slope on the right. The recent felling of the fir trees on the western slopes...
Above: It will be interesting to see how quickly the landscape recovers. I’m just hoping the Forestry Commission don’t replant the fir trees. It’s great to see that the footpath along the western shore of Fernilee has finally reopened, some four...
