In days gone by, a mill at the end of the street was a common site in Lancashire and Yorkshire, with the terraced housing being built for the mill workers. Let’s not romanticise it though – these places were noisy and had smoke billowing out of the chimney 24/7 so I can’t imagine they were great places to live. Certainly by the time I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, sites like this were becoming less common and the only smoke coming out of the chimneys in Bolton was from the fires lit by the steeplejacks to demolish them.

The photographer in me liked the scene above, the mix of lines, shapes and textures just appealed. But when you look closer, you see the sagging roof in the lower left and the window frames that are missing panes of glass and boarded up. Then you see just a slither of metal cladding that defaces so many old buildings, just visible between the mill building on the left, and that stone structure in the middle. Lots to see here, but best viewed on a computer screen rather than a phone screen.

The view down the back street. Yes, you do get funny looks taking pictures like this, which is why I tend to go on quiet weekend mornings.