Tag Archives: Canals

CHESHIRE RING WALK – Northern Section, day 2.

CHESHIRE RING WALK – Northern section, day 1.

Acton Bridge – Lymm.

The Cheshire Ring is a 97mile circular canal route linking six canals. Trent and Mersey; Bridgewater; Rochdale; Ashton; Peak Forest and Macclesfield with a total of 92 locks. Somebody had the bright idea of using the tow-paths as a walking route, skirting the Pennines, passing through the Cheshire countryside, vast industrial areas and the city centre of Manchester.

Conrad had already walked half last year but we teamed up for the Northern Stretch over three icy days this January, using my son’s house in Altrincham as a hub.

See Conrad’s version at http://conradwalks.blogspot.co.uk/

We were dropped by the Acton Swing Bridge which is actually on the navigable River Weaver, at this point close to the Trent and Mersey Canal where we joined the ring.

Walking briskly to combat the cold we made good progress along the tow-path through rural Cheshire until confronted by an unexpected blockage.

Undeterred we proceeded with only a little squeezing past barriers. The canal had been drained in one section for repairs.

The spoil of some past crime had been recovered ……

The weather took a turn for the worse with cold rain and the path more muddy, reaching for my poles I discovered the lower section of one had dropped out at some stage but there was no point in returning to search. Sad after 20 or more years of faithful use.

A tunnel without a tow-path was climbed over, a kingfisher was spotted, we ducked under the M56, a seat found for lunch, Fiddler’s Ferry power station belched its steam.On the edge of Warrington we found an antiquated chandlers shop open and serving hot drinks from a machine. The owners were a font of canal tales and warned us to be wary tomorrow of local youths causing problems where the canal winds through the city. From there it became more Cheshire-like to finish in the sandstone town of Lymm.

A full day and what with all the slipping about in the mud I felt tired enough to ponder two more days of the same. A bus meandered through the countryside back to Altrincham.

IRWELL VALLEY TRAIL. 2. INTO MANCHESTER.

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Left Ramsbottom on what promised to be a warm sunny day, no shops were open yet. Soon picked up better waymarking which persisted all day – different local authorities. Leaving the river for fields I found the path weaving between Rose Bay Willow Herb and Himalayan Balsam, the latter had not reached the popping stage which will be dramatic here.

A lovely long stretch of cobbled path took me to an old cotton mill at Brooksbottoms, no doubt this is the way the workers tramped to and from their employment. Then I walked close to the East Lancs railway and passed through Summerseat station….….before dropping down to the river and a climb into fields with views back to the prominent Peel Tower above Ramsbottom.

The walking maintained a high standard alongside the Irwell through Burrs Country Park.Actually found some sculptures in the old mill area of the park.

STONE CYCLE

PICNIC TABLE

The stones came from an old bridge in Bury and the picnic table could be a ‘trap’ for tourists. Slipped out of Bury on Cycleway 6, an abandoned railway, past the Elton sailing reservoir and then along the overgrown and defunct Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. All this was unexpected rural walking. Got chatting to an elderly man taking his daily walk home along the canal, his wife thinks he catches the bus, he was 92 after all.The canal took me right through Radcliffe where a butty bar provided tea. Further on field paths took me to rejoin the cycle way track which led for a couple of miles through remote feeling woods. This was the site of Outwood Colliery which closed in 1931 after a fire.

Further stone statues were in evidence –

After crossing the busy M62 motorway I entered Prestwich Forest Park, under the 13 Arch Old Railway Bridge, with well signed and used cycle and walking routes. I was walking alongside the Irwell but views were restricted by the abundant vegetation, another wild area where Giant Hogweed has established itself.After all this rural walking it was a shock to walk down the first busy road of the day. I did a rather pointless large loop with the Irwell, this is probably bypassed my most. It was only when I was alongside the Irwell in Salford that I started whistling Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town. The 551ft Hilton Tower acted like a beacon to guide me through streets to near where the Irwell empties into the Manchester Ship Canal. I had walked 18miles today, an exploration of Salford docks can wait till another occasion.

