The ‘plastic bag’ man* and I have walked together in Lancashire  for years, I’ve stopped counting. Today on a short walk in the hills and vales of central Lancashire our most used phrase was the title of this post. OK so we did get lost within a mile of the start but allowing for that we seemed to visit parts of OS sheet 287 where we had ‘never been here before‘. I didn’t have time for a full day out and he is coaxing his  knees back into running, or rather walking, order. So the plan was a fairly level walk on lanes and canals, chatting however lost us in sodden fields of agricultural s…!  Back on track we walked through the reclusive and no doubt exclusive properties of Ollerton Fold and onto the towpath of the Leeds – Liverpool Canal, nothing much stirred in the early morning. The above mentioned OS map has a large chunk taken out by its explanatory panel and that is where we struggled for the second time today. The man whom we asked for directions to Heapey happened to live there so we were soon on the correct way. A hidden valley with horses, old mills, industrial workings, rail lines and footballers’ houses was a pleasant diversion. There were signs of recent flood damage and there is still a lot of water about. We magically arrived back at the car by the millpond in Brinscall. This whole area is worth further exploration.

* A  term of endearment.

The map gives some clue as to our whereabouts…