Category: Uncategorized

Warrington to Runcorn. 14.94 miles, 423 ft of elevation, 32,891 steps

Firstly I have been chastised for saying we are in the Midlands. We are of course still firmly ‘Up North’ however for me it feels midway through so poetic licence allows me to call it the Midlands. So apologies to any Northerners I have offended….

We had a great gang today with Ged, Dickie, Catherine, and Kate, Grace and Eve all t-shirted up and on the walk. And not forgetting the dogs of course.

It was a wet start, with full wet weather gear being displayed. A number of leg options were being shown but good to see we all had a smile…..

The first mile or so was retracing our steps of yesterday to get back over the Manchester canal. This was just as well as Catherine’s irreplaceable hat had gone walkabout and we were hoping it had been dropped during a previous ‘comfort break’. Sadly it was not where we were hoping it might have been dropped – luckily however having most folks walked straight past it, it was spotted by the stragglers looking a bit sorry for itself in the gravel and having been thoroughly trodden in during the past few hours. What a relief……

The walk continued along the side of the shipping canal before shifting to the very picturesque Bridgewater canal.

As can be seen, the weather improved significantly and it was warm in the sunshine. We worried for Dickies skin. Despite him living in Bermuda I don’t think he gets out in the sun much….

A special appearance from Rob Townsend at lunch was a lovely addition to the day and it was great to see him. Whilst most of us enjoyed a couple of bowls of chips between us, Grace felt a side portion of mash was more to her liking…

All in all a lovely day, a good walk – thank you all for coming. Great to have the girls up and Eve did well doing her longest walk ever. Schooner is back and we will finally be moving away from canals tomorrow.

Leigh to Warrington. Circa 20 miles, circa 500 ft of elevation, 42,551 steps

Joining by special envoy for two days only was Ged Brannan flying in from NY hoping for sun and mountains and getting wet, flat Midlands grey.

We had organised a treat of a day walking around the industrial heartland. We crossed the Mersey, the M62 (twice) and the Manchester shipping canal (twice). All accompanied by drizzle, torrential rain and sunshine. We had it all….

It was difficult to get too excited about the walking but the chat was great and after a week of walking on my own along a tow path, I struggled to talk and navigate. Single tasking is challenging enough so add some rain and a few confusing paths and we did make a few wrong turns

About lunchtime and just after we crossed the Manchester shipping canal the heavens opened at the same time as doing a couple of miles on the side of a busy road. We had little sympathy from the drivers and Ged got a full drenching from a large puddle and passing truck driver.

So we sought refuge in a pub and ordered a heavy round of teas and chips. Crazy kids……

The weather improved after our break and we hit the Trans Pennine way – which sounds far more exciting than it actually was. The biggest excitement was this flooded path and we all recited the ‘Bear Hunt’ story as we went ‘through it’. What fun!!!!

The sun was shining so we stopped for a quick coffee and it then immediately chucked it down with rain. Such fond memories of those wet picnics when I was young………. just look at that quiff Ged!

All in all it was not the most exciting walking, the weather was rubbish but the company was great and we did 20 miles (I think, as I forgot for the first time to turn my garmin on) with relative ease. And to end the day after checking in to our Holiday Inn – what a treat. As we walked over the motorway towards our harvester dinner at the Juniper Farm pub we had a romantic sunset.. how lovely.

Tomorrow we have the gang walking as we are joined by Dickie who is spending a day reminding himself why he no longer lives here, and Kate, Evey and Gracey.

Can’t wait…..

Croston to Leigh. 24.51 miles, 553 ft of elevation, 34,222 steps.

Half way? 30 days done, 526.36 miles walked. It certainly feels like half way although judging by my estimated vs real mileage I may still be a little off. Hope not….

In part it feels like I have been walking for ever, at others that I have just started. Irrespective, I am looking forward to the next few weeks and to finally move away from flat, canal work

Today, after my 5 star breakfast (thank you Margaret), I began a day of transitioning from the Douglas river to the Leeds and Liverpool canal. It started with a disappointing but necessary back tracking along the river bank as the path simply disappear and ended with some other additional miles from poor decisions. I did a few miles across flat farm land before meeting Ian the poultry farmer who was having a break in his daily morning bike run and eating a satsuma.

