ASHTON

 TOWN & COUNTRY  3.5 Miles

Barbour Boys :- Danny, John, Anthony, Mike  (Dave & Liz)

We arrived at Haslam Park about 10.20..... "Haven't you been there a few times  before ?".... "Yes".... "Well why are you going again ?".........  "Because there are always new things to see and talk about. So shut up and let me get on with the blog."

After parking the car in the usual car park we were almost immediately on the canal towpath.

The bright green covering on the surface of the canal was caused by rapid growth of "Ginny Greenteeth" more properly called duckweed. Because we were near the end of the canal there is little movement on the surface, further along the canal the flow of water into and out of it keeps the surface much clearer. 

It is thought the legends of a cruel, witch like, monster (Jenny Greenteeth ... the name varies) living beneath this weed were told to keep children away from deep or dangerous waters.

To your writer's surprise once on the canal we turned right, heading into the Preston suburbs, rather than taking a left into open countryside. Ah Well.... lead on Danny.

Coming into view as we followed the canal was Tulketh Mill with it's magnificently tall chimney. Part of Preston's industrial heritage.

Just as on last weeks walk we passed a very brave duck who stood her ground as we walked past. Can you see the ducklings hiding underneath her ?

What's this bush covered in yellow ball like flowers ?

Now an even taller building graced the horizon. St Walburge's Spire which claims to be the third highest spire in England after Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals. It is 309ft (90 Metres) tall and is a grade1 listed building.

It was only a few minutes before we reached the truncated end of the canal. There used to be a further half mile or so into the city centre where it was linked to the Leeds/Liverpool canal via the Old Tram Bridge, which you may remember we visited a few walks ago.

Shortly before the end we passed over this cheerfully painted bridge underneath which was the entrance to a small, boat-filled, Marina.

We now found ourselves in an area of terraced housing where some of the streets were still "Cobbled". Just imagine....... cobbled streets some laid down over a hundred and fifty years ago and still in good condition. What a comment on the potholed state of our present roads and streets.

A short break for a bit of fun. You will know the phrase about three monkeys. I'm not sure Danny has got his part right unless of course he speaks out of the back of his head.

Our good friend Martin, a regular walker over the years, is now incapacitated but used to be the the headteacher of this school. "Sacred Heart".

From the acres of terraced housing we moved into the more affluent area of Ashton. There were some spectacularly handsome and large houses. This gate gives some indication of the type of properties we were passing. I have to confess that I am a great fan of terraced housing having lived in one for 50 years. (A small house in Longridge and then, as the family grew) a large

Victorian Terrace in Grimsargh.

This, apparently, was originally the Fire Station.

As we reached Blackpool Road we passed St Andrew's school and the Church. We stopped briefly to explore the graveyard with mostly mid 19th Century headstones.

One of the memorials was to a family with the name "WELLBELOVED". Can't really better that as a surname.

Just a short distance now along the busy Blackpool Rd. I know ! I know ! it doesn't look busy BUT IT WAS ! before we arrived at the Parkside Cafe.  Lunchtime.

Just back a step though. Anybody know what these obviously old Cast iron things are set into the pavements, We passed several on our walk.

And look who has joined us for Lunch again. Dave, A most welcome addition to the quartet. We had only waited a few minutes before Dave's wife Liz arrived and parked just across the road to see him across to the Parkside Cafe.

Is this wallpaper too much (tasteless) our great fun ?  I favour the latter.

Aw ! Come on fellas......... Danny spills his tea on the table (Blamed the teapot 😏) and what's Dave doing with his fingers in his tea ? 

Yu just carn't take 'em anywhere.

 Lunch was good and rather delightfully served. The little grey pot, somewhat resembling a miniature pottery kiln, arrived in each empty cup and was the milk for our teas and coffee. Quite charming 

and so back to the car and home after a gentle but interesting stroll.

Well done Danny.👍

THE END

KNOTT END

 PIGGY IN THE MIDDLE   2  (slow) MILES 

LITTLE PIGGIES :- Mike, Danny, Anthony, John.

