TOWNELEY HALL 4 Miles.

LES FLANEURS :- Mike, Jim, Vic, Anthony,

Martin, Danny, John W.

"Aujourd'hui nous sommes Flaneurs" Sorry, this is your writer being a dreadful show off. The translation from the French being "Today we are strollers in the park". Realising that our walk today would be entirely within the confines of the park I searched for a "Smart Start".

All parked and ready to go but which of the many paths will we follow ?

No need to wait for this week's robin to appear. There it was waiting for us, perched in the trees above our parked cars.

Out of the car park and into the grounds of Towneley Hall.

A straight but sloping path led us down to the back of the hall. It was a chilly start to the day with the lawns white with frost.

Passing to the side we did not linger to admire the front of the hall knowing that we would approach it towards the end of our walk.

There were other things to admire as we passed including this rather handsome tree.

Just round the corner from the hall was this unusual War Memorial. We assumed the three figures represented the three divisions of the armed Forces.

Which way now leader ? So many paths.

Is this another Robin ? We thought so but the cocked up tail is more suggestive of a wren.

Coffee time and it was chilly enough for us to choose a sunny spot. There were many seats and tables available.

Once coffee had been downed we set of to follow the edge of the parkland.

The sun was low in the winter sky and the long shadows emphasised the still freezing conditions in areas the sun did not reach.

Here you can see how the areas not touched by the sun are still white and deeply frosted

Where it was possible we kept in the sunshine. As the afternoon progressed it became obvious that the temperature was only just above freezing and would soon dip below zero again.

By now we were almost back at the Hall where the fountain seemed to glow as the low rays of the sun shone through it.

Once back in front of the Hall we decided that a group phot was a good idea . We "press ganged" a passing lady to take one for us.

Danny Anthony Vic Jim John Martin Mike

Lunchtime and we once again sought seating in the sunshine. It was COLD !

What's the cure for water on the brain. A tap on the head !

A very positive message greeted us as we entered the close precincts of Towneley Hall.

A bit of a "Pandora's Box" moment this. "When all is lost only hope remains"

" 'ang on. We may be ageing but we're not quite there yet. " There's still HOPE for us

There were lots of benches in front of the Hall and they were still bathed in sunshine. Ideal lunch spots.

However , as we sat munching, the sun was already disappearing behind the Hall and the shadows creeping across the lawns.

We packed our rucksacks and set off back to where the group photo had been taken and carried on our exploration of the grounds. As we walked we had to take care for the tarmacked drive already had a coating of glassy ice.

We had chosen to follow the sculpture trail. though our first encounter was not a statue but a delightful pony ridden by an equally delightful lady.

"Is it called Boris ?" we asked. "No" she chuckled in reply. Me being somewhat deaf and with the memory span of a goldfish I can't remember the name she told us.

Ah... Here's the first sculpture . But what is it ?

Of course.... It's a "Woodpecker" !

We continued our walk through this particularly interesting part of the parkland.

Then we came across some quite unusual fungi.

Fun Guy ? Fungi ?

But which is which ?

Then, high up in the trees we spotted .......... Fairies !

They were next to "Monks Well"... Could it possibly be a "Wishing Well".

............. it was a rather magical spot !

Even in Midwinter nature still manages to put on a colourful display.

The magic goes on. There is always something mysterious and MAGICAL about a tunnel.

Then suddenly something happened, The colours drained away and the world turned Grey. Was this further magic ? Perhaps "Grey Magic" a precursor to "Black Magic" ? Was it fiddlesticks. It was just John fiddling about with FX on his computer.

Nearly back to the cars now but still things to catch our attention.