HALTON/CATON

 AQUARIUS    5 Miles

Aquanauts.  Danny, Anthony, Vic, John W.

The dominant feature of todays walk was "WATER". It was all around...on the ground. In the air,  on us !   but most spectacularly in the river.

It was gently raining as we left the car park and set off to cross the single track bridge to Halton on the North bank of the Lune.

The turbulent, chocolate brown, waters of the Lune were blasting their way through the stanchions of the metal bridge.

Once across the bridge we immediately turned right to follow the Northern bank of the Lune as it led us to the Crook O' Lune.  

Just a short distance along a muddy track before we found ourselves in the lower, suburban area of Halton.

 

It wasn't far into this area before Vic left us in search of a toilet.

NO VIC !

We waited.  We waited a bit longer.   We continued to wait. 

At last ! Here comes Vic. 

Vic's toiletry habits are not something we would wish to explore in this blog so they must remain undisclosed.

By now coffee time was upon us. Danny found seating but the rest of us declined it.   Rather too near the powerful torrent.

Not many metres after we left the built up area we found a picnic bench in a sheltered spot. COFFEE !

Sorry about the poor quality of some of the photos . The cold damp air and constant rain, meant that the lens misted over whenever the camera was taken out of a "warm" pocket.

Danny, like some stage magician pulling rabbits out of a hat, managed to pull out of his rucksack enough seating pads to keep all our "Bums"  dry as we sat on the very wet seats.

The air was filled with the constant roar of the torrent a few yards away.

Coffees finished and rucksacks donned we were forced to take shelter against the rocky bank seen in the photos as a sudden fierce squall of wind drove heavy rain up the river.

Rain over and off we go again.

This building has been rebuilt (2015) after a flooded river (half way up the present red doors) had swept the old building away. It houses a water powered turbine using the river to generate electricity.

We spent a few minutes looking around the waterworks before following a steep set of steps away from the river and up into the woods.

I'm sure you will be as surprised as we were that some of the paths were MUDDY !

Though not all of them.

As we walked little rivulets crossed our path adding to the already flooded river.

Not all were quite so small though.

As we could see from this little bridge.

From here the path narrowed significantly and rose steeply up to the road from the Crook O' Lune to Halton.

Being , on most walks, the photographer (along with Danny) this character does not always appear in the photographs which is probably just as well !

A path alongside the road took us quickly down to the Crook O' Lune picnic site.

We sat in our oft used position.  Generally  deemed to be the spot where 

J M W TURNER painted the view of the Lune Valley with Ingleborough Fell on the distance horizon.  I think Mr Turner would have struggled today as there was no sign of Ingleborough and very little horizon to speak of.

More history as one of the route markers for the Lancashire Witches journey to Lancaster was on the cycle track. 

JW is pointing out that one of the witches, Dame Chattox or Mother Demdike, was called Annie Whittle. As was his mother. 

A left turn now took us over the railway bridge and onwards to a cafe in Caton (We hoped).

Quite a number of trees had been felled along the track and the stumps had strange marks on them. Something to "Kill them off ?"

It only took us a matter of minutes before we reached the junction which would lead us into Caton.

Our much praised cafe was, however, closed. It was in the old post office and a nearby post box seemed to suggest a certain longevity.

Edward Vll  was reigning at the beginning of the last Century.

Although the cafe was closed the pub across the road offered a warm welcome.

JW appears to be stuffing the floral decorations into his rucksack.. Does the landlady know ?

Leaving the pub we followed the road back to the Crook O' Lune and then the rail track back to Halton.

As we walked back along this track towards the Car Park at Halton we were briefly battered by a sudden hail storm.

And here we are back at the old railway station a few metres beyond which is the car park we were heading for.

The rain had stopped just after lunch and we drove home partially blinded by the low, late afternoon sunshine.

THE END

JW

Hurst Green - Greengore 4 miles and then there were three Walkers Anthony Mike and Danny

When we arrived at Hurst Green, the weather was dismal. It was raining that fine sort of rain that soaks you in no time The sky was dark grey and it looked like it was in for the day. We sat there, in the car thinking of alternative ways we could spend the day. The lights at the Bayley Arms opposite had come on. We sat there for about 30 minutes with the windows steamed up, until,"you know I think it's stopped raining", Window down. Head out. " I think it has, let's go for it".

                                 Boots and water proofs on, and away we go.

                            Down the drive towards the Old Mill House.

At the bottom of the hill we tuned right down the side of a house with an old tennis court cum football pitch behind it. 

After passing a couple of secluded houses the path narrowed and the sound of rushing water got louder.

Dean Brook became a torrent as it was squeezed between the rocks on its way down to the River Odder.

Mike is trying to keep his boots clean. It turned out to be a futile exercise. I was doing the same myself. Anthony just trudges through it.

                                                                 Today's bridge shot.

                      The other side of the bridge was a scene of destruction.

          

       

                                                      Ahead of us is Greengore farm.

                 So far so good. The rain is holding off, as we have our morning brew.

A closer look at Greengore with it's three large solid looking buttresses. It was built in the 16th century, as a shooting lodge for the Shireburn family.

          Onwards past the farm and upwards towards the forest, though not very steep.

                                       A particularly boggy section of our walk.

                              Try as you may, sometimes there's just no way around it.

                                                              More boggy ground.

Out of the woods, we follow a farm track down past Lower Hud Lee farm to the Clitheroe Rd.

The hedge beside the pavement of this busy road when last we walked it, was overgrown, forcing us to walk on the road. Thankfully the hedge has been cut back.

This pile of bricks is all that remains of the grade 2 listed Punch Bawl pub that was illegally demolished, and for which five people are now on trial.

                              As we get back to Hurst Green it's time for dinner.

This lady has come up with a poetic way of salvaging old roof slates. Well done her.

The porch of St John the Evangelist church provides us with shelter while we had our dinner, and we were certainly glad of it. The heavens opened, not once but twice while we munched our lunch. The second time, the rain was accompanied by a powerful wind, forcing Anthony further under the shelter.

No, Mike and I don't look like the two thieves on either side of the cross.

  

After dinner we walked down Shire Lane alongside the church and turned right onto Dene Rd (a steep hill) down into the valley.

After crossing the bridge over the brook we turned left then followed a path behind a row of mill workers cottages back to the start of our walk.

What at first looked like it was going to be a very wet walk, turned out to be a very pleasant one. It's all down to timing and luck.