Tuesday 29th December. 4 miles. Goosnargh.
On the news today people from London, Tier 4, are being turned away from the Brecon Beacons which happens to be in Wales. It beggars belief and I would hope that they are fined, but it is unlikely. We are in the most serious phase of the Covid-19 crisis and people are not heeding the advice never mind the rules. January is going to be bleak.
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My drive today was a safe three miles for a walk on lanes out of Goosnargh for some more exercise and vitamin D.
I could have sworn from past visits that the lane down past Middleton Hall was well surfaced but no I was mistaken, it was muddier than my trainers could cope with. I carried on regardless. The views to the Bowland Hills and Longridge Fell were from a different angle to recent ones.
Middleton Hall.
Beacon Fell and Bleasdale.
Longridge Fell.
Westfield Brook was running swiftly below the little footbridge but there were signs in the fields of recent flood levels. 
On the far side was a dedication bench with the quotation – “Time is precious. Waste it wisely.” Attributed to a I wish I’d thought of that, but I’ve not even read any of her sexy novels.
The lane did improve as I approached Goosnargh Lodge.
In a field alongside is a magnificent Cedar Of Lebanon, it deserves a better setting. 
The roadside lodge to the lodge has been renovated.
I was then back onto roads all the way to Goosnargh coming into the village alongside Bushell House. Bushell House has been running as a Charitable Trust to care for the elderly since 1743. My mother enjoyed her last few years there.
Next door was the parish church, C16th St. Mary’s. I popped my head inside and ended up in a long conversation with a long-lost friend who is a church warden. Outside is a sandstone sun dial dated 1746 and the medieval base of a cross, sadly overgrown. 
Two old inns completed the scene, Bushells Arms is now a private house and The Grapes is to let.
The Bushells Arms.
The Grapes.
I’ll finish with the pubs and a shot of the late December sky.
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Some people are so incredibly stupid, selfish and uncaring it makes me wonder if they have brains! 🙁 I like the look of the church and love the quotation on the bench 🙂
That quotation is a favourite of mine from now on – especially in these uncertain times when we, I, have time on our hands.
With reference to the first point it is worth reading Coniston Mountain Rescue Teams response,
“In line with other Lake District Mountain Rescue Teams, we have again been called out to rescue people who should not be here. The whole country is in the middle of a pandemic and there are restrictions on what you can do and where you can go. If you are in a Tier 3 or 4 area you should not be travelling except for work and other essential reasons. Going for a walk in the Lake District is not one of those reasons, unlike the first lock-down, you are not allowed to travel for exercise. People travelling to walk and climb in the Lake District are putting lives at risk, and not just their own. If you have the virus and have to be rescued every member of the rescue party will have to isolate for ten days, this will prevent those team members from coming to the aid of other people in distress. If any of the team members then become ill or even test positive then other members of their families will then have to isolate, some of those people are NHS workers who will no longer be able to go to work and look after patients.
We are not being elitists, we are not trying to keep the hills to ourselves, we are trying to look after each other and do our bit to try to control this terrible disease. It does not matter whether the government rules are legally enforceable or not, if everyone had followed the rules this situation would have been under control many months ago and we would not be in the situation that we now find ourselves in where thousands of people in the UK have died unnecessarily.
Cumbria Police have already fined people that we have had to rescue in recent days for travelling here from tier 3 areas of Lancashire. Please stay at home if you are told to, it’s very simple.”
Makes sensible and sobering reading BC, it’s a pity certain people don’t stop to consider the knock-on effect their actions, wherever they are, will have on other people. Since I got home from work on the 23rd I haven’t been out other than to take the dogs round the local avenues at very quiet times, usually early in the morning or very late at night. To be honest, for once I’m enjoying staying in 🙂
Enjoy your relaxing holiday.
That cedar tree certainly looks impressive. It must be very old.
I had never noticed it before. More of my “something new each day”.
You seem to be conjuring up an endless number of attractive waslks a short distance from home. Perhaps putting off the time when you ay have to start at the beginning again and walk therm in the reverse direction. That is a splendid final photo.
At this rate of viral progress I will be doing them for ever without reaching Nirvana.