Monday 28 March 2022 - Cicerone Lancashire Walk 1: Beacon Fell and Brock Valley

The bridge at Brook Bottom

This was another short outing whilst Kate endured chemotherapy in Preston. I parked at Brook Bottom, Claughton, where judging by the space and the signage an early start would be needed at a weekend or in the summer.

It was quiet today though, and the visitor centre at Beacon Fell was closed apart from the toilets. I set off over a bridge and past Brockmill, to enter a meadow. With the river on my left I enjoyed the valley walk up to the scout camp that is adorned with activity areas such as archery, and there's a huge campfire pit.

Butterbur and Daffodils by the river

Scout camp

The route soon veered away from the river and began to rise past sheep and lambs on the slopes of Beacon Fell, to Heatherway Farm. 

Looking back, the views to Parlick and other hills were disappointing due to the hazy conditions, albeit it was warm and dry and calm. Curlews, Lapwings and Pheasants were vocal in their presence. 

Ubiquitous yellow path markers drew me upwards.

The nearby Bleasdale fells - Parlick and Fair Snape Fell - were simply outlined on the horizon.

Recent storms had clearly taken their toll on the woodland that crowns Beacon Fell, but the blown trees have been dealt with and line a freshly bulldozed track that leads towards the summit. Red paint indicated 'storm' or 'chip' on some of the timber.

An alligator sculpture has been defaced by coins. Notices near the Visitor Centre requested that visitors restrain themselves regarding this activity.

I enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the modest 266 metre summit, where hikers mingled with horse riders.

The fell was home to one of a chain of beacons across the country that warned of invasion during the Spanish and Napoleonic wars. In 1970 it became one of Britain's first Country Parks.

I descended past wooden sculptures to the visitor centre and then down a path that should have had views to the Isle of Man and elsewhere. However, that's 100 kilometres away, and the haze drew a grey line on my view at about 5km.

Looking back to the summit of the hill

I walked about 9km, with 200 metres ascent, in less than 2.5 hours. A very pleasant outing before a wait in bright sunshine outside Preston hospital, where two air ambulances arrived and a family of mallards laid claim to the ground outside the entrance to the A&E department.

You can just about see my route marked in light blue, clockwise from Brockmill - click on the image for a better version

Note that BC did this walk earlier in March. His excellent report is here.

Regular readers may have noticed a 'hiatus' in transmission, this being my first posting since 13 April - probably the longest gap since I started blogging in 2007. This is due to some family health issues - my daughter Kate is now recovering (a long process) from chemoradiotherapy, and tomorrow my mum, Dot, will be returning to her home with us after nearly two weeks in a care home. A live-in carer, Regina, has been recruited for her, but after living alone for over thirty years, sharing her home may be quite a challenge. Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy the company of (very healthy!) granddaughter Isabella every Friday. All this has constrained the time and inclination for blog entries, but hopefully some sort of normality will soon be resumed...

Monday 21 March 2022 - Cicerone Lancashire Walk 15: Glasson, Cockersand Abbey and Conder Green

This second go at one of Mark Sutcliffe’s walking routes in Lancashire took place whilst I was waiting for Kate to complete some on/off chemotherapy. In the end she had a week off due to concern about a tinnitus side effect, but by then she had been hydrated for two hours, and I arrived back at the moment she was discharged.

It was a lovely sunny morning as I parked opposite the Stork. Alternative parking is available, perhaps at a price in Glasson, but also at various spots along the route, such as Bank Houses.

I set off with a group of four, the only people I saw during this walk, but they left my route before I crossed the coast path footbridge and headed towards Glasson beside the Lune estuary.

Glasson Dock was a quiet spot today despite the presence of a pub, tearoom and ice cream/snacks stall.

A convenient bench allowed me to pause to break into my own flask and snacks, in front of coots bobbing in the marina.

Tithe Barn Hill, just beyond Glasson, is a recognised viewpoint, with benches and topo plates. The lovely spell of weather was accompanied by hazy conditions, so I couldn't see much further than the Victoria Abbey Lighthouse, though I did try to get some photos.

A bridleway lined with lesser celandine and daffodils led me to the coast by Crook Farm. 

At the start of the bridleway I picked up the signs for Norman Thomas's 'Breath of Fresh Air' walk - an excellent outing, recorded here.

The walk beside the estuary slowly drew me closer to the lighthouse. Mark tells his readers that the elegant octagonal stone structure originally formed the lower of a pair of lights indicating the entry to the main shipping channel up the Lune estuary. Apparently the taller light was decommissioned in the 1980s, but this light on Plover Scar remains active despite being damaged by an errant ship in 2016.

A view to the Dales from Cockersand Abbey on a hazy day

The site of Cockersand Abbey was soon reached. There's little left of the 12th century Abbey and hospital, apart from a meticulously preserved vaulted chapter house.

Joined now by a variety of sea and estuary birds - vociferous among which were oyster catchers and plovers - I made my way past more of the caravan parks that litter this area, to Bank End Farm, where a comfortable bench provided a fine venue for another break, in front of bobbing wagtails.

Mark describes his route as 'down the farm lane', but that had some deep puddles and the stroll along the embankment for a kilometre was an easier and more scenic option.

Another bridleway took me to the right of Thursland Hill Farm, where riff raff are discouraged and a vague path through boggy ground next to a field occupied by swans, led eventually to the main A588 Road.

Crossing the road to walk down the driveway of Thurnham Hall, I admired more daffodils and headed around the front of the hall to a car park from which a metal kissing gate broadcast my route.

I went wrong here, by keeping to the right and finishing up at a canal bridge by a lock, where I joined the towpath.

I should have left the car park and followed a wide green lane up a hill to another metal kissing gate, from where a stroll across the field would have seen me at the next canal bridge, number 5, from where the towpath can be joined via a steep path to the left or a gentle route to the right.

A hotel, The Mill at Conder Green, was soon reached, from where it was an easy walk back to the car and thence to a hydrated, but not chemo'd daughter in Preston.

I covered about 15km, with very little ascent, in about 3.5 hours, including some decent breaks.

A Postcard

                       1 April - Dog walking in Bacup

2 April - Park running in Burnley, with Jacob, Sebastian and Louise

Wildlife photos exhibited outside Towneley Hall

3 April - Sunday morning's junior parkrun at Burnley

3 April - More dog walking in Bacup (three times a day)

4 April - Woodland in Preston, during a damp 11 km stroll from the hospital whilst Kate endured her fifth and final chemotherapy session

Outside the hospital - somebody in too much of a hurry!