Even before we arrived in Knott End the subject of the "Pilling Pig was being discussed and cropped up throughout our walk

 ....and here is the said "Beast".......  More later.

........ and here we are parking at the FERRY terminal.

Once we had parked up we stepped through a gap in the low wall and turned left to follow the path upstream alongside the tidally full River Wyre.

There appeared to be some safety at sea training happening on the river.

Both Mike and Danny had experienced this training as they had both spent some time working on the rigs out at sea. Amazing and we didn't know we had such bold adventurers.

Our path next took us across the Knott End golf course.

To where there were clear views of Fleetwood across the Wyre Estuary.

In front of us, as we walked further on, was the many chimneyed Hackensall Hall. Obviously a building of some importance in the past.

A  line of cast iron posts along the approach road to the Hall would indicate that a past owner had money. No wooden posts and fencing as rings to take chains (?) were evident

Sycamore tree with it's emerging "Keys" bright red.  Isn't that rather unusual. Anyone explain ?

With questions about the "Pilling Pig" bouncing around inside our heads, particularly the route the track had taken, Anthony was sure this white cottage had some connection to the railroad. Anthony has a history connected to Knott End.

The gentleman on the left confirmed  that the rails did indeed pass close to the cottage and pointed to where the rails had passed by next to the cottage before carrying on to Knott End.

On the white wall of the white cottage was this very attractive "Mosaic ?"

There were others too.

As we continued along the suburban road which was to take us back to the coast we came to the rather interesting Catholic Church.

"The Bells, The Bells" Quasimodo would have felt cheated, No belltower to climb.  There they were outside the main entrance.  MOST unusual.

Inside, too, there were some interesting features. Not least the attractive "etched" glass in the windows.

The stained glass didn't miss out. That, too, was attractive.

The church did contain a little mystery. There were several entrance doors non of which appeared to be the main one. I suspect the arched window (above) might have served that purpose but the building of extensions had left it redundant. Who knows ?

We left the intriguing church by one of it's several doors and continued our walk.

The arched stained glass window can be seen in this photo, It looks remarkably like a filled in doorway to me.

We crossed over the High Street and continued along the cul-de-sac till a slight rise took us onto the promenade.

The day continued bright and sunny but if you look carefully you will see the white topped waves caused by a chilly and stiff breeze.

The marshy edge to the shore was full of birds, two in particular caught our attention. A duck with ducklings hiding amongst the reeds.

And what was this ?

There's something in that pool.

A closer look. Can you see it now ?

Yes. That's it.  An Egret.

There were other creatures not always quite so welcome.

Not the dogs, I must add,  but their thoughtless owners.

This attractively designed and very poignant bench was outside the "Bourne Arms " a pub which was offering a wartime menu. including "Spam Fritters" on this day, May 6th, the 80th anniversary of the D Day landings.

As we have aged, for those of us not yet there, 80 is beckoning ever more urgently. lunch in a cafe has become an integral part of our now considerably shorter walks. Our ageing limbs are not up to the longer walks that used to challenge us in previous years. We comfort ourself by declaring that it's the social interaction which is important now. 😀👍 

So....back to the Pilling Pig so called because of the pig-like squeal it's whistle made. It ran from a junction on the West Coast mainline just South of Garstang ( Catterall ) as far as the ferry in Knott End. 

Opened in the late 19th Century it closed mid 20th century.  It was intended to encourage the agricultural land which was underused. It eventually, however, was mainly used by the salt industry in that area. It's coaches were mixed goods and passengers. There was a constant struggle to fund it from the start.

It is now preserved on land belonging to a caravan park close to pilling.

It seems the "Pig " was a very pretty engine.

No it wasn't, silly !  This is the real "Pig". The other is a model. 😉

As we drove home we passed this building. "Railway Cottage" which was possibly one of several stops along the 11 mile track.

and so to home after a short but very pleasant amble. Thanks Anthony our local guide.

THE END

JW