Introduction
The highly changeable weather continues. Today, I took a walk on a flat, lowland area, with plenty of bailout options should the weather really close in.
In fact, it was just the last 40 minutes when the showers reached me, so I enjoyed almost 3 hours of dry walking.
The walk is 10.25 miles, but with only 80 feet of total ascent it’s very easy walking. It took 3 hours 45 minutes, including a 15 minute lunch break.
This is a good walk for dog walking. The first section is on a little used canal towpath, and then it’s a mix of arable farmland and protected country paths, before the last half hour on the roads.
It’s an hour’s drive from Cheadle Hulme to Rufford .
I walked in a clockwise direction.
The walk is on OS Explorer Map 285.
I parked on the road, near the church and marina, postcode L40 1BJ.
The Leeds And Liverpool (L&L)Canal
I set off in glorious sunshine along the canal towpath, heading south on the Rufford branch.
The branch, completed in 1781, links the main L&L canal to the sea via the Ribble estuary a short distance to the north.
The towpath was muddy and little used. So, although there were no climbs on this walk, this part was quite hard going.
However, it was beautiful in the sunshine.
A hawthorn tree brought a clear sighting of my first three fieldfares of the season.
As I neared Burscough, it was good to see the Canal and Riverside Trust team cutting back vegetation, part of the unending maintenance work needed on this 242 year-old waterway.
Burscough
Shortly, I neared the attractive canalside town of Burscough, and the attractive Ship Inn, to which I paid a visit, via a short drive, after completing the walk!
After the lock, the meeting of the canals appeared at a small canal basin.
The town’s mill has been nicely converted to canalside flats.
I passed a couple more good-looking pubs, and a single pleasure craft before leaving the canal behind.
Martin Mere And Rufford
After a short road stretch, I was somewhat nervous about underfoot conditions on the farmland.
However the ditches saw that it was well drained.
The railway line from Wigan to Southport is quite busy, but I crossed safely.
Across the tracks, the landscape was a little more scrubby. The path then skirts the edge of the renowned Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve. My path soon fell victim to the “wetland” element. I managed to get round this and keep my feet dry.
There were a couple of places to view the reserve, though nothing much to see.
The last stretch involved road walking with vast open fields either side, and rain sweeping across. Not too pleasant, just the price to pay for a lovely walk!
The walk ends back in Rufford, which has the feel of a Liverpool commuter village.
An enjoyable day out by the canal, topped off with a beer in The Ship Inn.
And Finally….
The Mountain Goats have been around since 1991. They’ve just released their 22nd studio album, so I don’t know why I haven’t come across them before as this is a really enjoyable listen.
The album is “Jenny From Thebes”, and this track is “Only One Way”.