MTVCA WALK 30/11/13 |
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We couldn't have asked for a better day! 11 of us met at Clayton Vale at 11am. It was cold and sunny and the grass around the main paths was covered in frost. A great day for walking. Before setting off we visited the "Friends of Clayton Vale" visitor's centre which as well as providing hot tea and coffee (always a welcome sight for travellers) provided us with a history of the vale in newspaper clippings and black and white postcards, to the present day.It also contained a book on the history of Baron Orlov,the meerkat from the TV commercials (which is why he appears on this page!). We took the main path through the vale and some of the group who had explored Clayton Vale growing up spoke of how much the vale had changed over the intervening years. It was well stocked now with trees and the banks of the river had been sculptured with new retainer walls, walkway and bicycle paths. Several ponds were seen along the way with one being dredged to remove a lot of sludge which had gathered at the bottom. The journey itself was about 1.5 miles there and 1.5 miles back again. On the outward journey we took the lower pathway through the vale and our return journey through the upper pathway. We visited Philip's Park Cemetery and then turned on to Bank Road where some reminiscing continued about now demolished cooling towers, community scrub houses and the once beautiful site of thousands of tulips in designed flower beds on site. At the pond area we stopped off for lunch (and a group photograph) with the resident pigeons. All in all it was a lovely invigorating walk with many happy memories captured in the group. |
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Bridges and stones at Clayton Vale.
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Obelisk...possible gateway from the MTVCA'Stargate'! |
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Viaduct. |
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Cemetary. |
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Map showing the flora and fauna. |
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Murals displaying the history of the vale under the old viaduct. |
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A lovely image Paul spotted over a pond. |
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Group photo. |
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Wind Turbine seen on the railway. |
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Information at the vistors center on the area history. |
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The skies at the end of the day. |
