Sunday 18 July 2021 - Another Family Picnic

Here's another posting for Dot - with sympathy as yet another of her old walking pals passed away last week. I think other regular readers will appreciate that this blog is the closest she can get to 'social media' with the family.

With Nell in Wales, the rest of us congregated at Mike and Sarah's house in Didsbury, then made our way into Fletcher Moss Park for a picnic lunch.

Isabella nodded off, so whilst she enjoyed a late lunch, the Bacup team headed home.

Rejuvenated, Isabella was then taken on a tour of the section of the park where numerous performers were making music. Even JJ (pictured below, far left, without his kilt today) was performing with his squeezebox when not taking time out to chat to passers-by such as ourselves. His band looked enormous. In a delayed reaction to the music, Isabella clapped all the way home!

We also bumped into some other folk we hadn't seen since the start of Lockdown, which officially finishes in England tomorrow, despite another exponential rise in Covid cases, if not deaths. So this is the last entry to which the Lockdown label will be applied - until the next Lockdown.

We will continue to use face masks. I've found them to be a bit like seatbelts and my bike helmet - whilst very odd to be wearing them initially, I now almost need to put a mask on to feel comfortable in shops and other enclosed spaces.

19 and 20 June 2021 - A Sociable Weekend

The weekend started with a Friday evening visit to Al and Hazel's house, where we enjoyed a lovely meal, thanks to the recent relaxation of Lockdown rules. Our first meal in someone else's house since March 2020!

Saturday morning saw the usual gathering of parkrunners at Wythenshawe, followed by a visit to Laura's new house in Northenden, with its freshly landscaped garden - thanks to mum and dad, Paul and Jeanette, and brother Greg, who did most of the work. [Must go there again for a photo!] We were home for lunch.

Meanwhile, parkrun has started for the juniors. Here's Jacob during one of his 2km sprints.

Today, Sunday, Mike and Sarah hosted a family get together at their house and in Fletcher Moss Park. Jessica soon showed her bravery by standing on top of a giant ant hill.

Then a kind man who said he had been fully vaccinated took a splendid group photo.

Ice creams covered with marshmallows seem to be the order of the day.

We all enjoyed a picnic, and Baby Isabella tucked in to her lunch as usual, and was handed round to everyone except the dog.

Thanks again to Mike and Sarah for hosting. It was lovely to spend an 'issue free' few hours with the family.

And thanks to Sarah for the following pictures, which I'm sure Great Grandma Dot will enjoy looking at.

Saturday 15 May 2021 - parkrunners at Wythenshawe

Whilst (not)parkruns continue - I'm up to number 327 - the official parkruns, that were allowed to start in March but were postponed until 5 June, look as if they will be further delayed by landowners failing to provide the necessary approvals.

With so many other liberties about to be restored to us on Monday, it seems crazy that a few runners aren't allowed to get together relatively informally for a Saturday morning run, jog or walk.

A small group of us continue to meet up at the venue of our 'home' run, Wythenshawe. It's a complete mystery to me as to why approval hasn't been given here, whereas it has been given to nearby (and more congested) Stretford. Especially as I would guess that the landowner in each case is Manchester City Council.

But who am I to know about these things? At least our local parkrunner fraternity is standing firm and trying to support each other in these difficult times.

Thanks go to Jenny and Owen for providing today's excellent cake.

Friday 14 May 2021 - Around Little Budworth (2)

This was another 'recce' walk for Jen Darling - the Little Budworth Walk number 17 in her 'Walks in West Cheshire and Wirral' book. Very few amendment to her route description etc since the 2007 edition are needed.

Sue and I met Graeme, Paul, Jeanette, and Rufus the dog, at Budworth Pool, after we'd parked further on and waited with this view into the Cheshire countryside from Mill Lane.

Budworth Pool, on a cloudy morning, was brightened by a couple of swans, sadly omitted from the next picture.

Very pleasant woodland drew us through a common to the glorious avenue of trees through which Coach Lane passes.

A short stretch along Park Road took us to Oulton Mill Pool. At this point I realised I'd been here before, and on getting home I note that I walked an almost identical route, from Jen's 'More Pub Walks in Cheshire and Wirral', on 9 August 2019, accompanied by the two Pauls. One of those has now moved to Totnes, the other was present this morning.

A little further on, we walked through a field of sweetcorn that, judging by a photo from the 2019 visit, will have grown substantially by August.

The Victorian pillar box outside Pillar Box Farm is no longer embraced by rampant ivy.

Before reaching Kings Lane, we admired a freshly ploughed field, then we paused for elevenses in a quiet corner where Rufus could not be distracted by the presence of cows. (See header picture.)

Tasty morsels provided by Jeanette went down well.

