We have the art of paper-cutting on the Post this week, and it is indeed very much an art and not simply a crafty pastime. Joanna Koerten (1650-1715), a multi-skilled Dutch artist, is best known as a knipkunstenaar or papercut artist whose work is stunningly delicate and complex. It is hard to believe what she achieved with a single sheet of paper and a pair of scissors. This is 'Virgin and Child with St John' (c1703, V&A).

Not on abandoned railways, but along similarly neglected long, narrow lines, ginnel gardens are springing up in the alleyways or snickets (or other local names) running between the backs of terrace houses. What were often dumping grounds are transformed into community gardens in places such as Levenshulme in Manchester and Edgeley in Stockport. Even the Royal Horticultural Society embraced the idea recently with a show ginnel garden.

If all goes to plan, London will get its own elevated railway walk or "park in the sky" with the planned Camden Highline, the route of which will run from Camden Gardens to King's Cross providing much-needed free access to green space for locals. The charity has the design and planning permission but, as ever, it's the money that is required now for it to happen.

The Castlefield Viaduct is a short but vital 'sky garden' amidst a tangle of railway lines, bridges, and viaducts in the oldest part of Manchester. The 330m long Grade II-listed viaduct (1892) carried trains from the old Manchester Central Station until 1969. It remained closed and out of bounds until taken over by National Trust; work has been under way since 2022 with plans to extend the 150m walkway along the full length of the viaduct.

The best known planted railway line is, of course, the High Line in New York, open from dawn to dusk every day, and offering a very different and very beautiful elevated perspective of the city.  The first stage opened in 2009 and the 1.5 mile walk was completed in 2014. What makes it truly spectacular is the inspired perennial planting by Piet Oudolf who "translated the magic of the self-seeded landscape of the derelict railway into what you see today". 

This week on the Post we have gardens and planting on abandoned railways lines. The first project of its type was the Promenade plantée or Couleé verte René-Dumont along the former Vincennes railway line viaduct in the 12ème arrondissement of Paris. It is 4.7km long and was opened in 1993. It provides a peaceful green or, in autumn, golden walkway ten metres above street level. There are plans to extend it to link up with the disused circular Petite Ceinture which features in Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu.

The first of the David Mellor shops was opened in London in 1969 and they have been places of beauty and usefulness ever since, establishing a new style of retailing in terms of display and merchandise. However, it is even nicer to go to Hathersage in Derbyshire where David Mellor lived with his wife Fiona MacCarthy, author of the groundbreaking biographies of William Morris and Eric Gill. His son, Corin, carries on the business based in the Round Building cutlery factory which was built in 1989 on the foundations of a gas holder. There is a mini-museum of Mellor's designs, factory tours, the wonderful shop, and a cafe with a view of the beautifully designed factory. (Hathersage also has a delightful open-air heated swimming pool.)