A long hot summer
Sunday August 4th. Dales Way Part 3. Ribblehead to Sedbergh. 17 miles
Leader: Geoff Halliwell. 22 walkers.
Thanks to Howard for the pictures on the link above.
Thanks to Geoff for the pictures above
Wednesday August 7th. Fairies and Pharaohs. 14 miles.
Leader: Norman Thomas. 20 walkers and 2 dogs.
“Fairies and Pharaohs” – what a name for a walk! It certainly attracted a different kind of clientele. All the club’s top fairies turned out. As Norman led us off from the start at Fairy Glen and into the woods he instructed us, “Say Good Morning to the fairy”. There were that many about you looked around and thought “well which fairy do I say good morning to?” All that is of course a little joke and I’m sure everyone has taken it in the spirit it was intended!
This is just a fabulous route and one of Norman’s very best. The rural and agricultural countryside round Parbold is just a pleasure to walk. There is so much to take in and marvel at. Fairy Glen was a delight, emerging into Appley Bridge , across the Leeds/Liverpool canal and up into Beacon Country Park – the perfect spot for our mid morning break; toilets and an abundance of picnic tables. From there we dropped back down to the canal towpath and off to Parbold. The new café and ice cream parlour (highly recommended!) saw Norman change his lunchtime plans. We went off through the lovely little village, onto Stony Lane and up the incline to Hunter’s Hill with its magnificent views of the Lancashire Plain – Liverpool Bay , Southport, Blackpool and the Lakes. We pulled Ken Noble’s leg that it was no wonder he left Yorkshire to come and live in Lancashire with views like this! (We did however ask him to keep it quiet as we don’t want anymore of them coming over – he and June within twelve months of each other is quite enough thank you very much!).
The highlight of the walk was still to come with Horrock’s Hill and the site of Doreen Viney’s late husband’s John memorial bench. We all had a minute or two here to reflect on what this meant but John’s view from there is just wonderful.
A couple of miles to the finish and off we went to the Farmer’s Arms – the perfect end to a perfect day for what must be the best bunch of people ever to circumnavigate Fairy Glen!
John
PS from Hilary. Ken clocked the distance on his gizmo as 13.98 miles, he said it had broken his heart to tell Norman that his mileage was spot on - that must be a first!!!!
Thanks to Howard for the pictures above.
Thanks to Terry for the pictures above.
A Wander on the Wirral Sunday August 18th 2013
16 persons and two dogs 21 miles Ldr : John Bullen
Driver Barbara and travelling companion Norman wandered up the Wirral, they wandered down the Wirral, they wandered across the Wirral and they ended up in……. Chester which isn’t on the Wirral. When they eventually (9.05am) arrived at our meeting place of Hooton Barbara blamed their confusion on the Satnav system. As Norman emerged from the passenger side red-faced, rather sheepish and had the road map in his hand it was hard to ignore the suspicion that the Satnav in Barbara’s car is a talkative, ex-plumber from Horwich who has never been known in seventy years to admitting being wrong about anything!
We picked up the excellent Wirral Circular Trail from Hooton, the first stop being the quite marvellous preserved railway station at Hadlow Road . It is maintained as the station was in the heyday of steam trains, even down to the station cat being asleep on the chair and the station master’s bacon and eggs already laid out for his breakfast. Leaving the disused railway line which is now a superb cycleway, walkway and bridlepath we headed for the Dee estuary coastline and entered the quite unique old resort of Parkgate. Now famous for birdspotters, Nicholls ice cream and superb old buildings this was once (around 1800) an important dock and high class resort. The composer Handel waiting to embark for Ireland stayed in what was then the George Inn (now the Ship Inn) and here it was that he composed The Messiah. Perhaps his boat was delayed for weeks by unfavourable winds and when finally it was announced ready to sail that glorious line, “Halleluiah” came to him! The next town of Ness was the birthplace of one Emily Lyon who became Lady Hamilton. This is indeed an historic place.
We hugged the coastline for another four miles before turning back onto and along the old railway line Wirral Way . After Parkgate we dropped back down to the riverside thus creating a walk which is in essence a flattened out figure eight. The afternoon delight was calling at the recently opened Lorraine’s tearooms at Burton Manor in the picturesque old village of Burton – there is not a better afternoon tea to be had for many a mile and the service was second to none. Reluctantly we had to don our rucksacks again and continue, heading back to our cars along some very pleasant country lanes through a horseriders’ paradise judging by the number of stables.
I apologise (again) about the mileage (21 as opposed to the 18 I said it would be). All I can advise for my walks in future is that “x” equals the mileage I advertise but the walk will actually be “x plus three”!! I think those people who said they weren’t going to come along because it was “too far” meant they know about my mileage miscalculations and they weren’t referring to the travelling distance!
It was great to see the Clarke brothers, Tony and Steve, out on this walk after an absence which could be measured in years. After their constant caustic remarks and biting sarcasm we can only hope it is even longer before they turn out again. Only joking lads join us again in another six or seven years but give us advance warning of which walk it will be!
Thanks to everyone who came along – we had a great day and the weather was extremely kind. A big thank you also to the Wirral Countryside Service who had been along with a strimmer just a day or two before.
John
Wednesday August 21st. Moor Perambulations.
Leader: Julie Wightman. 22 walkers and 2 dogs.
14 nautical miles or, if you insist, just over 16 miles.
Before departing the Boatyard car park at Riley Green, the usual pep talk was given with participants warned to expect the odd question (with prizes forcorrect answers) along the route.
This obviously generated a greatdeal of excitement and provided an ideal diversion from the uncertainty over the length of the walk! (see above)
From the Boatyard we headed west along the Leeds-Liverpool canal passing Withnell Fold before going across the canal at Bridge No 85 and heading up to the Blackburn /Chorley Road. Skirting Highfield Golf Club our next destination was Brinscall Hall (yoga or willow sculpture anyone?)
It was then down The Goit towards White Coppice. At this point the walkers were informed that Sir Norman Howarth. born in 1883 in said White Coppice, won the Nobel Prize in 1937 - but for what? The correct answer was arrived at by a process of elimination – it was chemistry.
Up and down Great Hill (height 381m – here we got the right answer to the wrong question!), lunch break at Hollinshead Hall and then up on to Darwen Moor and the Jubilee Tower (height 85ft– John Crook won prize for coming closest at 87ft) .Bythis time the sun was shining and it was nearly downhill all the way – round Earnsdale Reservoir and following the Witton Weavers Way through Tockholes towards and then under the M65 on to Stocksdale Lane. We were on the home stretch now as we turned left at Shawes Farm and made our way back along the canal to the Boatyard.
The walk ended in fine weather.(contrary to the forecast) Ken confirmed the mileage as 16.5 and I confessed that I had planned the walk on the computer using nautical miles which are, of course, longer than “ordinary miles”. My explanation that this was because we had walked along the canal was met (somewhat unkindly I thought ) with a certain amount of derision!!
Enjoyable walk with good company.
Julie Wightman.
Pictures by Don and Hilary