Delph...

We were up in t'ills today visiting friends in the pretty village of Delph which, depending on where you draw the border, is either in Greater Manchester or Yorkshire. I think it used to be in the latter until boundary changes in 1974 moved it into Manchester. It's best not to bring the subject up if you're up there. But the River Tame flows through the village and that drains west, through Manchester, and into the River Mersey, so geographically, it's part of the Manchester basin in my humble opinion.

It nestles in a valley in the Pennines, separated from the bulk of the city by some hills. It's a ten minute drive to the nearest tram station and from there you can be in the city centre in a about 40 minutes. It's an increasingly popular commuter village, people enjoy the village atmosphere within commuting distance of the city. I hope it doesn't get overrun like the Cheshire villages have. It may not because it's hilly and there are no great swathes of land to build executive houses on. And it can get cut off in winter when the snows come. None so far this season though.

I like the village atmosphere. Everyone seems to know everyone else. They take a pride in the village and it's well maintained. At the moment it's all dressed for Christmas but it's obvious that the locals have got together to decorate the village and it was all rather charming. I liked that some of the people had got together to decorate entire terraces of houses in a uniform way.

This is the village Christmas Tree outside The Swan in the centre of the village. I posted it because we are still in the Christmas season and will be until 6th January.