A look at Stopfordian Pubs during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Four years ago today we photographed The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. It became the first of 265 pubs, bars and clubs we visited in the borough between April and the 4th of July when the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown ended.
Pub number 1 - The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. A lovely Art Deco building. We'd never seen it shuttered before the lockdown
We visited each of the pubs while on our daily outdoor exercise between Wednesday 1st April and before pubs were allowed to reopen with social distancing measures on Saturday 4th July.
It gave us something to do during the lockdowns and it was interesting to see the variety of architecture, different signage, parts of the town we haven't been to for a long time and other parts of the area we've never been to. I documented the pubs on Instagram using the #StopfordianPubs tag.
At the 265th pub on our lockdown 'pub crawl'. Not a drop was drunk on our daily walks in April, May, June and July
Three years ago today we photographed The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. It became the first of 265 pubs, bars and clubs we visited in the borough between April and the 4th of July when the first lockdown ended.
Pub number 1 - The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. A lovely Art Deco building. We'd never seen it shuttered before the lockdown
We visited each of the pubs while on our daily outdoor exercise between Wednesday 1st April and before pubs were allowed to reopen with social distancing measures on Saturday 4th July.
It gave us something to do during the lockdowns and it was interesting to see the variety of architecture, different signage, parts of the town we haven't been to for a long time and other parts of the area we've never been to. I documented the pubs on Instagram using the #StopfordianPubs tag.
At the 265th pub on our lockdown 'pub crawl'. Not a drop was drunk on our daily walks in April, May, June and July
We're big fans of Art Deco style, design and architecture and we've been remembering our trip to Doncaster last year and our stay at the superb Earl of Doncaster Hotel in Bennetthorpe.
Danum House was another nice Art Deco building in the town centre.
We're looking forward to getting back out on our travels, exploring new places and revisiting our favourite spots when it's safe to do so in the future.
Salford Shopping Centre opened as Salford Precinct in 1972 and was renamed Salford Shopping City in 1992
Even though the shopping precinct is now called Salford Shopping Centre the huge sign on the block of flats clearly points out where the shops are in Pendleton, Salford.
One of the pubs we missed during the first lockdown was the Arden Arms at Bredbury!
The Arden Arms in Bredbury
We knew there was an Arden Arms in the town centre (pub #51), but as the Bredbury location is right on the border with Denton in Tameside it completely slipped off our radar.
The sign of pub #266 on our travels
We rectified the matter on Saturday though as we took our day's outdoor exercise at Hulmes Wood and walked back across the border into Stockport to snap the Arden Arms.
The supermarket on London Road was a Sainsbury's Local until February this year.
It reopened as a Budgens shortly after.
You don't see Budgens as much as you used to.
The building really stands out and is one of the oldest in the area. A lovely sight to spot.
It opened as The Lansdowne Picture Palace in 1914 and became a Mecca dance hall called The Locarno in the 1950s. It underwent a number of name changes during its time as a nightclub.
Interestingly the building was a Marks & Spencer for a short time in the late 1940s.
Social distancing signage and the welcome mat at the entrance
A look at the pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Pub number 1 - The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. A lovely Art Deco building. We'd never seen it shuttered before the lockdown
We've spent some of our new-found outdoor exercise time during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown visiting the pubs of Stockport.
Pub number 73 - The Crown Inn on Heaton Lane in Stockport town centre
It's been interesting to see the variety of architecture, different signage, parts of the town we haven't been to for a long time and other parts of the area we've never been to. I've been documenting them on Instagram using the #StopfordianPubs tag.
Pub number 222 - The Bull's Head Hotel in High Lane, Stockport. Our daily walks around the town took us to the borough's canals on a number of occasions
This is us outside pub number 265 - The Nursery Inn in Heaton Norris on Friday 3rd July 2020.
At the 265th pub on our lockdown 'pub crawl'. Not a drop was drunk on our daily walks in April, May, June and July
It was the last of all the pubs in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport we visited on our daily outdoor exercise between Wednesday 1st April and before pubs were allowed to reopen with social distancing measures on Saturday 4th July.
Pub number 185 - The Crown in Hawk Green, Marple, a part of the borough we never knew existed before our walks began
We saw a real mixture of pubs, bars, club and social clubs, along with a few lost and closed pubs. There were also some new pubs getting ready to re-open post-lockdown.
A look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh.
