Another walk that didn’t go to plan.
It’s my fault for not reading the map correctly. We are up against barbed wire, no sign of a stile, and unable to progress. What’s worse is that we have a herd of cows pressing their noses at close quarters. Fortunately, they are not as skittish as some. It takes me some time to untwine the fastening of our escape gate back onto the public right-of-way path on the other side, where we should have been in the first place. By then, another herd of inquisitive cows had gathered to welcome us into their field—betwixt and between.
It all started with a phone call from Mike wanting to do a walk. He belongs to an elderly walking group and soon it will be his turn to lead the monthly walk, the parameters of which are becoming even tighter regarding distance, pub, terrain, stiles and mud. My walks don’t often fit their category, but I come up with a few suggestions. We plump for a Grimsargh itinerary, at least it starts and hopefully finishes at a pub, The Plough.
Straight out of the pub car park, we take a ginnel which is on the line of the Longridge to Preston Railway, until it closed in 1967. Within 50yards we are striding out into the countryside. 
The embankment stretches ahead, but we take a footpath to skirt around Grimsargh Reservoirs.
The first of several expensive properties we passed today.
These three redundant reservoirs have found new life as a wetland nature reserve maintained by volunteers. One is a reed bed, the next one is low-lying land and water, and the third is deep water—three habitats in one.
We cross the causeway between the first two, stopping at a hide to peer at the shallow lake. Geese, ducks, and a few waders are all we can make out. We see nothing in the reed beds. 
We come out onto the main road….
…and straight across into a new housing estate on land adjacent to what was once the Hermitage Restaurant, now a private house hiding in the woods. 
The line of the previous footpath is easy to follow, and we are soon out the other side, where a footpath track bypasses Woodfold Farm and heads towards the church. Another good track has us onto Alston Lane. Everything is going well, all perfect for Mike’s group. 
But once we hit the fields, my concentration goes, and we end up in the wrong place. The map with its red dot may explain it. 
By the time we extricate ourselves out of the fields and away from the cows, some dodgy stiles weaken our resolve, and we walk into Grimsargh on Elston Lane, with tails, well and truly, between our legs.
There are more new developments to view. 
My final highlight, showing Mike the deep lake of Grimsargh Wetlands with not a bird in sight, probably came too late. 
A suggestion that we could tweak the route a little for his group didn’t go down well.
A shame it went a bit pear shaped but at least you didn’t get trampled by a load of cows.
Most of the walk was enjoyable. Just messed it up in those fields.
I was a bit cocky writing about cows on the path in my last piece. I would have been less so in your case. That was a lot of cows!
A posse of cows.
Whilst I find your photos of the countryside and comments interesting I do not like the photos you take and post of peoples homes along with the comments, it simply changes the whole tone of your musings.
Big chip on shoulder springs to mind ☹️
Sorry if I have offended you in any way. I’m happy to amend my comments which were only meant as a pun on the Sergio Leone movie title.
You have missed my point.
You take photos of private properties presumably without the owners knowing and then presumably without their permission you post them online, some of the photos you post are very intrusive. You are showing the world the location of houses, sometimes also showing the cars too and then have the audacity to use statements such as “expensive property”!
How utterly foolish.
That’s a serious welcoming committee!
Ginnel – a new word for me, somewhat embarrassing as a northerner.
Organising a walk for other people would be my idea of a nightmare. I have a low tolerance level for moaners. 😬
That is a lot of cows! I’m glad they behaved themselves.
We behaved ourselves.
Even better. 🙂
So were we.
Estate agents, the media relating to any news story involving residences, even when the location is not relevant to the story, all freely publish such photos. Anybody can also find photos on various Internet platforms including Google Earth. No need to trawl through blogs which have no other relevance to the trawler in subject matter on the off-chance of finding photos of residencies. The value of a property is an individual’s opinion snd is only subjective.
BC, please continue as usual with your informative and well constructed blog.
I don’t like walking in fields full of cows.
I try to avoid them wherever possible, but this time we were completely surrounded. No harm done.
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I cannot believe the absurdity of someone criticising you for describing a property as ‘expensive’. The average property price in the UK is around £270,000, so it is entirely uncontroversial to describe any property likely to cost more than twice that price as ‘expensive’.
As for taking photographs of private houses, this is a relatively free country and you have the right to take photographs from public land (except for the purposes of terrorism). If people don’t want their houses photographed, they are entitled to build high walls and live in their own self-inflicted prison.
Do please continue with your usual and much appreciated practices. I enjoy your blog immensely, and live very near to your latest offering from Worston.
Thanks.
I refrain from getting into arguments on any social media. We are all entitled to our opinions, within reason.
Google Earth is probably the most intrusive device.
At present, I’m in Hertfordshire, where there are some seriously ‘expensive’
Thanks.
I refrain from getting into arguments on any social media. We are all entitled to our opinions, within reason.
Google Earth is probably the most intrusive device.
At present, I’m in Hertfordshire, where there are some seriously ‘expensive’
properties.
You, we, live in a beautiful part of the country.