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...
Above: Old postcards of the valley regularly appear on ebay. There’s an amazing number of old postcards showing views of the Goyt Valley. In the days before smart phones and social media, they were a perfect way of keeping in touch with friends and family....
Above: New vistas above Fernilee! I’m just hoping they’ll let the native broadleaf trees take over – as nature intended. I walked the wide track above Fernilee last weekend for the first time since the tree-felling began back in August. And what a...
Above: Taken in 1934, this aerial photo shows the lane coming north from Goyt’s Bridge at far left, winding down to a small bridge spanning the Goyt (circled), before heading up the Valentine to Fernilee. Someone writing before the construction of the twin...
