Haigh Hall Country Park -- 6 miles
Walkers :- Anthony, John W, John R, Vic, Paddy, Mike, Martin.
Choices, Choices ! Decisions, Decisions !
First ......Boots or Shoes ? a question posed by Vic. The choice of boots was vindicated by the wetness of the walk.
Route - M6 or M61 ? A close thing although the second group to arrive were quite convinced there was a smell of burning rubber in the air.
After a short altercation with the parking ticket machine , quickly solved by a friendly golfing attendant who gave us free tickets, we set off through the grounds of Haigh Hall
The weather forecast was not good and the day remained decidedly damp throughout. To the disappointment of some of the group the park appeared to be very "Doggy". The map of the walk was less than exact and whilst the paths through the woods were very obvious it was not always obvious which of them we should take and after passing the "Lily Pond" "The Lion's Head" "The miniature Railway" and the "Swan Pool". highlights of the walk (Hurrumph!) we arrived at the canal bridge rather sooner than intended having missed a turning and cut 3/4 of a mile out of the walk.. "Coffee time" was taken at delightful little bridge which crossed the entrance to a side pool a short distance down the canal. Refreshed.....we moved on through the dripping woodland, stopping briefly to shelter from a sudden downpouring of hail.. It was not long before we reached a rather significant bridge crossing the river Douglas. Here Vic participated in his favourite occupation - noseying with the locals and John.s attempt at democracy was shouted down with cries of "We want Dictatorship" so much for lefty egalitarianism !! The path following the banks of the Douglas was the wettest and muddiest of the whole walk. As we climbed up and away from the river we were amused by a totally unnecessary sign which declared that the path was NOT subject to flooding , REALLY ! We were following the edge of a small hill referred to as "Monks Hill" half way round there was an abandoned quarry entitled "Devils Canyon" We were unable to dissuade Vic as he doggedly went to explore what appeared to be a rather dismal dump. A little further up through the wood and a group of fallen trees trunks offered an acceptable site to stop for lunch. During lunch the group was amused by several decidedly dubious remarks from Paddy ( ? ) A few minutes after lunch we reached the Leeds - Liverpool canal again and walked along it to complete the 3/4 mile stretch we had missed on our outward journey. It was not long before the Hall itself hove into sight and a hot drink in a rather pleasant (if noisy cafe) rounded off the day which in the opinion of the "esteemed" leader was a disappointingly dreary, damp and dismal walk.
Finally for Vic's benefit
Through the town of Wigan
The mighty Douglas glides
Swirling past the gasworks
and in places three feet wide.
You may come here fishing
You won't catch Rudd or Pike
All you'll catch is typhoid
or a rusty iron bike .
Other verses are available
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