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Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan



Photo-a-Day Archive
Photo-a-Day Archive

Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 14th July, 2021)

The Hare & Hounds


The Hare & Hounds
The Hare & Hounds, Longshaw, Billinge.

Photo: Mick Byrne  (Panasonic DMC-TZ100)
Views: 2,005

Comment by: Veronica on 14th July 2021 at 07:56

The Ivy might look nice, but it can cause untold damage. It's growning underneath the slates.
I would lop it around the bottom and let it die off, but it needs more than that.

Comment by: Gary on 14th July 2021 at 08:25

Agree Veronica - Ivy causes damage in any garden, especially on timber fences.
The stuff on the photo needs to be lopped low down and strong weed killer applied near the roots. It could have rooted over time in the brickwork. That can be nasty and expensive to sort out.
When I saw the title Hare and Hounds I immediately thought of the former pub on Bolton Road, Aspull. Had a real shock when visiting a few years ago- it's flats now, but still looks like a Greenalls pub. Thoughts of sleeping where the tap room used to be! If anywhere had the remotest possibility of ghosts, they'd be there.

Comment by: Veronica on 14th July 2021 at 09:02

'Growing' ! Although it could be 'groaning' with the weight of it...

Comment by: Edna on 14th July 2021 at 10:07

Gary, straight away I thought of the one in Aspull. My word Mick you do get around.

Comment by: irene roberts on 14th July 2021 at 10:29

I remember going to "mother and baby" classes before my son was born and the midwife telling us expectant Mums to tell our husbands where the pubs were in Billinge so they could go for a drink whilst awaiting their new arrival! (I think the young mums of today would insist that the dads stayed with them during the birth!) The Hare and Hounds is certainly an attractive pub. I like red-brick buildings.

Comment by: Mick on 14th July 2021 at 10:39

I was told that on Easter Mondays every year the locals have a Ivy climbing competition.
The teams who all belong to the climbing Ivy league come from all over the country to take part, one team climb on the left Ivy and one team on the right Ivy.

Comment by: Veronica on 14th July 2021 at 11:27

The Ivy isn't strong enough to hold the weight of somebody climbing up it. I bet there's been a few accidents if anybody does try to climb up. It does cling fast with the little 'brushes' on the vines. I can't stand the plant at all. It grows up trees and chokes the life out of them.

Comment by: Helen of Troy on 14th July 2021 at 12:53

Pleasant frontage & a good name for a pub.
There is/was a pub at Holland Moor called the Hare & Hounds, had a weigh bridge out front.
Nice pic Mick !

Comment by: PeterP on 14th July 2021 at 13:55

It is a myth ivy causes damage to brickwork.Like any other climbing plant if there is bad structure then the ivy will grow into any gap and it is advised to keep it away from roof timbers. In my last house ivy covered the front of the house and it was over 2ft deep,I kept it just below the guller line.When I cut it down I just cut it at the base and then it rolled off the wall like a carpet . after a few weeks the suckers on the wall also just flaked off and there was no damage to the front of the house.

Comment by: Maureen on 14th July 2021 at 16:48

I remember a gardener ( I've forgotten which one) that said its a myth that ivy damages brickwork..if
anything it protects it.

Comment by: Cyril on 14th July 2021 at 16:53

Ivy exudes an adhesive from its rootlet pads that enables it to cling to surfaces, some good information about ivy here: https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2016/06/ivy-league-climber/

I remember going in there in the early 1970s and could hear very loud whistling, it was a Mynah bird in a cage at the bar and every time someone came in it would start off whistling, didn't stop long.

Comment by: PeterP on 14th July 2021 at 17:17

Gutter not guller oops

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