Artwork on the old British Home Stores in Stockport

A look at the mural artwork on the old BHS in Stockport's Merseyway shopping centre.

The mural on the side of the old BHS in Stockport

BHS became defunct in August 2016, but there are still traces of the brand if you know where to look.

Made in 1978

The building is now home to a Poundland store, however there are two small signs bearing the BHS logo and they are visible at the front of the shop.

One of the last visible signs of the old BHS branding

The side of the building on Deanery Way contains a wonderful mural made up of concrete panels and mosaic tiles and depicts the history of the town over seven hundred years.

Working up Deanery Way from 1239 to 1978

The artwork was designed by Henry Collins and Joyce Pallet and created in 1978.

Here's a look at the five panels, starting with the most recent era (the seventies!) and working back to the year 1239...

Panel 5

Panel 4

Panel 3

Panel 2

Panel 1

Stockport, Cheshire - whether this is, or isn't the case (it isn't), remains a matter of conjecture in the town. It was certainly a big talking point given the location of the recent Greater Manchester Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown Zone!

A funny old sign

NO TIPPING at the Stockport Pyramid.

While having a wander around the Stockport Pyramid I noticed a funny sign near the gates - it must've been up for years as it had the old Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council logo on it.

NO TIPPNG

The other NO TIPPING sign on the opposite side of the driveway was spelt correctly.

NO TIPPING

Both signs are likely to be almost 30 years old. That's a long time for a typo like that to be hidden in plain sight!

The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport was founded in 1974 and the Stockport Pyramid was completed in 1992 after five years work.

Sadly traces of the old Metropolitan Borough of Stockport logo are becoming few and far between. There was one on an old noticeboard on Adswood Road in Cheadle Hulme until it was destroyed in a road traffic accident last year!

  

Thanks to Natalie Ainscough for letting me know about this sign with the old logo on at Woodford Recreation Ground.

Holidays at home - Stockport, 2020

Who needs the Giza Necropolis in Egypt or the Luxor in Las Vegas when you've got the Stockport Pyramid in Kings Valley.

With nowhere to go on holiday this year we've been exploring the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport even more than usual. We had a nice walk around the Stockport Pyramid and along the Trans Pennine Trail yesterday evening 

The Stockport Pyramid was completed in 1992 and was originally planned to be the first of five pyramids in Stockport's own Valley of the Kings.

That plan didn't come to fruition and the Stockport Pyramid sits on in the Kings Valley industrial and trading estate next to the M60.

Until last year the Stockport Pyramid was home to The Co-operative Bank. It's now To Let.

I do like seeing quirky buildings and local follies.

The Pyramid is one of a number of superb landmarks and interesting buildings in Stockport.

A bench at the Stockport Pyramid

What a spot for a nice sit down.

The bench is nestled between the Trans Pennine Trail, the River Mersey and the Stockport Pyramid.

Spot the odd one out...

Can you spot the odd one out?

- Top: Pyramids on the Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in Glossop, Derbyshire.

- Bottom left: The Stockport Pyramid.

- Bottom right: The pyramid hole on the old Crazy Golf course at Greens in Padstow, Cornwall.

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Remnants of Blockbuster Video

Finding some more traces of the lost brand.

We've always enjoyed exploring our surroundings, looking for and hunting out interesting things. We've seen quite a few ghost signs on our travels and many of these are hangovers from another time, some even dating back over a hundred years.

Since we found the remains of Blockbuster Video just up the road from us in Fallowfield, Manchester we had a look to see if there were any other former branches still showing signs of the brand.

We were in luck as on our walks around Cheadle Hulme and Marple we spotted the ghostly outline of a sign, as well as an old QuikDrop box.

The outline of the old big ticket logo of Blockbuster is still visible behind the Majestic Wine sign. A modern day ghost sign

The QuikDrop slot is the only part of the former Blockbuster Video Express in Marple that hasn't been painted over. It's now a Post Office

It'll be interesting to see if we spot any other traces of the brand once we're back out on the road on Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels.

You can actually play a Blockbuster Video crazy golf hole at Ghetto Golf in Digbeth, Birmingham!

The Blockbuster shop hole at Ghetto Golf Birmingham

Pickle Rick's in Stockport

There's a Pickle Rick's Pizza place in Hazel Grove, Stockport!

Cranford Golf Centre in Heaton Mersey, Stockport

A look at a lost golf centre in Heaton Mersey, Stockport.

The gates at the entrance to the old golf centre

In May we found a lost golf centre on one of our daily walks in Stockport during lockdown.

This building will not be standing for much longer

We were in Heaton Mersey again yesterday and had a walk round the Common and Nature Reserve next to the centre.

