2009 Walk Day 3 Burscough - Adlington

I was feeling very positive about today, the weather prospects were good and my leg was, if not 100%, certainly well rested and I was in Burscough and on my way for just after 9 in the morning.



I soon crossed over the bridge over the Rufford branch of the canal which, heads north to meet with the River Douglas and ultimately the Lancaster Canal.

I'm still undecided whether these are sheep of very woolly goats in this field.

I was quite excited when I had read last week there were Pill-boxes from World War II on this stretch of the canal, built in 1940 when invasion was a very real fear. I had expected them to be on the north bank, but they were actually on the south. I can only assume that they were built in expectation of a landing on the Lancashire beaches from Ireland. In between was stretch that seemed to be designated as a boat graveyard and a slightly camp scarecrow





At this point, I saw the first hills starting to form and a rare example of a road going underneath the canal.



For the previous two days, the one bird that had eluded my attempts to get a decent photo was the Moorhen which seem to be very shy and always swam away before I could get a decent close-up. This one was very obliging so I took my opportunity.



With three miles gone I reached Parbold, which has a delightful sail-less windmill and took a few minutes to rest up while being entertained by someone practicing a trumpet on their boat.



Soon after I passed a significant milestone, my target was now down to double figures! The canal was beautifully tree-lined now leading up to the first lock since Liverpool, before giving way to more rolling fields.



The next significant landmark was at Gathurst where the canal, M6 & Wigan-Southport railway all converge.



The sight of the massive Heinz factory in the background was the first indication that I was closing in on Wigan, before that I decided to have a nice cold drink and rest up at a small festival that was going on at Crooke Marina.





Passing the JJB Stadium, and some more ducks, I was almost upon the Wigan Pier quarter, which I was eagerly anticipating.




The pier area was pretty much deserted, the old warehouse that had once held The Way We Were museum was all closed up as was The Orwell, so there was not much cause for me to linger. Pressing on, I passed the dry-dock which forms part of British Waterways Northwest headquarters.




Soon after came the Leigh branch of the canal, which connects to the Bridgewater canal and thus onwards to Manchester.


Next up was the Wigan flight of locks, passing Ince, which is a mile-long stretch of 20 locks which lift the canal up 200 feet in total.





Reaching Top Lock, I was back onto level ground and the countryside took over again as I passed Haigh Hall.



I was well into the final leg of the day now, with great views of rolling feilds to the east. I had time for a second rest and drink at Red Rock and got my first sight of what I think is Rivington Pike.




Passing over the River Douglas one more time, I reached Adlington and was treated to a couple of Swans and their young, which finished the day on a nice high for me. I'm really pleased with the progress for the day of 18 miles, taking the total to 42.

2009 Walk Day 2 Maghull - Burscough

---

Got myself up at 6, and the leg was not really feeling any better but as I was due in Maghull at 9 I figured I had plenty of time to at least reach Burscough and see how the leg was holding then.

It was nice start to the day in Maghull with plenty of sunshine and the town certainly looks very nice from the canal point of view. The birds were out in force again and I got my first sight of Geese on the canal.

Maghull also seems to be very popular with the boaters, the previous 12 miles had seen just two moving boats and one moored.




The route from Maghull to Haskayne was very pleasant with trees lining both banks for a lot of the way, and with the days sunshine looking to be limited, I took advantage, the only blot en route was to see the Scarisbrick Arms all boarded up.


At first I didn't realise at first this black duck had any young and was going to grab her picture anyway but as I moved closer she seemed ok with my presence and let me get a few close shots. All the previous birds so far have got their young in the water before I get near to them, so thank you for your trust Mrs Duck.




Gradually the trees gave way to hedges and fields and the rain clouds started to get the upper hand, having said that it never drizzled for more than a minute at a time all afternoon.



Along the way, I came across this lone chick hiding in the bushes. I hope its just having a wander and not orphaned.


After officially entering Lancashire my eye was caught by a small plane flying to Southport, possibly the tackiest garden ornament I have seen and the Pride of Sefton which is a charity that takes disabled people canal-boating.






This part of the canal was also noteworthy for plenty of pubs as well as a substantial new marina







Nearing Pinfold, I passed an excellent looking death-swing, don't see many of them these days.

I finally had the welcome sign of Burscough Bridge, which was to be the end of the journey for today, having met a friendly horse and a load of cabbages.



So that's another 12 miles done today, but my leg has got worse and is in definite need of resting, as I'll be looking to stretch the days distance covered in the next few stages, so the journey will continue next Saturday.