Trinity Bridge over the Irwell linking Salford and Manchester.

IRWELL VALLEY TRAIL. 1. WITH OR WITHOUT SCULPTURES.

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Having been out on the bike for a few days I’ve come to realise that despite the good exercise nothing really happens. You don’t get to chat to many people and your way is fairly delineated, little variation in terrain apart from up and down and few decisions to make. Dare I say ‘mechanical’. To make cycling more interesting I think you have to throw in some exploratory options on a longer trip – maybe more of that later in the year.

So I found myself on a bus, on a train and in a taxi to get to the start of The Irwell Sculpture Trail above Bacup in the rather bleak Pennine Hills south of Burnley. Nothing to mark the start of the trail, you might have expected some waymarking or a sculpture. Anyhow the infant River Irwell appeared and was to be my companion for two days. Gritty moorland tracks took me down the valley with some careful and imaginative navigating. I passed one recognisable ‘sculpture’ – The Sentinel – basically a glorified cairn but incorporating some excellent dry stone craft. Bacup was a disappointment. Lots of good back to back housing, a period decaying Bingo hall [probably an old cinema] and no cafe. Onwards on the wrong route over Huttock Top, some scruffy walking through back streets and parks at least by the Irwell, an old railway tunnel [illegal] …. …. brought me to Waterfoot. Lots of industrial heritage, not necessarily preserved, in evidence throughout the walk. The Duke of Buccleugh provided a sit down, a half pint of Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle with an illicit sandwich. Located another old railway track, no help from any waymarking which took me past a strange cave like structure without realising it was Spaces 9.XXXV’94 – ‘exploring the depths of the human-psyche and our relation to mystic natural forces’. Have I lost you there?

Coming back to the Irwell, now more of a river despite being hemmed in with urbanisation, a man was fishing for trout. A good sign that things have been cleaned up. More importantly there was a great little cafe tucked away in Lambert’s Mill, ‘cotton was king’ don’t forget in Lancashire. Have to give a shout for the very friendly Annie Peaches Tea Room! More old mills in Rawtenstall have been converted into flats and in one innovative case a Primary Care Medical facility. The cricket team were losing to local rivals ‘Rammy’ in the competitive Lancashire League as I walked past. A bit of dalliance at the East Lancs Railway followed to view the LMS ‘Crab’ steam locomotive 13065, but why oh why do they have to put a Thomas the Tank face on it ????? Once out of town there was some lovely countryside walking towards Ramsbottom. Passed a sculpture or two, the most impressive was In the picture framing the riverside fields. Through an industrial estate, they are never far away, and into ‘Rammy’ my attention was drawn to an apiarist calmly trying to get an unwanted swarm of bees from a fence into a box. By the Irwell bridge I was fascinated by the next sculpture called The River, an 88m stainless steel path meandering through a park with inspirational quotations inscribed into it. The next installation was the Vase directly in front of my lodgings for the evening. The pub bar was full of the local alcoholics when I arrived but I must say the room was perfectly comfortable and peaceful. Anybody who knows Ramsbottom will realise the extravaganza of eating establishments at your disposal. So I enjoyed a Thai meal at The Spice Garden.

In summary a good and enjoyable 13mile walk through varied scenery, poorly way marked [didn’t see an IST sign till the last couple of miles] and not really incorporating many of the sculptures in the valley. Tomorrow’s second stage?

EPISODE TWO – ON ROUTE 622, PRESTON GUILD WHEEL.

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On the spur of the moment I decided to cycle the Preston Guild Wheel again after my last rather troublesome trip.

Having replaced all my brake and gear cables as a precaution and having a few more miles under my wheels I set off with confidence. To ring the changes I cycled anti-clockwise this time which gave a different perspective to the scenery and of course different hills to climb.

