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On 10th February 1980, Bleak House, a Grade 2 listed Reservoir Keepers House at Crowden in Longdendale became my home. For a young lad who loved the countryside, the move to the hills promised much, and over the twenty eight years of my tenure it certainly delivered, and as you will discover, much, much more than I ever could ever have imagined.
The Watermen of the Longdendale chain of reservoirs were highly regarded, the Waterman at Woodhead was legend. I was lucky enough to be the last in a long line of Watermen at Woodhead stretching back to the end of the 19th Century and this book, originally titled ‘The Crowden Years, Volume 1, tells the tale of my first five years at Bleak House, Crowden, 1980-85, and there’s another twenty three to go at.
Truth is, Sean was never on his own and his daily encounters with former residents of the valley, he call them 'Walkers’, soon became a parallel life which he mostly kept to himself, well you would, wouldn’t you, talking to dead people? Parallel describes how the ‘Walkers’ were playing out their ‘past’ lives for Sean mostly themselves to see, walking in regular routes coming in and out of our world and time to communicate with Sean. They appear amongst the wildlife, inextricably linked to the land the special places, the characters, the history of railways, reservoirs and beyond. This is a fast moving tour de force of Sean’s first five years at Bleak House…readers will begin to listen out for…‘Hey Mister!’ and keep their eyes peeled for the wonderfully enigmatic Shining Girl.