We had a lovely chat (he was camera shy), and he impressed on me the importance of the red tractor sticker on all UK meat products. Jonathan, you would be proud of me, a full 10 minutes on Brexit.

Anyway, I had to push on as I had a lunch time meeting with Catherine (my sister), in Wigan and it was still miles away.

I eventually got to the canal at Parbold and immediately noticed the upgrade in canal. I thought maybe that it was built much later than the Lancaster canal but I was wrong. However, there was definite improvement in general aesthetics…..

clearly, this is probably the best canal in the world………

I put my foot down and got to Wigan only a few minutes late and with 14 miles done. Catherine, who is joining for the next week, came armed with soup, coffee and sandwiches. Marvellous, there will be an improvement in my performance this week.

The day was eventually a long 24 miles and again my feet were in bits from another day in the wet. I hope the boots dry out overnight

Tomorrow we walk to Warrington . Hopefully shorter, drier underfoot and with a special appearance from Ged Brannan all the way from New York!! Looking forward to a good day. Tomorrow evening the family arrive, Dickie joins for a day. Come on, it’s going to be a party…

Preston to Croston. 14.74 miles, 151 ft of elevation, 18,886 steps

A relatively slow and easy day today as I make my way out of Preston and towards Wigan and the industrial midlands.

Leaving Preston, I had to navigate over the Ribble alongside the major artery South out of the city on the A59. The Ribble did not look its finest at this point with some dodgy looking foam floating down river.

However the cars and houses were soon forgotten as I headed out to the Hutton Marshes. I was on my own other than one dog walker who had a beast of a Labrador (the opposite in build to Schooner), and tried to imagine him walking 20 miles a day….

The news on radio 4 and world at one kept me amused for quite a while with reports from parliament and lengthy clips of passionate speeches and blustering retorts. Great stuff.

I had a stand off with a cow on a ridge (the cow won and I moved around him), said hello to a horse and walked past a very muddy marina – I would love to show this to the chaps at Middle Harbour Marina in Sydney..

Despite all these distractions I got to my destination (a bridge on the River Douglas and the A581) too early for my pick up so took the opportunity for a quick afternoon nap

Eventually it was time, and Jim and Margaret came to pick me up. They are he parent of Stephen (my sisters husband) who are very kindly putting me up for the night and then dropping me off back at said bridge.

I told Margaret her B&B performance was worthy of 5 stars but she wont let me rate my stay until I have had her cooked breakfast in the morning!

They have been great, and have now heard the full history of Croston and their families involvement through the ages…..

Garstang to Preston. 21.83 miles, 449 ft of elevation, 39,142 steps

Same old today, except it was wet. Garstang was surprisingly nice. Good pub grub last night and a fabulous old sweet shop spotted this morning. Unfortunately I was too early to buy anything but they had all the old jars of sweets in the shop. A public healthy nightmare….

A detour to Sainsbury’s on the way out of town and the purchase of an upgraded umbrella was I have to say, genius! £8 well spent

No sooner had I returned to the canal than the rain started and basically carried on all day.

So on we plod. Not a single interaction with any individual today other than Mr A&R Rothen Ltd. ‘Comet’ she was not. It was like one of those slow overtakes on the motorway when there is no discernible difference in speed between two lorries. We chatted, then it got a bit awkward as we carried on for ages at the same speed but with his engine he could not hear much. In the end I blinked first and stopped for a drink of water and a photo …… I then just saw his back for the next two hours.

What else on such an exciting day….

I spotted a carton of milky floating in the canal looking ready to explode and full of cheese. I imagined a sell buy date of 2010 and some properly rank contents but on further inspection the sell by date was mid September. So disappointed – I didn’t even bother to open it.

A small aqueduct (single span) but built in the late 1700’s was worthy of an extra look and on taking the few steps down for a photo spotted a photo of a dog … a lovely moment. Good on you Meg, you and all other loving companions sleep well .

Outside of the radio coverage of the Supreme Court adding a further chapter to this interminable issue of ‘he who shan’t be named’ there was little to make the miles tick by.

I am not sure what they are expecting between bridge 25 and 19 but it looks like they could be planning for a mini Armageddon.

Anyway this man has come prepared and built himself the worst looking Nuclear bunker/boat ever… is it a boat, a shed or just a load of crap. I told you, the canals are a hoarders heaven. There is no way that this could possibly be remotely water right. What does he do when the siren sounds…..