The weather was forecast to be bright and breezy, that’s always good for walking but on a bike I’ve re-realised you have to take account of the wind strength and direction. Today it was from the west so got that out of the way early on as I rode out through Cottam and towards Blackpool before following the River Ribble back through Preston.

The route was very busy with cyclists, of all shapes and sizes, coming past me in the more popular clockwise direction. Cheery greetings to all. For a while I made a mental number, into the hundreds, of those passing until I realised I was encountering people from earlier in the day for the second time. I don’t know how much Preston spent on this project, but judging from its popularity, it must be one of the more successful endeavours with our council tax.

The dockland railway was in operation and I was able to have a ‘race’ alongside the steam train as it cruised into Preston.

The parks were all looking spic and span in the Spring sunshine.

MILLER PARK.

The cherry trees were still blooming and in the woods there was the first flush of bluebell blue.

By the end of my trip I was flushed with the exercise as I climbed the last steep hill in the hinterland of Fulwood. Must have a closer look at the map to see exactly where I’ve been. Some interesting place names were encountered – Lightfoot Green, Nog Tow, Frenchwood, Midgery Lane. I will endeavour to look into their derivations.

Have a walking trip planned for the end of the month, so will keep cycling to get fit and hope my foot copes with the actual walking then.

KEEPING IT LOCAL — THE REELERS TRAIL.

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Wake-up call.

This little chap woke me up this morning with his cheerful chirping. Time to get going.

As part of my rehabilitation, sorry to bore you again, yesterday I managed 5 miles in the boggy fields around Goosnargh and today met up with a mate to walk 8 miles on The Reelers Trail. The location was a convenient half way meeting point between us. This is one of four varied circular walks in Lancashire on The Witton Weavers Way — a 32mile route around Blackburn using historic tracks and visiting many industrial sites and period settlements.

Look for your self at — http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/Pages/Witton-Weavers-Way.aspx

The mist was just clearing as we left Abbey Village on a lane down to the Roddlesworth Reservoirs.

RODDLESTONE RESERVOIR, DARWEN TOWER IN THE BACKGROUND.

It was relatively early due to the clocks leaping forward. A calm section through woods led to a steep field path up towards the picturesque village of Tockholes with many 17th century buildings. We passed several listed buildings of this period including Higher Hill Farm, a small room jutting out of the first floor was the en-suite toilet of the age.

Apparently the track we were on was a Saxon bridleway connecting Rossendale to Preston. One interesting site was an old intact parish pinfold [pound] for stray animals.

Many of the cottages we passed were old hand weavers’ dwellings, now in great demand for semi-rural living. One small holding was using a llama to guard the poultry. Unusual sight in these parts!

Before long we were walking in close to proximity to the M65 motorway and into urban housing estates in Feniscowles.

NOT IDEAL WALKING.

The sun was out and the day took on a more friendly nature with leisurely canal-side walking, along with family cycling groups,

LEEDS LIVERPOOL CANAL.

A steep climb up towards Stanworth Farm and then we ducked back down under the rumbling motorway bridge.

UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES.

From here we entered a deep incut, almost secret, valley clothed in ancient woodland, rich in wild life. We were in a different world to the motorway.

This valley, which seems to be a tributary of the River Darwen, is a delight to follow and eventually brought us back to Abbey Village, the Hare and Hounds pub and a welcome pint outside in the warm Spring sunshine.

Simple short day but satisfying with lots of chat and not too much of a problem with the foot. Though I think I’ll be back on the bike this week!

PRESTON GUILD WHEEL – A CYCLE CIRCUIT.

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Preston Guild Week takes place every 20 years – I’ve witnessed three. It is an ancient tradition celebrating the Merchants Guilds who traded in the town, now city.

In 1179, King Henry II granted Preston the right to have a Guild Merchant and awarded the town its first royal charter. The Guild was an organisation of traders, craftsmen and merchants, who had a monopoly of trade in the town. Gatherings for renewing membership were infrequent, from 1542 Preston Guild took place every 20 years. In 1790 there was freedom of trade in the town, which abolished the need for a Guild. But people continued to celebrate the Guild, as its festivities had developed into prestigious social occasions, which continues to this day.

