Lady Birch of Hazelhead

Ventured out again for a longer walk driving to Dunford Bridge, which nestles below the Woodhead Pass to Lancashire and Manchester. The Trans Pennine Trail uses the old railway line that linked Sheffield with Manchester. At Dunford Bridge the line goes under the Pennines and is now used for electricity cables. Closed by Beeching in the 1960's successive governments have shied away from reopening the line despite the engineering being there to link the west with the east in the North of England. Still the trail provides a beautiful to walk on the foothills of the Pennines. Wonderful views plus birds singing, trees, wild flowers and sculptures.
Lady Birch supervises a picnic area on the site of the old Hazelhead Station, which was also the scene of a major railway accident in the 19th Century. We timed our walk well to avoid the worst of the rain and weather and were head of the socially undistanced numbers that were arriving as we returned to our car.. So good be out and about. One of the additional images shows the Pennines looking up towards the Woodhead Pass and an abandon sheepfold and dip. Plus, I liked these silver birch edging the trail.