Events: October Working Party

16th/17th October 2010: Working Party, Daisy Nook [info: 0161 355 5557]
If you have not been on a working party before, why not come along and join in? You will be made welcome! Big muscles are not essential as you can be given work to suit your capabilities! You can come along on just one day or on both days.

Meet at Daisy Nook Car Park, Stannybrook Road, at 9.30 am on either day. Strong footwear and waterproof clothing recommended. Light refreshments provided. Lunch available at minimal cost.

Please phone our Working Party Organiser, Mike, on 0161 355 5557 for more information.

Canal Heritage Day

Good weather at the weekend helped to ensure a successful Canal Heritage Day for the Society.

Visitors came into the centre throughout the day to view the displays from the Hollinwood and Rochdale Canal Societies and Waterway Recover Group, to view the slideshow of old photos, take part in children's activities or talk to volunteers from the societies. 40 people took advantage of the guided walks around the canal features.

Plenty of positive comments were made, particularly from people who had known the area for years without knowing much about the canal.

[Photos: Ian Bradbury]

Canal Heritage Day 2010

Take a step back in time next weekend and find out the fascinating story of the old canal that passed through Droylsden, Littlemoss, Hollinwood and Daisy Nook Country Park and how this quiet backwater was once one of the area's busy transport routes!

A special Canal Heritage Day is taking place on Sunday 15th August at Daisy Nook Country Park, off Stannybrook Road between Ashton-under-Lyne and Failsworth.

There will be guided walks at 11.30 am and 2.00 pm during which you can learn about Daisy Nook, its Locks, Aqueducts and Tunnel, Crime Lake and other features. The walks are less than 2 miles in length and will start at the Visitor Centre.

Inside the Visitor Centre from 11.00 am to 3.30 pm there will be a continuous slide show of old photographs of the canal and displays from local canal groups. There will also be a range of canal-related activities for children.

The Canal Heritage Day is an annual event run by the Hollinwood Canal Society in conjunction with Oldham Countryside Service and aims to increase awareness of the canal that shaped the area that is now the Country Park.

Come along and find out about the rich Industrial and Transport Heritage that played a big part in our local history.

Hollinwood Goes East

Members of the Hollinwood Canal Society took a trip across the Pennines this weekend to represent the Society at the Chesterfield Canal Festival held at Worksop.

Damp weather kept the numbers of visitors to the Festival lower than expected but there was a constant trickle of people taking an interest in our display and in our canal.

Annual Meeting

The members' Annual Meeting will take place on Wednesday 28th July.

The meeting will be in the conservatory at the Dog and Partridge, Oldham Road, Ashton under Lyne at 7.30 pm. Postcode for Satnav is OL7 9PT.

The meeting will be followed by the opportunity to have a meal and/or a drink and chat with fellow members. Orders for meals will be taken before the meeting begins.

Noah’s Ark moors up at Daisy Nook!

As part of Oldham Countryside Service’s improvements  to Daisy Nook Country Park, a children’s play area has been constructed in the shape of a boat.

Constructed mostly of wood, the boat has already been nicknamed by a number of visitors as “Noah’s Ark”!

A wooden walkway crosses a pond-dipping area in front of the boat, with a wall representing a pair of lock gates.

Canal pedants have pointed out  that the “boat” represents a wide beamed vessel, rather than a narrow boat such as would have been seen on the Hollinwood Canal.

However, the Society is delighted that the design of this superb play area reflects the important role that boats played in the history of the Daisy Nook area.

Website Improved!

The Hollinwood Canal Society website has been re-launched today with a much improved layout and more content!

The site has been sorted into four main sections. One section contains information about the canal itself, one is about the Society and one is a Gallery section featuring a variety of photographs. The fourth section is the News section and appears here in the form of a blog, which means that you can write comments about items, should you wish!

More content will be added, including maps and aerial views.

The new site tries to conform with accessibility guidelines, making it easy to read, even for those with visual or other disabilities.

Why not make a comment to let us know what you think?

Don't forget to call back later to see what else has been added!