ABC Wednesday: C is for Common Chicory

Common chicory, (Cichorium intybus), is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers. When flowering, chicory has a tough, grooved, and more or less hairy stem, from 30 to 100 centimetres (10 to 40 in) tall. The leaves are stalked, lanceolate and unlobed. The flower heads are 2 to 4 centimetres (0.79 to 1.6 in) wide, and usually bright blue, rarely white or pink. There are two rows of involucral bracts; the inner are longer and erect, the outer are shorter and spreading. It flowers from July until October.The achenes have no pappus (feathery hairs), but do have toothed scales on top.

It grows wild on the Trans Pennine Trail.

See the flower close-up on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

Ashton House on Ashton Road

Ashton Road is an unclassified road but is part of a busy alternative eastern route to Ashton under Lyne bypassing the centre of Hyde from the south.

Ashton House on the right is supported housing consisting of 34 flats, bungalows, built in 1968 and renovated in 1997. It is managed by New Charter Housing Trust Ltd with a main entrance on Victoria Street.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

A hidden mural in Godley

A colourful piece of graffiti on the side of a brick building that remains near the turntable on the former Godley to Apethorn railway. The building may have been the base for a signal box.

For a wider view see Geograph.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

Sunday Shadows: Adamson Band at Gee Cross Well Dressing

As the Adamson Military Band set off to lead the 2013 Gee Cross Well Dressing the sun cast a lot of shadows on the ground.

Two more photos from the day can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

For information about the Well Dressing visit Gee Cross Well Dressing 2013.

For more information about the band visit their own website.

For more shadows visit Shadow Shot Sunday.

Weekend in Black & White: Entrance to Gower Hey Woods

This is the entrance to Gower Hey Woods from the Trans Pennine Trail at Swains Valley.

At the end of May I showed you the opposite view looking out of the woods.

Now visit other contributors to The Weekend in Black and White.

Friday Fences: Watch this space

Previously this space on Market Place was occupied by two old benches, a flowerbed, a small tree, a lamppost and a litterbin. A tree and two flowerbeds that were located on the other side of the telephone boxes were removed during the 2012 refurbishment of Hyde Market. The removal of the slabs has revealed the cobbles of the original road which was part of the A57 Lincoln to Liverpool highway.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Signs at Green Lane junction

After passing under Green Lane bridge (out of sight on the left), the Trans Pennine Trail leaves the route of the former Apethorn to Godley railway line to follow Green Lane via the path behind the photographer.

The wooden finger post on the right points out the route. See the insets for a closer view of how it looks now and how it looked in 2007 when it showed the distances to Stockport and Broadbottom.

A pair of notices on the left give information about the trail and carry a warning about the use of unauthorised motor vehicles. Similar ones are located at Donald Avenue and you can read what they say on Hyde DP Xtra.

A footpath follows the old railway track to the right for about another mile until it is blocked off just before the junction with the main railway line at Godley. I'll be posting some photographs from along that section at a later date.

A contribution to signs, signs.