The fence at the back of the centre

A view of the rear of the golf centre building

There's some graffiti on the buildings

Cranford Golf Centre was a golf driving range. It closed down on the 31st October 2014.

The range and bays

A closer look at the bays

A view of the overgrown driving range

Looking online there were plans for the area to be turned into housing. We saw a notice with more details of the demolition of the golf centre buildings on the gate yesterday, it was dated 22nd June 2020.

The public notice about the proposed developments on the site

Pubs of Stockport

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.

Related blog posts:
- Pub
- Pubs
- Stockport
- Lockdown

Resident Needle

I don't think I could've seen a better business name, sign and shopfront during my pandemic lockdown daily outdoor exercise than this one in Woodley Precinct, Stockport!

What voice would you use to say this shop name out loud?

Link:
- Resident Needle Tattoo Studio

NO GOLF in Compstall, Stockport

We saw this NO GOLF sign on our daily outdoor walk at Pleasant View in Compstall, Stockport.

No horses allowed either

NO GOLF in Hawk Green, Marple

We saw this NO GOLF sign on our daily walk on The Green in Hawk Green, Marple, Stockport.

Petanque at the Memorial Park in Marple

A look at the Petanque piste at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.

We found another Petanque piste while out on our daily walk on Friday. It's at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.

It's in a nice setting

We're looking forward to playing Petanque on the piste in the future. We haven't had a game in a while

Last month we saw a sign for a Boules area at Bramhall Park. But couldn't find any trace of the terrain itself.

We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Social distancing at Cheadle Makers Market

We went to our first outdoor market during the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday morning.

It was an interesting experience indeed.

There was a lot of social distancing signage and a good range of stalls.

There were lots of people out and about too too. Unfortunately not everyone understands what arrows and warning signs mean.

We didn't stay there for too long, but did buy some nice gin and mixers from DS Artisan Food & Drink before we scarpered.

I've been posting snaps of the wide-range of social distancing posters and signs I see on my daily outdoor exercise during the time of coronavirus. You can see them here on the blog and on my Instagram. I've seen some interesting, colourful and clear ones. And some really terrible ones too.

Pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown

A look at Stockport's pubs during the lockdown.

I've been photographing the pubs of Stockport while out on my daily exercise.

This is No. 131 - The Jolly Sailor in Davenport.

The Jolly Sailor is the first of the pubs we've seen open during lockdown, albeit in a very limited manner. They are serving takeaway coffee and cakes.

Here are the social distancing signs and measures they have put in place.

You can see more of my Stopfordian Pub photos on Instagram.

We're looking forward to when pubs reopen and it's safe to visit them again.

We've missed going to the pub for pub quizzes, but have been doing quite a few during lockdown.

Social distancing and Covid-19 signs

Have you seen any particularly good, bad, or downright ugly social distancing signage during the pandemic?

I think the signs at Stockport bus station are nice and clear.

It's going to be interesting to see how social distancing signs change and develop over time and as more places reopen.

Recording the signs

I've been snapping signs I see during my daily outdoor exercise and logging them on Instagram.

Social distancing minigolf

The first social distancing signs at a miniature golf course we've seen in person were at Bruntwood Park's Pitch & Putt course last month.

Social Distancing Miniature Golf

Seeing social distancing miniature golf in Cheadle.

We saw social distancing measures in place at a miniature golf course in person for the first time today.

The additional rules of Pitch & Putt during the current 'new normal'

It was at Bruntwood Pitch & Putt in Bruntwood Park, Cheadle, Stockport.

Spacing lines for queuing at the course

We were out on a bike ride for our daily exercise and cycled through the park.

The green of hole 1

The lady at the course said they'd had a good morning with players enjoying a game on the 18-hole layout.

A view of one of the holes at Bruntwood Park's Pitch & Putt course

We saw a couple of pairs out on the course just after a downpour.

You can just make out two golfers playing the course in the distance

There was clear signage and spacing marked out for queuing to the kiosk. There were also spaces marked out on the approach to the first tee.

Social distancing signage at the entrance

Spacing marked out on the approach to the first tee

Playing at Bruntwood Pitch & Putt

Bruntwood Park's Pitch & Putt was the 695th course we visited and 414th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We played there on Miniature Golf Day 2016.

Playing hole 1

Visit the Bruntwood Pitch & Putt website for more information.

I always keep my minigolf scorecards, but someone had discarded theirs elsewhere in the park. Sad to see

Related blog posts:

• Cheadle
• Stockport
• Coronavirus
• Social Distancing
• Bruntwood Pitch & Putt
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• The next normal rules of minigolf
• Competitive socialising in isolation
• The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files

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