It seemed fitting that as I approached Preston it would still be raining. Not proper rain, just that depressing drizzle. The only town that still has a thriving tanning shop tells you a lot.

I began to despair but finally found the Adelphi pub. It will forever be a refuge …..

Carnforth to Garstang. 22.54 miles, 453 ft of elevation, 35,629 steps

A good start to the day with a free breakfast from the Royal Station hotel so that’s another £10 in the kitty for STARS

I rejoined the canal From yesterday at the canal turn pub. Too early for a pint but a lovely start to the day.

The next stop along the way was Lancaster after 7 miles or so and I decided to take a detour for a coffee. I know you shouldn’t judge somewhere after 5 minutes but I did, and did not like it. Everyone smoked. I mean everyone. Wherever I looked people were tabbing away. It did not seem to have any effect on the population however as there was a good share of oldies fagging quite happily despite not having many teeth. I did not stay long having my alfresco coffee and made a hasty retreat back to the safety of the canal.

A few observations on my long flat walk:

1. There were some lovely bridges and also a very nice aqueduct going over the Lune valley at Lancaster. If you look closely there is even a man smoking mid way across this fine piece of architecture. It was however a big fat joint so I will forgive him

2. I thought Swans were under threat however they have clearly all taken refuge on the Lancaster canal as there are hundreds, almost all have some healthy looking signets with them, so also happily reproducing

3. Lamas make a noise like a squeaky toy when doing their thing. I have no photographic evidence as they were too far away but this was the consensus between me and a dog walker

4. However romantic canal boats are supposed to be, most of them just look a bit crap. Old, damp, mouldy and like they belong to a hoarder. Riviera this is not ….

5. You get some big fat worms by the side of a canal

6. My blue tooth headphones only have about a 5 hour battery life. This is not enough for a day like today. I did discover the show ‘would I lie to you’ on radio 4 which I hated (this is a pun….).

7. And finally, walking 22 miles along the side of a canal is not the best thing for your feet. They are OK, just a bit soft and spongy…..Nice

Kendall to Carnforth. 19.73 miles, 784 ft of elevation, 33,380 steps.

A very business like day today as I started three days walking along the Lancaster canal down towards Preston.

Having talked with Kate last night about the weather we both felt that after the glorious few days in the Lakes, I could not complain about a spot of rain. However I woke up to a downpour and no washing. The hostel machine had broken down but our man took it all home and presented me with a warm bag of freshly washed kit (softener and everything mate…..).

Whilst waiting I was able to grab a breakfast fit for kings. Two sausage and egg muffins, a Costa coffee and a very fragile umbrella from Tesco express … GOLD.

Before we start, can I thank Dave and Julie from Liverpool whom I met yesterday. A lovely couple who generously donated to the charity and also sat and listened to me after all my £1.99 pints. To Raymond also, who I met this morning walking his dog, (well actually sheltering from the rain). It has been incredibly rewarding meeting so many genuine and generous people.

So, the weather was rubbish as I headed out of Cumbria and in to Lancashire. Probably apt as my memories of the three years I spent in Lancashire are mostly wet.

The canal started as a flat section on the map having dried up many years before. There were odd bridges in fields and sometimes the path disappeared – the worst being a corn field with no discernible path and plenty of stinging nettles to itch my legs.

Eventually I reached the start of the canal at Stainton but it was with a cough and a splutter really as it it was cut off and dissected numerous times by the M6. Luckily I had my headphones on and the rugby to listen to to drown out the road.

It wasn’t until I got to Tewitfield that the canal started properly. I couldn’t help thinking as the cars and lorries hurtled by that the pace and silence of the canal as once was has gone forever. Sad that the locks are now long forgotten and overgrown – I’m sure life was very hard and tough and its easy for me to say as I settle down to my evening roast Pork but it’s gone forever (and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of romantic rambling).

Not much more to say about the rest of the day. It went on a bit, but I have another two days of it so there likely be more canal photos and I can’t afford to be bored yet..

Tonight, a surprisingly nice pub room, roast pork for dinner and a wingback chair to end the evening. Cigars anyone?

