And Finally.....


Bring me Sunshine..... Geese walk on water.... Morecambe Bay Oh we do like to be beside the seaside! Spot the Walker... Train close encounter
The Lacquered Knacker. Weds Dec 29th from Morecambe. 14 people. 13 miles.

Leader John Bullen






Confession time first - this was what you call “flying by the seat of your pants” or if you’d seen us on the recce two days earlier “sliding along on the seat of your pants”.

The walk title came from the local nickname for the Golden Ball pub at Snatchems on the bank of the River Lune. A hostelry where the landlord and his lady really looked after us on the previous Christmas walk. Halfway through the year the pub closed, down, then opened up again, then closed down again so I got the final “they can’t do anything for us” about the first week in December. Then came the snow. With no pub as the midday destination that walk across from Heysham was going to be lethal and unnecessary. To cut a long story short I completely changed the route at the last minute and reccied most of it two days prior. I just thank everyone on the day for their patience and understanding.



To my rescue came Roy, the landlord of the Three Mariners pub in Lancaster. He had been the man trying to keep the Golden Ball going but when his best efforts failed he offered us hospitality at his own pub. He set a room aside for us and his chef, Carl, made us a big terrine of piping hot, delicious vegetable soup with a bread roll. And he turned a blind eye to people eating their own butties! Also to my rescue came Ruth who advised me on the new route and reccied it with me and for me even though she was unable to make the main event herself due to family Christmas commitments.



So we went north rather than south, up from Happy Mount Park, Morecambe along the Lancashire Coastal Way to Hest Bank and on to Bolton-le-Sands – what a lovely little place that is! After waiting at a level crossing for a few minutes for the Edinburgh Flyer to come through and nearly blow Alma off her feet we crossed the main Carnforth/Morecambe road and had our morning coffee break in the Memorial Gardens. Adding to the delights are some ancient and interesting buildings in Bolton-le-Sands, 1665 on the cottages adjacent to Salt Pie Cottage.

From here we picked up the delightful Ancliffe Lane which runs through Slyne-with-Hest into Lancaster itself. After that lovely soup in the 13th Century Three Mariners Inn we used the Cycleway back to Morecambe. We just had to have a look at the wonderfully revamped Marine Hotel and the Stone Jetty before the traditional “Bring Me Sunshine” photograph with the Eric Morecambe statue! The Bay was at its very best as we finished with the tide just rolling in. What of that horrendous weather? We were bathed in sunshine for most of the day believe it or not!



Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable and enjoyable day and what a debut for our new signing Lynne!!!!



John Bullen