BRETHERTON

 THREE RIVER RAMBLE 4.5 Miles

Bretherton Brethren :- Jim,  John R,  Danny, Vic

                                        John W,  Anthony,  Mike. 

Parking was at a premium in Bretherton but the vicar of St John the Baptist church said we were very welcome to use their car park and said he would ensure that the church was open so that our elderly group could use the toilet before setting off.  What a warm, welcoming and generous start to our day.

After making use of the facilities we left this lovely church .......................

................  and crossed the road to follow a narrow footpath leading to the wide open, windswept acres of the mosses.

This was never going to be the most exciting walk as the terrain was mostly featureless and with a steady and rather chilly breeze blowing a sheltered spot for brew time was hard to find. ( Note the post on the left supporting an electric fence, More later.)

But we must be thankful for small mercies. Last week not a minute without rain. This week not a minute of rain.

Eventually we found an "ALMOST" sheltered spot down Eyes Lane. and settled down to open our flasks. Jim set up his stool on the tarmac of this lonely, isolated road and immediately a car came along and he had to shift.

Mike is enjoying his "Brew"  from a rather smart flask the his son had bought for him.

No cup needed with this smart device . you simply drink straight from the container.

Meanwhile Vic spent most of brew time removing the brambles from his chosen seating spot, He seems quite happy now though I'm not sure he looks it !

No rain today but the recent rains have left  the well maintained dykes full of water as well as Some wet paths.

A few minutes later we came to "Red Bridge" which rather perversely was painted a rather fetching green. This would have carried us over the first river "The Douglas"

If you look along the river between our two friends Jim 'n' John you might just see where the River Yarrow joins the Douglas.

We did not cross the Douglas by the Green  Red Bridge but stayed on the same side and were then rewarded by  a VERY  user friendly stile leading away from it.

Throughout our walk it was noticeable that the daffodils in this area were well advanced compared to those we had in our gardens.

Even isolated clumps on the river bank were doing very well.

The rivers at this point were tidal hence the substantial levees along which we were now walking.  We only followed the "Douglas" for a couple of hundred yards before the levee swung left and took us along the banks of the "Yarrow".

The very large cigarette is in fact a post warning that a gas pipeline lies beneath the surface and no digging is allowed.

After about a mile the "Yarrow " continued on its way to pass south of the Wymott prison complex whilst the levee swung once again to follow the third river the  "Lostock". 

The cold wind blowing across this exposed landscape encouraged us to drop down the steep banks of the levee for our lunch break.

If you look very carefully, towards the bottom left of these photos, you might just be able to see the wires of an electric fence. Anthony is seated dangerously close to it,  There was much discussion as to whether it was switched on or not. Carefully testing with a piece of grass (a time honoured technique) assured us -   IT WAS !

Just before we left the rivers we were puzzled by two structures in the middle of a field. They were fenced off to keep animals away (including human ones presumably) and appeared to have solar panels attached. Any ideas reader ?

We had arrived at "Lostock Bridge" the point at which we would leave the rivers and return to our cars in Bretherton.

Oddly enough, although the three rivers dictated the course of our walk, they didn't feature much beyond that , being small, in deeply incised gullies  and for large stretches, invisible.

It seems that no matter how small and insignificant any road is they are always busy, A sign of the times I suppose.

Tree of the week is difficult to choose in a mainly treeless environment but this tree , although dead, was certainly interesting,

with  large, black fungus growing on it.

We now found ourselves in Sarah  Lane which quickly took us back into Bretherton and our cars.

As we got into our cars we spotted this tree just over the churchyard wall. 

" Short back and sided Mr Ivy ? "

Not the most exciting walks but an area we have not walked in before so easy to say...............................

THAT'S ALL FOLKS

JW