Last Sunday I abandoned a plan to stroll around The Wirral, due to inclement weather.
An easy bit of exercise around Timperley in the rain was in order.
Whilst the Forsythia (above) was flourishing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the towpath in such a poor state of repair.
Sunday morning means training at the local rowing club. Their oars can be quite dangerous to wildlife.
But these Mallards seem quite happy with life. The female is impressively fertile judging by the increasing number of albino ducks on this stretch of the canal.
Leaving the canal by the Bay Malton, I joined the Trans-Pennine Trail, which soon passes our local ‘recycling plant’ (aka rubbish dump, or ‘tip’).
The trail progresses on to Carrington Moss, home of training grounds for local football teams. It’s quite damp at present. It is after all a ‘moss’!
After passing a Sustrans team of volunteers, assiduously manicuring trees beside the trail, to avoid cyclists being speared by wayward twigs, I left that trail in favour of a path beside the River Mersey.
Judging by the debris on the fence (above), the path I was on, not an official Right of Way, must spend some time under water.
After passing this flourishing willow as the path narrows around the rear of an industrial estate, a dead end is encountered when the A56 main road is reached.
Across the road, paths around playing fields lead back to the canal where it passes under a motorway bridge. The towpath here, between Dane Road and Sale, is in great condition, having recently been renewed as part of the Sustrans initiative.
But the section from Brooklands to Timperley was extremely muddy, and I was filthy by the time I reached home.
Here’s my route – about 17km, in a fairly energetic 2 and a bit hours.
4 comments:
I had to abandon my walks to work along the canal, due to the mud causing the slips-per-mile count to reach an unacceptable level.
Just sitting here pondering where to take myself for a walk this afternoon, the difficulty being chosing somewhere that isn't going to be a mudfest.
Never mind, Gayle, if this week's weather continues we'll soon all be complaining about rock hard towpaths and a serious drought!
Martin
I have entered this years Calderdale Hike and I was reading your posts from 2009 with interest.
In particular your comments about the two winners who thought it ok to jog. Clearly to be a walk you must have one foot on the ground at all times. Did you get any feedback from the organising commitee ?
Richard Green
PS I was a first time completer of the Bogle Stroll in 1984 as a member of a team sent up from Birmingham Uni. That was hard as I seem to remember it was all on roads.
Hi Richard
All 10 of our team finished the Bogle Stroll in 1984, with some of them posting quite fast times. We were called 'The Mad Ones', quite an appropriate name.
Two of us from that team will be doing the Calderdale Hike this year.
I suspect quite a few walkers jog a little down the hills. The organisers have enough to do without worrying about monitoring that, (and I'm sure they don't worry about the strict definition of walking, or everyone would probably be disqualified!) so it's just a matter for the consciences of those who do it, who would probably finish in the same positions anyway.
It's not the Olympics, after all, and there's no prize money!
It's a lovely area - enjoy your walk/run. I'll be in a group of four, with an unmistakably tall member, doing the 27 mile walk in 8-9 hours. I'll probably wear an orange cap or a Tilley hat. Say hello if you spot us.
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