The Guild Wheel has been created as a lasting legacy of the 2012 Preston Guild. The 21 mile route makes the most of the different landscapes that surround the city, creating a rich and varied environment for people to enjoy on foot and cycle. For more information and downloadable maps visit https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/cycling/guild-wheel/

GUILD WHEEL IN RED.

This was therefore an obvious challenge for my new-found cycling enthusiasm. Cometh the moment, cometh the man. Unfortunately the man made two predictable mistakes .

1 I didn’t have a map, expecting my local knowledge and the way marking to be ample.

2 I strangely decided, despite being out testing my road bike for a week, to use my ‘Mountain Bike’ which had not been out of the garage for years.

Anyhow, parked up and ready to go on a blustery, cool day. The route has a start outside the Pavilion Cafe in Avenham Park, which today, a Saturday, was quite busy. The route is punctuated with mileposts giving the distance in either direction.

Start and Finish.

I opted for a clockwise circuit. I set off confidently, whizzing along the riverside track and soon arrived at the old bridge in Lower Penwortham.

The wrong way!

I was distracted by all the cyclists coming over this cobbled way and intuitively went the same way and on to a good cycle track. Only after some distance, as I headed up into Penwortham, did I realise this wasn’t the ‘Wheel’. My pride was too much just to turn around and go back, so totally disorientated I did an irrational loop into housing estates, cul de sacs and parks before having to ask a group of teenagers the way back to the river. Great start! By now I had also noticed my second mistake — my ageing cable to the rear derailleur had snapped, so I had to cycle the rest of the route in one gear!!!

Safely back over the bridge I was able to follow the correct way along the north side of the Ribble past the docks’ railway, no steam today, but I will return to check out their locomotives. Passed one in need of care and restoration.

Onwards through the docks’ area [one of the largest in Europe in the 19th century] another café at the Marina, and onto the seaward section of the Ribble, complete with seagulls and cormorants. Next there was a stiff incline [in the one gear] heading west into the wind alongside Riversway until a bridge took me over the busy road and back along a canal — The Ribble Link. This is the only canal constructed in the last century, connecting the Lancaster canal with the rest of the system via the Leeds Liverpool. This looks miniscule, and I wonder how many canal boats make the passage.

Onwards on surprisingly rural cycleways in Cottam and through the UCLAN sports fields, all areas I had no knowledge of. Still lots of cyclists coming both ways and with all being communicative it felt a very social day out. Somehow bypassed Eastway, past the ‘Hoppers sports ground over the M55 and ended up alongside the A6 in Broughton.

Quietness returned to Durton Lane with its speed bumps. Next I was going along the long neglected Longslands Lane and coming across the Asda superstore. Some steep inclines brought me onto the M6 motorway access at Bluebell Way [well, not quite] and Roman Way.

I was soon cycling through the grounds of Preston Crematorium, certainly plenty of variety!

A lovely section through Bluebell Woods, too early for the eponymous flowers, and steeply down the escarpment…

… to enter the Brockholes Nature Reserve with lots of earnest bird watchers’ binoculars trained on the lakes. Another location to revisit.

Good flat cycling alongside the River Ribble all the way back into Preston and Avenham Pavilion Café.

What a great trip out, though still stiff from the effort, and congratulations to Preston for making it all possible. Far too much interesting stuff for one post!

I’ll be back with a reliable bike, more fitness and a Map!

Next time I wonder about making a day of it and stopping at every single café en route – that would be quite an endurance trip.

T Dagnall’s’ Broody Duck’.

A BUSY WEEKEND. A long post of short walks, art and restaurants.

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A mad dash down to Preston station on Thursday to rendezvous with Mel, my old walking pal from way back. His wife had sent him up north for the weekend. Our usual first visit is to a local Indian takeaway for a quick lunch of Samosas. http://www.rksweets.com

Tempting delicacies.

