As the gates were shut and preparations for a post-lockdown reopening were still underway, I had to limit my photography to the view from the gate. This is where the camera on my phone comes in handy, as being able to poke it through the bars on the gate gave me a different perspective to that which my SLR did, especially with the super wide angle lens of the iPhone selected (equivalent to 13mm, wider than anything I have for my Nikon).

Super wide angle lenses have the effect of exaggerating perspective, which makes the headgear very small in the frame, but that was the effect I wanted to achieve, especially as there were some wet cobbles in the foreground. The sky is typically dark and cloudy as it tends to be in my black and white photography, but that’s pretty much as it was on probably the wettest day of the summer so far.

I’ve not been to Astley Green since 2008, so I look forward to going back when it opens for another look. I think quite a lot has changed since my last visit, certainly the narrow gauge railway wasn’t there before and I think the site is a bit more organised than it was before.

Please have a look at their website: https://lancashireminingmuseum.org

Their Facebook feed is also worth keeping an eye on if you do social media: https://www.facebook.com/TheRedRoseSteamSocietyLtd1