Late Summer Flower

From a few weeks ago, a wonderful late summer flower from our Eastern Poland garden.

The daisies were also still in bloom:

Not far from the orchard:

Behind the barn:

Wrenching Out Moth-Infested Box Plants

At the side of the house, all the box plants had been destroyed by an invasive moth common to Poland.

Taking out the box plant manually turned out to be a long laborious job over a few days, as first I used a saw to cut off the branches:

Which I took to a woodpile behind the barn:

I decided to cut all the branches off first before focusing on getting the bush stumps out:

And after a while, it came time to wrench the stumps out which was backbreaking work:

Getting the stumps out involved digging downwards around them with a pointed spade for quite some time, and sawing all the underground roots that gradually became visible.

This process continued until, hey presto, the stump became loose enough to be pulled out:

Doing this kind of work did kind of make me feel like a dentist.

Getting each stump out seemed like a minor miracle but there was a sense of satisfaction, especially as more and more came out:

And finally, the whole place was clear of the box plants, ready for some other plants to go in:

It's now a few weeks since this work, but I can still feel a nagging pain in my right arm.

But all in all, I enjoyed wrenching the box plants out, it was a kind of challenge and great physical exercise.

Back in Eastern Poland

 

After a couple of weeks in Warsaw, I went down to Eastern Poland for a week to do some gardening work there.

As usual, I bypassed the town centre through taking the scenic riverside walk:

On this walk, I'm always on the lookout for beaver work, but on this occasion, there was little or no evidence of any beaver activity.

But still the river looked great in late summer:

And upon reaching our place, my wife had prepared a wonderful chilli falvoured, courgette stew:

And in the garden greenhouse, the tomatoes seemed to be growing nicely:

After 2-3 weeks in a big city, it was nice to be in the rural world again.

Goodbye to Bury, Lancashire (for Another Year)

 

Early Wednesday morning, it was time to make my way to Manchester Airport.

My faithful three-man tent had looked after me throughout Somerset; south-east Wales; Gloucestershire; Nottinghamshire; the Lake District; and my hometown, Bury (Lancashire).

But now it was time to part ways, as the tent was too heavy for carrying round on the kind of South England-North England tours that I do (back in Warsaw, I'll look for a decent smaller tent).

Before going to Manchester Airport, I had a look at the place where I'd gone to St. Marie's cubs as a young boy in the mid-1970s:

Which is attached to St. Marie's church, of course.

And then found myself looking at some of the old gravestones inside the Bury Parish Church grounds:

It's amazing what you can still see in Bury if you have keen eyes.

Bury (Lancashire): Lost on the River Irwell

My last adventure before flying back to Warsaw was finding a beautiful stretch of the river Irwell in my hometown, Bury.

Just before passing Nuttall Park in Ramsbottom, I saw an unusual small library at the foot of someone's garden:

Alongside Nuttall Park, a running stream lead me down to the river Irwell:

This stretch of the Irwell was amazing:

I just followed it with curiosity,

With no care for the direction I took,

Or for getting lost.

At some point, I reached a dead end:

And had to retrace my steps:

But still the place was beautiful:

At some point, I came upon a part of Summerseat that I didn't recognise, and a woman walking a dog pointed me the way to Brandlesholme Road:

Never knew that the Freemasons were so open these days, they used to do everything behind closed doors.

Passing Cheesden Lumb Mill

Having walked alongside Ashworth Moor Reservoir, and with the Owd Betts pub being closed (in 31 degrees Celsius), I continued my early September walk down past Cheesden Lumb Mill:

While walking down towards the Mill,

I passed several interesting-looking stone structures:

I guess that these were either related to Ashworth Moor Reservoir or the late Cheesden Lumb Mill.

Have always enjoyed coming up here since being a teenager.

Have just read that Cheesden Lumb Mill was built in 1786, the first of 20 mills that would populate the local area (Cheesden; Deeply Vale; Ashworth Valley etc.):

The Lancashire Past website article attached below gives a great account of the history of Cheesden Lumb Mill:

https://lancashirepast.com/2020/10/03/cheesden-lumb-mill-near-heywood/

Now, the ruins of the Mill are a popular summer site for people who fancy a picnic and a spot of bathing.

After passing Cheesden Lumb Mill, I made my way through Deeply Vale, climbed up a massive hill, and headed down to the Pack Horse pub on Elbut Lane where two pints (one lager/one IPA) went down in precisely 90 seconds and my thirst was finally quenched.

Buckhurst Lodge ... Ashworth Moor Reservoir

As I was passing Buckhurst Lodge, it was 31 degrees and I was gagging for a drink.

So I was hoping and praying that the Buckhurst Lodge would be open:

But, of course, I was out of luck, nothing new there.

It was a pity as I'd heard good reports about Buckhurst Lodgeside (great pies and real ale, for example).

So, as I was becoming increasingly parched, I headed for the Owd Betts top road, taking the path alongside Cheesden Valley.

And not too long afterwards, I found myself at the side of the top reservoir (Ashworth Moor Reservoir):

Have just read that in the late 19th century, when plans were designed to build the reservoir, a few mills in the rural area were forced to close down to make way for it.

More specifically, I've just found out that the local landowner, Alice Ashworth, lost a legal case in 1898 which lead to four mills being closed down in the area, with construction work on the big stone-lined reservoir beginning soon after.

Have also just found out that a kind of Bronze Age axe was found in 1905 while workmen were digging at the reservoir site, and that Ashworth Moor Reservoir was completed in 1908.

Of course, hearing the name Alice Ashworth made me realise how Ashworth Valley got its name, with the Ashworth family having been big landowners in the area.

Sadly, I also failed to find refreshment at the Owd Betts pub because it too was closed.

But I have just discovered that the Owd Betts pub was built by Richard and Mary Ashworth in 1796, the year after Ashworth Road was built to link Edenfield and Rochdale (via Norden) together.