The afternoon was showery with dry sunny intervals, we took the opportunity of one of these intervals for a quick walk, to blow the cobwebs away, around the forest tracks on Longridge Fell.

Pendle from Longridge Fell

Just made it before the next downpour.

The local curry house, http://hamadanrestaurantlongridge.co.uk/,

had a half price meal deal, so no debate about where we should eat.

Liverpool was our destination for the next day. Down to the docks and first The Tate Gallery and some interesting linked art exhibitions showing the influence of the masters on the their successors. In no particular order…

Girl in a Chemise. Picasso.

Jackson Pollock.

Simon Starling Five-Man Pedersen (Prototype No.1)

Haven’t been down here for a few years and the place is busy, some new statues including one of the iconic Billy Fury.

Billy Fury.

Liverpool 1 seems to have taken over in this end of town. Managed to find a Chinese buffet for lunch – cheep and cheerful! http://www.maysumrestaurant.co.uk/

Next on our whistle stop tour was the Walker Art Gallery with some early David Hockney paintings.

Early Hockney.

Watch this video for more interpretation. —

http://homotopiafestival.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-hockney-early-reflections.html

I will return to the Walker soon to look at their other exhibits. But now we were down to the Liverpool Library. Wow what a place!

The writer Frank Cottrell Boyce has said that the new library had been completely overhauled to an unrecognisable degree.He said: ‘It’s like going to meet your gran and finding out that she’s turned into Beyonce,’ Just stunning.

Celestial!

Go up onto the roof for wonderful views of the city and North Wales.

View from the roof.

Time to go home and reflect on the days experiences. They were getting ready to switch on the Christmas lights and delightful stilted fairies were wandering about.

Christmas fairies.

Getting out of some of these gated and ticketed car parks is never straight forward. Have a dread of getting to the barrier, nothing working and a great line of cars behind me!

Saturday was for relaxing, a short afternoon walk in the local countryside…

….and a meal with the family at night.

We had arranged to meet up with more friends on the Sunday for a walk based on the Witton Weavers Way near Blackburn. Lucky to have a bright, clear day so that Mel doesn’t think it always rains up here.

The Three Stooges.

The Leeds – Liverpool Canal tow path was busy with dog walkers, runners and cyclists.

Soon we were in the Hoghton Gorge with the river running high.

Above is Hoghton Towers the home of the de Hoghtons since the 12 C. It was claimed James 1st visited in 1617 and ‘knighted’ a loin of beef, this is most likely a false etymology for sirloin. We reminisced of adventurous climbing escapades in the nearby quarry.

Below Hoghton quarry.

But thoughts of food drove us on to the hamlet of Pleasington and the pleasant surprise of the Butlers arms pub. hhtp://www.thebutlersarms.co.uk

Despite our muddy boots and disheveled appearance we were made welcome and enjoyed a good pint and food. Highly recommended. The walk back through Witton Playing fields was enlivened by realistic model airplanes strafing us from 50ft.

The evening was spent with more friends at a favourite Indian restaurant in Leyland run by the lovely Jamal. Bangla Spice.

Monday morning was spent up in the village and a coffee stop at the best cafe [there are so many now] in Longridge – the converted station which has the added benefit of a heritage centre with old pictures of the railway and associated mills and quarries. http://cafe.longridgestation.co.uk/ We discussed the route of our next, annual, spring walk – maybe St. Cuthberts Way or the Icknield way.

By coincidence it was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month so we attended the service at the memorial next to the cafe.

In the afternoon I did a guided walk of the interesting historic sights of our village and will post this separately sometime. But more to the point of this post we were thwarted in the evening by the local Thai restaurant being closed. So off to Preston and the revamped Ming Dynasty. A new crew here served up a wonderful freshly cooked banquet of Chinese food. Highlights included salt and pepper fried Tofu,Dim Sums and fabulous prawns in garlic and ginger. Thanks. [Update = now closed!]