Windermere to Kendall. 13.14 miles, 1,079 ft of elevation, 23,097 steps

Slow day today, from start to finish. Breakfast at the B&B was not until 8:30 so didn’t really know what to do with myself for the first couple of hours of the day. However it did help as I needed to hang around for the post office to send back my key from the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel. I was going to ‘lose’ it but they rang Marko so guessed they were keen for its return .

To be fair, it didn’t wake long once we left B&B central to get back out in to the fells. This time walking along the ‘Dales Way’.

I struggled to get going, and stopped for a long call with my sister (sorting out logistics for when she arrives), I went the wrong way from just not concentrating and generally just took it easy. The weather yet again was perfect.

It wasn’t too long before I got to Staveley and decided at 12:15 that it was time for a lunch stop (having left Windermere at 9:30 it had been a tough morning).

It was meant to be a quick stop but being a gentleman I shared my sunny table with a lovely local couple and ended up staying for over an hour.

Time was ticking on so I rejoined the ’Dales way’ and made my way to Burneside and it’s huge paper mill. ‘Redefining paper since 1845’ (although it’s been the same stuff for me since 1971!).

It wasn’t long before I hit the suburbs of Kendal. Back to pebble dash. I couldn’t get a photo so you will have to picture this. Walking along a very proud, very clean housing estate I saw an out of place rough old trailer. Past another few cars and another rusty trailer with the skeleton of a car stuffed full of parts, foam, and general scrap. I hear the noise of hammering and disc cutters. There they were on their drive way with two bangers. The ‘Kendal Banger Boys’. Dad with his builders bum and two teenage sons hammering away at what once was a car. A lovely family sport but I can only guess what the neighbours think…..

So I have checked in to Kendal backpackers. A load of washing being done and have now headed out for a one man pub crawl.

First stop is the White Hart, beer of the week is £1.99. I have £20 on me. I might just stay and relive the old days……

New Dungeon Ghyll to Windermere. 17.4 miles, 1,591 ft of elevation, 33,072 steps

I feel intimidated, uncool and scared of all the trendy people. Who would have know that tourists would be freaking me out so much. I have hunted out the most down to earth pub and am seeking sanctuary with some dodgy locals. Despite it being out of school holidays, this place is heaving and I don’t like it.

This is what I woke up to this morning, and I had a really special hour or so on my own in the hills seeing the sun burn off the mist and warmth begin to penetrate the valley. What a morning!

After this glorious hour I had clearly left the true fells and entered the tourist trail. Elterwater, Skelwith bridge and on towards lake Windermere the path got easier, the people got fatter and they grew in number. I took my time ….

I even had a late morning nap in the sun. The weather was stunning, Mark would definitely have had his top off again. The entry to the shores of Windermere was through Wray castle which is a fake gothic castle. It didn’t help my feeling of disappointment after leaving the hills. Come on, just cheer up!

The Lake was stunning and I got the £1 crossing over to Bowness and Windermere. A quick stop for a pint and pork pie (with pork scratchings and pickles) and on to my accommodation.

Look – feel my pain. Coaches and tourists, people …….

Keswick to New Dungeon Ghyll. 18.09 miles, 2,352 ft of elevation, 29,935 steps

After significant flaff from Marko and John P and a compulsory bacon sandwich we did not really get moving this morning until 9:30am. We had a big day ahead of us but kept stopping as the views emerged from the low lying cloud and we had our first glimpse across Derwent water

We kept to the west side of Derwent water and then followed the Derwent river to the village of Rosthwaite. The going was fairly easy but hot in the sunshine. What a glorious day. Marko seemed keen to give up and use his free bus pass but we persuaded him to carry on.

The terrain changed once we left the village and we made our way up Stonethwaite beck and into the Langdale Fells. The scenery became more dramatic and John P learnt a new word as we proceeded under various crags and the intimidating ‘stake pass’ came in to view. The cock ups of yesterday (little cock-up and Great cock-up) were distant memories as John P conquered his second hill (mountain).

It’s been great to be able to share two such awesome days with the three amigos, and whilst the chat was less and the puffing a bit more today we have had the Lakes in all its glory and just makes me want to come back for more.

We finished the day with just enough time for the chaps to shower and grab a bite and then they were gone. Peace at last…..

I am now on my own for 7 days so back to selfies I’m afraid and long rambling blogs as I enjoy my quiet beer in the late afternoons. Windermere tomorrow with the promise definitely of some easier walking