The post office is about life and lifting the lid on Schrödinger's demon tree

Catching up with some more photos today, this time from a couple of leisurely wanders, through Sutton yesterday and to the nebulous land between Higher Hurdsfield, Kerridge and Rainow today.

Getting to Sutton unfortunately requires going up sodding London Road (there are some rough spots in town but words cannot do justice to precisely how shit and depressing that particular part of town is, it's fucking grim) but thankfully, once we get just past the canal bridges and the car wash, then we can take a detour through Lyme Green, a pleasantly picturesque village, where we are welcomed by the hoofin' great tree near the bus stop.

Also of note, work has resumed on The Other Death House, not the Death House that turned up a while back (that has since found a buyer, fair play to whoever has taken that on, they've got their work cut out there!) It's been sitting there with naff all happening for at least a few years and at one point there was an old sideboard effort outside, which could feasibly have contained a corpse, but probably didn't. But yes, while it was sitting there, half-finished and vaguely ominous, then of course I and a few other people were speculating about what kind of horrors might await in there. In the words of Helen Bauer, "It's just good chat, isn't it?"

Stopped on a few benches along the way because my dodgy leg has been an absolute bastard lately (every time I set my foot down, a sharp pain runs through the back of my knee - it's a fucking nuisance), across from a field and near to a house that looks like something from a Susan Hill novel, where a couple of sheep were perusing among the long grass.

Looking over a field where there were more sheep, and in the distance, frolicking lambs! Adorable! Alas, my phone camera dulled down the nice red tint to the tips of the grass, but you can't have everything.

 

Your standard issue rural lane, complete with satisfyingly shaggy plants (none of them started up with 'It Wasn't Me' though, which is a bit of a let-down.)

The stile, which I've walked past numerous times and never thought to take a detour along here. Maybe that's something to bank for the next time I'm at a loose end.

The next stop from here was the post office, which has some proper Postman Pat energy - it's a tiny place, tucked away at the back of a little newsagent (where I did my bit for local business and bought a couple of yogurts), with the walls densely packed with cards, stationery and paper doilies for some reason. The counter is a worn old slab of wood that will probably outlive us all; there are sets of scales that look built to withstand nuclear fallout; it's just such a treasure of a place, and I am absolutely charmed by it. Parcel successfully sent, it was time to head back.

On the way home, we have this delightful little shed/hut effort, with a nearby stairway leading up to the canal, through a gauntlet of bracken. And from here, it was past the Railway View (alas, no luck for having a pint on this occasion, as according to CAMRA, it only opens in the evenings during the week) and down sodding London Road again.

Now, today's venture was all about putting a ghost in the grave - is the Demon Tree of Kerridge Road still there? As of 2019, it was, and it was a sight to behold! Still, as we all well know, a lot can happen in 7 years, so I finally got 'round to investigating (despite being in pain the entire time, curiosity won out on this occasion.)

On the way up there, I took a detour by Knight's Pool, where there was this enticing walkway, a bench to sit on and numerous geese. I might explore around here in a bit more detail some other time but today, the tree took priority.

 

 

Down this ginnel behind some flats, there's a stone wall and some plants, leading to a little pocket of town I've never been down before. I've been along the surrounding streets countless times but this specific nook here is hot and fresh! Turns out it's also a handy shortcut to the Vaguely Victorian Co-op (it's literally a lavishly tiled little building with a Co-op in it, very incongruous), which leads us closer to our destination...

 

Going along the canal, there's not a great deal to see along this particular stretch of it, but there is a decent view of the hills, framed quite nicely by this bridge.

 

Geese! Among these treasures were some juveniles, starting to get their distinctive markings, and some younger goslings still had the downy fluff on them. Just so precious!

 

Coming off the canal, we head up these rather lovely stairs and start heading through Higher Hurdsfield, towards Rainow. At the top of the stairs, since my last trek up here, a little book exchange has been set up.

There's also a bunch of interesting oddities here, given that this whole area is sprawling over some hills. The houses are a bit lower than the road along this side, and the walls have occasional breaks with little steps in them. Further down, heading back towards Macclesfield, there are also some terraced houses on a crest, with a raised walkway leading to them - suffice to say, I am absolutely charmed by little curiosities like these.