Then a relic from the Oulton Park estate, the substantial wall around the motor racing circuit, thankfully quiet during their lunch break, took us to a left turn and a tramp through a series of fields, with the church tower steadily drawing closer.

A field of cows presented an opportunity for our resident cow whisperer to shepherd Rufus through the melee.

Soon we were back in the village, admiring the church, and noting activity around the Red Lion in anticipation of further imminent relaxation of Lockdown.

The verges have been trimmed here, leaving at least some flowers for the insects and birds to enjoy.

Back at Budworth Pool, you're ahead of me if you can spot the swans!

Here's the route - 9.5 km with no significant hills. It took us a little over two and a half hours.

Next walks, no 'Rule of Six' so all are welcome:

 

Friday 28 May, 10.00am start - Primrosehill Wood - A 9 km circuit from Stoney Lane, Delamere, SJ 553 683.

Take the A556 south to just beyond Delamere, turning left down Stoney Lane, just before the A54 is met. There should be a lay-by on your left.

Friday 18 June, 10.00am start - A 14 km circuit from Rose Hill, Marple. Park by the Middlewood Way trail at Rose Hill station, SJ 949 887. Bring a sandwich.

Meanwhile, back in Timperley

We enjoyed a lovely sunset from our window the other night, and the Canada Geese are entertaining us while assiduously guarding their offspring on the canal. So life isn't bad, even though the swifts haven't yet arrived, and Lockdown seems to be easing into a vague sense of normality, so I hope this may be the last 'Lockdown' posting.

Having said that, the pandemic is by no means over, especially in some distant parts of the world, and it will continue to restrict our activities and movements, but I hope we can just get on with life. A hundred years ago the 'Spanish' 'flu was killing far more people, and those who had a job probably got just one day a week off work, and one week a year for holidays.

Aren't we fortunate in comparison...

Friday 30 April 2021 - Around Longridge

Bowland Climber (BC) has written on several occasions about his walks around Longridge - see here - so I thought I might take a day off planning my own route and ask BC to join us on a walk around his home town. So he kindly did that, and a lovely walk it was as well, in the fine company of Graeme, Cary, Alastair, and of course Sue.

It turned to be nearly 17 km, a shade over ten miles, with less than 200 metres ascent. Taken at a leisurely pace, it took rather longer than five hours.

There's a good selection of fine stiles around Longridge - fortunately not all of them have been replaced with the all pervasive metal kissing gates.
 

However, we soon passed a particularly dreadful manifestation. I'm not sure about this - Health and Safety gone berserk, perhaps?

Then we passed this sight. I don't like magpies, but this treatment seems a bit extreme.

Next to the birds, a Renault for AlanR, who sadly couldn't join us today due to the 'Rule of Six'.

However, the walking was very pleasant, in dry weather and no wetness apart from a bit of damp grass.

We passed numerous gates that provide access to the line of water pipes from Lake District reservoirs to Manchester. I wrote about the Heaton Park to Wheelton section of the Thirlmere pipe here.

There are some impressive structures on the course of the pipelines.

Manchester's coat of arms features strongly, and our host was keen to point out various aspects of these plaques - the Manchester bee, a clipper, the pipelines, and a chain, the reason for which I can't remember. A separate posting is needed!

 

We passed through the yard of a factory that manufactures joists, floors and other house parts - duly marked up with the relevant building sites and plot numbers. Great to see something being manufactured in the UK. (I am still miffed about buying some socks yesterday and finding they had come all the way from China!)

Lunch was taken in a graveyard. The seats were comfy, and allowed for social distancing. Local fauna included hares and oyster catchers.

BC recalled 'Ginio' Ferrari - a local restauranteur who drove around in a Jaguar, registration number GF1, apparently purchased from George Formby's family.

We were curious about two lambs, trapped in a weighing machine (naughty corner?) with their mum looking on.

After a while, the well named town of Longridge came back into view, and BC prepared us for the climb back onto the ridge behind the town.

En route, a pretty bluebell wood and a footbridge in the dell.

Eventually we found ourselves looking back down to Spade Mill Reservoirs. Far to the left, Pendle Hill cut a distinctive line on the horizon.

Back at the start of the walk, Sue and Alastair both had futile attempts to climb an overhanging crag.

BC (a climber) explained how the BMC had managed to purchase the strip of land with the crag, from the errant property developer whose planned holiday homes morphed into over twice as many family houses.

Some climbers arrived with their mats (for when they fall off - they just bounce on the mat - apparently).

Then we went home, after thanking BC for his excellent company and route finding skills.

[Hey ho - that was done in a bit of a hurry as we go on holiday tomorrow - for the first time for many, many moons! I wonder whether I can remember how to do mobile postings?]

BC has also written an excellent piece about his encounter with 'The Cheshire Set' - see here.