WOODPLUMPTON

 DING DONG the WITCH is DEAD  4.5 MILES

Wizards :-  Mike, Anthony, John W and Paddy.

We parked in Broughton quite close to the High School and were soon on our way to Woodplumpton.

Down a narrow alley and past the  houses on the outskirts of  Broughton.

At the end of the alley a kissing gate took us onto a bridge over the West Coast Mainline Railway.   Will the Witch be there ? .......No!

Once over the railway we crossed the fields until we arrived at a  mysterious site.   The witch ?........ NO !

In the corner of the next field were the remains of a BBQ ,  several broken chairs, the parts of what appeared to be a perfectly serviceable tent and other detritus scattered around.

We stopped and puzzled over this and could come to no satisfactory explanation so we took an early coffee break to ponder further. "Druggies, Travellers, rough sleepers, illicit drinkers". There was no evidence for any of these activities.

The chairs came in handy and Paddy was quite stricken by this tree which was entirely dead and overgrown with Ivy.  Caused by the Witch ? ...... No !

Coffee time over we left with no solution to the mystery emerging.

In the next field was another conundrum. What seemed like a semi permanent camp with tables and children's playthings, but who were the occupants ? Witches ? ...... NOOOoo !

Perhaps they were staff involved in the "Field Sports" which this notice advertises.

As we passed Topland farm we found a Peacock feather and the birds themselves were strutting around with a seemingly imperious attitude.

In the fields around the farm were deer. Possibly being farmed for Venison.

This was to be a short walk and we were soon making our way between the houses alongside the High Street.

Twelve + twelve + twelve   .... What does that add up to. Just across the way was the answer.

Well....... I found it quietly amusing 😉

Is a  Mugwump a  Witch ? ....   No !   A mugwump is someone who is politically neutral and feels able to support any party or no party according to their conscience.

And here's a clever and amusingly attractive way of giving children more space as they come out of school and thus keeping themselves safe.

We left Woodplumpton and followed the track alongside the school before leaving the track and walking across a couple of fields to arrive at St Anne's Church which we entered through the graveyard.

At the this end of the graveyard were a pair of excellent benches. Perfect for Lunch.  

As we sat a couple came to lay flowers at a nearby grave. John W went across to ask them if the church was open. They didn't know but insisted on taking him across to "Peter" who was working in the graveyard. He in turn insisted on taking John to the "Office" were a couple were working and THEY insisted on opening up the church for us. John got no say in the matter. His pleas of not wanting to be a nuisance were ignored.

There had been a church (chapel) on the site since the 12C  some of the church was 16C and the rest 18C so quite an ancient and interesting building.

Here's Peter who got us into the church.

The church had an ancient Belltower. but where's the bell ?

Ah.... here it is.      SO....... Here's the Ding Dong ... Where's the witch ?

On leaving the church the group gathered round a large stone.

Is it The Witch............. YES !

Legend has it that this poor lady (Probably with dementia causing her to speak and behave strangely) Was buried here but kept climbing out to cause further mischief. She was eventually buried head down in a narrow pit so that any clawing would go down not up and the large  stone placed on top to stop her coming out again.

Here's John pretending to be "Blackrod"

On the wall of the church, hardly noticeable at first, was a sun dial.

Can you see it ?............................................It's towards the top of the wall.

On leaving the church we turned right to follow the road towards Cottam and Preston

Passing, as we did, a group of united utilities workers. We did not mention the toxic subject of water pollution. They seemed quite amused to see a bunch of old fellas wandering around and helpfully pointed to where the footpath left the road.

At this point JW discovered, that in his usual forgetful way, he had left his sunglasses on the church bench where we had dined. "I'll go back in the car later  to find them" he decided.

Back into the fields and heading alongside Woodplumpton Brook towards Broughton and the car

As we crossed this bridge Paddy's glasses tumbled off and narrowly missed falling into the brook.  It took quite a search in the tall undergrowth to find them.

This time it was Mike who found a tree to be quite fascinating.

I think Paddy is auditioning for a part in the next "Indiana Jones" movie.

Keep following the arrows. But first a final stop to finish our flasks at which point Paddy, who had checked that we hadn't left anything, remembered that he had thoughtfully picked up John's sunglasses from the bench and popped them in his rucksack to return to John when he caught the others up. Thanks Paddy.

ONE LAST BRIDGE............................

............................AND ONE LAST KISSING GATE  and we're home.

What a BELLting and beWITCHing walk.

J.W.

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