The abandoned Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011
My recent revisit to the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester reminded me of the old Woolworths shopfront we saw in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent last November. That in turn prompted me to look in our archives for the photos I took of the abandoned Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park next to the railway station in Brunstane, Edinburgh, Scotland from 2011.
A closer look at the old entrance
Brunstane railway station on the left is dwarfed by the old abandoned Woolworths store on the right
The building is now home to The Range.
The last Woolworths
The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so we were amazed to see the sign was still up at the Stoke-on-Trent store last year.
Ghost signs
We see a lot of ghost signs on shops and building on our travels. Many of these are from decades ago and they help tell the story of an area.
Unfortunately in the coming months and years we are likely to see a number of other brands disappear.
During our road-trip around the Welsh coast in August 2009 we spent a day playing petanque and crazy golf at the Mumbles in Swansea.
While we were there the strange Big Apple building near the pier caught our eye.
From our seaside travels archive
Looking through our photo archives I found this snap of it in a bit of a state. Apparently it had been hit by a vehicle just days prior to our visit!
Looking online it appears that the kiosk was granted listed building status last year.
The Big Apple kiosk was created in the 1930s as part of a promotional campaign for the Cidertone cider brand and at one time others could be found at seaside locations around the UK.
Unfortunately the Big Apple at the Mumbles is the last one standing.
A return is planned
We haven't been to Swansea since, but it is on our revisit list as there's a new crazy golf venue in the town.
We love visiting Wales and the Welsh coast and can't wait until the coronavirus pandemic is over so we can return.
While out for a lunchtime cycle in Stockport I rode through the council offices at Stopford House and managed to get this nice snap of the Brutalist building - set against a rare blue sky in the town!
Stopford House in Stockport
Stopford House was used as the exterior of the Police Station in the TV show Life on Mars. The last time I photographed it back in June everything was looking particularly grey.
Stockport is full of wonderful and interesting buildings. It's quite a hotch-potch of architecture to be honest, but it all adds a certain character to the town.
Finding a new tickable list activity in Stockport.
On our way back from a visit to the Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery last week we had a wander and a look at some of the interesting architecture we have in the town. Crossing the road from Stopford House - itself a stark example of Brutalism, and the setting for the police station in Life on Mars - we had a look across the town's landscape from atop a wall in a car park on Piccadilly. It was only when we were walking down the stairs that we noticed this plaque.
Wow
Now, we do like a tickable list activity. Well, we'd have to considering we've visited more than 700 miniature golf courses in the last ten and a bit years after first seeing a list of 600 back in 2006. We're also part way through visiting all the parks and green spaces in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport after the Friends of Alexandra Park suggested it as a pleasant way to pass the time. We've been to ten out of the 33 listed so far, plus five that were not on the list. But to start finding all of these structures would be utter madness.
The plaque in place on the refurbed wall
I'm sure my fellow members of the Dull Men's Club will be intrigued to know there are - at least - 669 such structures in Stockport.
Another view of the retaining wall
I'm a fan of funny signs and I've seen some comedy plaques in the past so I had a look online to see if I could find a mention of any of the 669+ such structures. I indeed found a partial list. A list which showed the cost to refurbish the wall was £65,967.
We recently became members of the Plaza Film Club at the Plaza Super Cinema and Variety Theatre in Stockport.
The wonderful Art Deco building really stands out - especially when there's a show on
Just before we fully moved up to Cheadle Hulme I popped into Stockport for the first time and one of the first buildings I saw was the Plaza. Emily and I are big fans of Art Deco architecture and The Plaza is a fine example.
The Plaza Film Club membership costs just £5 per year and entitles you to discounted entry to most films and satellite broadcasts - and there's a great programme of events to choose from.
On Halloween night we made our first trip to watch a film there - the original Night of the Living Dead - and it was a tremendous experience. We can't wait to go back. Watching a movie at the Plaza is like nothing else. Such marvellous fun.
Visit the Plaza's website to find out more about the Plaza Super Cinema and Variety Theatre, its history and what's on.
While in Hastings old town recently I spotted a very eye-catching building - the Piece of Cheese Cottage!
In all my many visits to the town for Crazy and Mini Golf tournaments I've never seen the place before. It's certainly very different.
One of the sides of the building - the only three-sided cottage in England - has a blue heritage plaque on it that makes an interesting claim!
The cottage was built for a £5 bet in 1871 and is the second smallest in the country.
The Piece of Cheese Cottage is also available to stay in from only £55 per night! I may be making a booking soon as it's very close to the seafront and the town's Miniature Golf courses.