2009 Walk Day 4 Adlington - Blackburn

It was a glorious start to the day when I arrived to start the days walking at Adlington at 08.30 in the morning. The marina looked resplendent in the sunshine as I set off towards Chorley.



Passing through the woods and a couple of goats enjoying the sun I arrived in Chorley within an hour, which was a perfect opportunity to call in on Sarah, Mike & Liberty and check out the new home.






Having spent a couple of very pleasant hours in Chorley having been kindly picked up, provided with a fantastic breakfast and dropped off back at the canal, I was flying along at a good pace. Heading past Bottany Bay and under the M61, I spotted a pub name which was a good take on the various canal-themed names I'd seen so far and a tree which had managed to grow itself round the 200-year old milestone.





The canal then swung to the east at Walton Branch Summit which had been meant to link up with the Lancaster Canal but was never completed.




Next up was Johnson's Hillock Locks which lifted the canal by another 60 feet or so and in the lunchtime sun was very popular with man and beast alike.







Levelling out at the Top Lock pub, which seemed to be doing a roaring bank holiday trade, this was another part of the canal that was very popular for mooring boats.



There was a nice mix up here of good views across open fields and welcome bursts of shade from the trees lining the waterside. A couple of dogs were taking the opportunity to cool off and I noticed that the cows round here don't know their history - I'll explain this when I eventually get to Colne.





The next motorway up was the M65, highways agency take note this is a much better look for a bridge over the canal rather than the usual bland concrete efforts.



It was probably the warmest part of the day by now and these sheep had my sympathy in their warm coats, seeking shelter from the sun.



It was soon time for my second pit-stop of the day at the Boatyard Inn, a very nice modern pub but slightly clueless barstaff.



Soon afterwards, I crossed the "border" and was treated to a few family outings on the water.





Heading into Blackburn, the trees slowly gave way more urban backdrops with terraces, factories and mills taking over.



A rather curious thing happened next. As I stopped to take this photo, the tape I was listening to stopped and I switched over to the radio to listen to the play-off final just as Wade Elliott gave Burnley the lead.

Although not the most prosperous town, Blackburn had made a decent effort with the canal with plenty of signs, a good quality tow-path and this interesting sculpture - though it was immediately followed by one of the worst concrete bridges I have seen thus far.



I was nearing the end of the days work as the canal twisted through the town and I seemed to be the only person on the canal without a bottle of booze in my hand. The final two landmarks were the Thwaites brewery and the welcome sight of the train station.




Total mileage for the day was 15, which takes the total to 57. Next up is Thursday, the weather outlook is good and hopefully a big push onwards can be made.

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.