'1984' at Standedge!

IN GEORGE Orwell's 1984, there is a passage where Winston Smith is in a beauty spot and a voice on a loudspeaker admonishes him, writes Stuart Field.

Something similar happened to me on the Pennine Way at Standedge this afternoon, but it wasn't Big Brother, it was CaRT!

You must leave!

I saw a notice about a footpath closure and stopped to read it. After a while, I heard a woman's voice on a loudspeaker some distance away: "You are being watched on CCTV. You are entering a restricted area. You must leave or further action will be taken".

It appeared to come from the builder's compound that had taken over the car park of Brun Clough reservoir as part of repairs to Swellands and Black Moss reservoirs, three of the many reservoirs in the area that were originally built to supply the Huddersfield Narrow Canal with water.

Stuart's photograph shows the view from the top of Standedge.