 

A date for your calendar there, if you fancy a scarecrow fortnight (sounds like an emo band from the mid-noughties, to be honest.) Also this is where it starts getting a bit liminal, with the intriguing frayed edges between urban and rural spaces, always a treat.

An old milestone, complete with the long S, which has been given a spruce-up. I have an older photo of this one somewhere, when it was looking a bit more rough. This one would probably have been better photographed closer to the ground, but I had a lot more walking to do and didn't want to risk kneeling down with my leg being as Bastard as it has been this past couple of days.

 

Some fields, with shaggy plants growing along the stone walls. This is where it gets dicey to navigate on foot; the pavements are narrow and various stretches only have pavement on one side of the road, so you have to switch over here and there. Also, the roadside plants don't appear to be cut back along this bit, so nettles and thistles are weapons free, and they are fucking angry.

Reaching our destination now, with Higher Hurdsfield behind us, the road to Rainow on the right, Kerridge Road on the left. There's a bleak and atmospheric field exuding more Susan Hill energy, where languid sheep are grazing, but is the Demon Tree still here? Let's turn the corner and find out...

 IT LIVES!!!

Somewhat diminished from its former glory but still, the Demon Tree persists to exude a general aura of menace for another day!

So what's changed with the tree? Well, I distinctly remember back in 2019, it had more of a chaotic scrum of twigs emerging from the break at the top and it had more dramatic black-and-white marbling on it. Still, it bears such familiar hallmarks as a remnant of a barbed wire fence being embedded into it; numerous termite-looking pockmarks and horror vacui swirls; various splits and cracks - it's definitely still got a bit of a cursed vibe about it.

Slightly obscured by the nettles but you can see some of its surviving marbling and the barbed wire it's previously assimilated here, along with some cracks and various holes.

 

 

More of the marbling is faintly visible here, bringing out the densely packed swirls. It cuts a compelling and grotesque figure.

 

 Under this messy protrusion here, there's what appears to be a little smattering of bits of bark clinging on in that little crevice there.

 

 

There are also some gouges here, of unknown origin, and nearer the top, what appear to be some bits, possibly stubs of broken twigs that are almost like spikes - this bugger is not messing about!

 

 

And from this angle, it's doing a pretty bloody good impression of that hoofin' great effort off the end of Dead Space. On that note, persistence confirmed and curiosity reignited regarding seriously, what the actual fuck has gone on with this tree because it is a horror-show, it was time to get on my way back home.

 

 

 

I like to imagine that this sign has sod all to do with the overhead power lines and everything to do with the Demon Tree.

 

 Heading back through Higher Hursfield, there's this intriguing little flagstone walkway between a couple of houses - absolutely sublime, 10/10, no notes.

 

And a curious hen! 

 

 The George and Dragon (not the one on Sunderland Street, which is still very much a going concern) still sits empty, gradually decaying. There's an article from 2022, which shows its old sign still intact. I can't remember specifically how long this building has been stuck in this bloody derelict state for but yeah, it's been bloody ages!

 

Adam's pot - seems remarkably bold to leave yer stash right out in the open like that!

 

 This launderette with a distinct '70s aesthetic - also, isn't that the same font used for Reeves and Mortimer's various designs over the years? It definitely looks the part...

 

 Going by Nosh and Breks, which was closed (I was hoping to stop there for a coffee, but no such luck) however, there is this wonder in the window. The random underlines and "(also known as a fortune teller)" properly amused me - superb stuff. Maybe not quite on a par with that job ad I found back around the early 2010s, recruiting for a clairvoyant phone line, that expressly stated "Applicants do not need to be psychic", but it did make me laugh. Clinton Baptiste and Keith Futures have got some stiff competition 'ere!

 

 And, in closing, it is with great regret that I must announce the VLC mascot is in the midst of an existential crisis in this gulley. Or maybe it's looking for those rumoured underground tunnels (which have been sort-of debunked, but I can't find the article about it right now. It has been linked to in a previous post though.) Either way, the atmosphere of despair and disappointment is strong 2026 energy.