The next morning Mel was on his way back to London realising that we have some good eating places up north. I hope his wife doesn’t notice the weight he’s put on!!

So we walked maybe 25miles, stimulated our minds, ate x thousand calories and enjoyed the company of many friends and family.

Phew!

Can’t wait to do it again.

THERE’S WALKING AND THERE’S TALKING. [much ado about nothing]

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Sunday’s walk definitely came into the talking category. i had been trying to arrange a trip with friends up to White Hill, in the heart of the Bowland Hills, whilst the dry weather lasted but had been frustrated by a few wet weekends. There is no point going up there in bad weather with no views. I can be flexible with the days to fit the forecast but my friends, having to work because of the dour pensions situation, can’t.

So plan B was devised to do a low level walk easily accessible to us all. Even so we cancelled the Saturday because of heavy rain – glad we did. Sunday dawned dull but an arranged leisurely [10.30 AM] meet at East Marton seemed perfect as the day improved and blue sky appeared.

The usual suspects were involved. A the salesman. D the adviser. H the pieman. J the navigator [unfortunately me]. B the rock man never appeared.

D H and J assembled at the rendezvous at the appointed time. No sign of the usually punctual A. The call came through – he had turned right instead of left and ended up on the far side of Skipton. Being benevolent we waited for him to reappear, at speed, along the A 59. No mercy was spared on the comments on his navigational deficiencies.

A “raggle-taggle, beggarly crew” set off along the road to pick up our first bridleway. As this led off the main road there was obviously a problem with those people who, mistakenly, rely on their ‘sat-navs’

I dread to think what happens if you drive your HGV down this bridleway. It leads into the undulating back country on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. This area was a blast from the past for me as I spent many childhood holidays with my cousins on a farm, Stainton House, not half a mile from here. Great memories of a carefree time. The views today, despite our moderate elevation, were wide ranging… the Three Peaks, the Bowland hills, Pendle, Weets Hill and the Craven Fells… we seemed to be in the centre of them. By now the banter was in full swing and we were catching up on our relevant illnesses and life crises. So minor details such as finding the correct path away from the delightful Ingthorpe Grange were ignored.

Ingthorpe Grange

Only much later did we realise our [or my, the navigator! ] mistakes. Actually not that much later – we had only gone about a mile and a half – mainly at right angles to our intended route. It was however ‘easy’ to cut up a field to a road in our direction – unfortunately there was a major problem as this was blocked further on by engineering works.

Some barbed wire walking got us through and we bypassed the grounds of Gledstone Hall to reach a road at a known point. One of the problems was trying to navigate using a 1:50,000 map, 1:25,000 are almost essential for this type of rural walking. It must also be said that there was a distinct lack of FP signing in this whole estate area but our lack of concentration due to chatting was the main problem.

Now on farm lanes we made better progress but with less than a third of the walk completed it was unanimously decided to stop for lunch, it was well past mid-day. H the pieman had the best sandwiches. D the adviser was rather gloomy about interest rates. A the salesman had no luck. J the navigator kept quiet in view of his mistakes so far. Shame B the rock man wasn’t present to explain what we were sitting on. We enjoyed the stroll through the hidden hamlet of Horton with its lovely spruced up stone properties.

Crossing the busy A59 at Monks Bridge proved difficult with the heavy traffic flow. Back in attractive rolling fields gave good walking, but finding the way and stiles was again difficult with our map and lack of any signing. It didn’t look as though these paths were walked often.

The town of Barnoldswick was straight ahead and that is where I had planned to join the Leeds – Liverpool Canal at Greenberfield Locks for the last few miles.

Yet again we circumambulated [big word for went astray] and arrived in a park in town, from where we seemed to take back streets through the Rolls Royce Factory to eventually get onto the canal bank. Having checked we were heading in the right direction it was another mile before we reached the popular Greenberfield Locks.

From here the canal weaves its docile way through the rural land. More walkers and cyclists were encountered, a few canal boats drifted by. Everyone seemed cheerful in the warm sunshine. You know when you are back at East Marton by the double arched bridge, 161, over the canal.

This famous feature is a result of different road levels over time. Just above is the popular Cross Keys pub which made a perfect end to the day. They serve Copper Dragon ales from the brewery in Skipton. We enjoyed a final chat over a pint of Sun Chaser, their limited edition light summer beer. On reflection, maybe a ‘sat-nav’ would be a good idea.

For a map view of our 12miles wander………………..

THE GEOPARK WAY. Hollybush to Newent.

Walking the Calories off??

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Had an old [in both senses] friend staying for the weekend, this annual event usually involves lots of beer and curries. To mitigate the effects of the calorie overburden I’d planned a few walks. The weather turned out to be good for November, particularly since he comes up from the South and thinks we live in an icy wilderness. On the Saturday a short local walk took us via the banks of the Ribble down to Ribchester with it’s Roman relics. The plan was to have a pint and a sandwich at lunchtime in one of the local pubs and catch a bus back later.

River Ribble at Ribchester

Problem One was that the two traditional pubs in the village, The Black Bull and the White Bull, were closed so we wandered along to the Ribchester Arms. We were made very welcome and enjoyed a good beer with hearty sandwiches.

Calorie intake.

The bus timetable suggested a bus at 2.30, we arrived at the bus stop at 2.23 and waited and waited. Problem two was that no bus appeared, except returning in the opposite direction. I am sure that the bus must have arrived early and didn’t stop according to the timetable. This view was re-enforced by a poster at the stop suggesting the number to ring with complaints about the bus service. Probably a regular problem for the locals, obviously no way to provide a public transport service. We were rescued by a friend driving past!

My complaint about the bus service is being dealt with.

Bus complaints.

Anyhow, drawing a veil over the Saturday night’s calorie intake Sunday dawned bright, sunny and dry. We had arranged to meet four good friends at Foulridge in the car park of a restaurant where we would eat in the evening.

All assembled we set off for a walk around Kelbrook. walking along lanes in the morning was a good opportunity to catch up on recent news and events. Good light-hearted banter was the order of the day. A constant background firearms noise accompanied us and we realised that all the 4X4 vehicles passing us were on a mission. When we arrived at Kelbook Lodge there was great activity with various shooting activities, fortunately not involving living animals or us. This was the site of some glorified clay pigeon shoot. Watching the targets it appeared that not many of the participants were capable of scoring! http://www.kelbrookshootingschool.co.uk/

Kelbrook Shooting Lodge

Having seen the poor shooting we kept a wide birth of the target area. Eventually after some trackless walking we arrived at the trig point of Kelbrook Fell with excellent views over Pendleside, Bowland and Riblesedale.

‘Last of the summer wine’

Difficult navigating and diverted paths eventually brought us round the north side of the fell and we picked up the Kelbrook Circular Walk. Dropped into the village of Kelbrook and delighted to find the chippy open with an attached cafe serving a good cup of tea.

From here we made our way over an old railway and drainage ditches to arrive in Salterforth. Our objective was the old pub called the Anchor Inn.

Anchor Inn

The pub is beside the Liverpool -Leeds canal. This is an interesting place. Parts of the original Inn can still be seen down in the cellars and, having been undisturbed for a couple of centuries, there is now a magnificent array of stalactites and stalagmites in the original cellars.

Anchor Inn cellar.

The walk back along the Leeds – Liverpool canal was quite pleasant.

Canal bridge.

Canal boats

Soon we were back at the Massala Room and changed for an evening meal. This place has a Sunday buffet which is excellent value and really good quality.

Massala Room

Calorie Buffet

So having had a good day’s walk we were faced with a serious eating option — probably about 3000 cals! Walking only uses approximately 100 calories per mile, so we were well into a positive calorie equation. Oh, well there is always the climbing wall tomorrow!