From: Kelbrook to Long Preston
Distance: 11m / 17.7km
Cumulated distance: 599m / 964km
Percentage completed: 58.2
‘Come midday, sun’ll come out and it’ll be scorchin’ hot’. Well, the man in the pub was right. For the first couple of hours it was very misty and really quite cool .. not a bad thing for my friend with the blushing pink legs.
I suspect today’s post will have to be a little on the short side. The wifi doesn’t extend to the bedroom and now that I’m eventually connected in the pub’s bar, the speed is positively glacial. Besides, I’ve just been told that tonight is quiz night here in The Boar’s Head .. and judging by the number of punters arriving, concentrating down here will be a tad difficult. And anyway, my family will tell you I’m rather partial to a pub quiz.
To avoid heading south on the PBW, Liz and I followed a combination of lanes, tracks, towpaths and footpaths at first. The mist hung low but it was clear that it would burn off later in the day. The first lane was called Salterforth .. which we thought should really be renamed Saunterforth. There were sheep galore and a local farmer told us that the less than beautiful sheep we’d come across yesterday, were Texels. ‘Heavily muscled and known for their lean meat’, says Mr Google.
Still misty ..
Mist starting to lift ..
We skirted round the industrial town of Barnoldswick to join the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Bit of trivia for you .. Barnoldswick has one of the longest names in UK with no repeat letters. It also had the longest ever strike in trade union history .. two years at Silentnight Beds. And if I haven’t lost your attention yet, the Rolls Royce jet engines starting with the initials RB, such as the RB199, were made in Barnoldswick, where the company remains the biggest employer in the town.
Along the way, there were many farm gates to negotiate. It has amazed me just how many different styles of gate and stile I’ve encountered on this journey from Land’s End. But I don’t think I’ve broken any as yet .. unlike my walking companion today. Too much porridge for breakfast. (Don’t worry, gentle reader .. she’s a whizz at mending things).
Talking of the variety of ways of getting from one field to another .. look at this for hotch-potch of boundary dividers. Metal gate, to stone wall, to boulder, to wire fence. Ingenious.
Inventive use of a boulder
Along the canal we were pleasantly surprised to come across the tiny Lock Stop Cafe. Stocked with delicious cakes and a coffee machine we indulged ourselves and then with the crumbs, the very friendly little robins. It was a bit of a birdy day, as it happens. After leaving the sweet little redbreasts, Liz was astonished to see emus and later on in the day after she’d left me, I saw turkeys, grey herons and swans.
Welcome cafe
Dear little robins
Liz taken with the emus
Christmas survivor
Bracewell with blue skies
Handsome house through the trees
River Ribble
After I’d said a fond farewell to Liz, hoping it wouldn’t be 10 years before we met again, I rejoined the Bridleway and walked for a short while along side the River Ribble. Under the azure sky it looked particularly spectacular today. Apparently it’s terrific for fishing .. salmon and eels and gets as wide as the Thames at its widest.
Ribble from the other side of the bridge
Moorland close to Paythorne, walking along the Pennine Bridleway
And that, gentle reader, is as much as I can write tonight .. it’s taken probably three times as long to post this, as it took me to do the walk today. It seems OpenReach hasn’t made it to Long Preston as yet. It’s time for bed!
Black Dog Tails
Rest homes in NZ have canine friends who come into visit their guests. This is Barney, a very friendly pooch by all accounts.
Today I took a Black Dog photo especially for you Jules. The owner’s name was Darryl who was busking and chatting at Circular Quay but I don’t know the name of his dog. Didn’t ask so shame on me.
We talked about your adventure and he sent his best wishes. I tried to share the photo but couldn’t. Will send it another way.
Finally getting cooler weather here.
Enjoy your weekend companion. Hi Jill! Have fun you two!
Thank you Jo. You were in our thoughts over the weekend as we walked the Pennine Way together, in sun and in rain. Should love to see your photo .. xx
Fan of your misty skies Jules as they look more interesting than bluebird days in paintings , but I think nothing beats walking in glorious weather when it comes to lifting your spirit . As you are walking everyday and I am reading the book sent to me by some mysterious person in the UK ( who could it be ? ) I am thinking of what you are truly achieving … exercising , getting some fresh air and improving your health , challenging yourself and feeling empowered ,raising funds for charity, enjoyed being social and catching up with friends , feeling connected to nature, fauna , flora , history, geography and geology etc , learning about it as well as educating us and accessing interests such as photography , regional culinary specialities … Have to stop and go for a walk ! xx
Love your comments so much, Sophie! Have you thought of taking up blogging? Perhaps I could pass the keyboard to you when you join me in Bonny Scotland! xx
Ah, Barnoldswick, that takes me back to Rolls Royce days… they make the titanium wide chord fan blades for the Trent engines which power, for example, A380s, so many readers will have been zipped across the skies by them. Not just chip butties and white patent leather stilettoes oop north, you know…
You don’t say! Wow .. that’s seriously interesting. Thank you, Sir Frank.
Dearest Jules – hurrah for the sun! Now in return for all your fascinating and informative information here is a bit of trivia. Your delightful drawing of Stainforth…the origin of the name is believed to be of ancient Saxon origin, Stan meaning ‘stone’ and ford meaning ‘a river crossing’. Instead of a surname reflecting a profession, in time it described an area in which one lived. The 1434 Ecclesfield court rolls mention a John of Stannyford passing on land in Stanyford to his son Richard. And why is this relevant you ask yourself? In time it led to Staniforth – my maiden name! Lots of love as always xx
How fabulously interesting! And how lovely that we share a common root in our surnames! Thank you for that, Frannie. xx
Morning Jules,
Blue skies to start out with this morning. Enjoy your weekend with Jill……nursing my burns today and looking through photos of the last three great days! Lots and lots of love,
We ‘ad a lorra laffs together, didn’t we?! You certainly got the best of weather. xx
Back in the late 50s and early 60s I lived in Bradford and a ragged crew of us first of all hitch hiked, then when we got transport drove up to the Lake District every weekend to camp, rock climb and drink beer. On the way home on Sunday evening The Boars Head was our stopping place to round off our share of weekend’s beer. Drinking and driving had not reached the legal and socially disapproved level it is now at. It is a wonder we survived on the roads, and also on the rocks with inferior and sparse equipment, largely ex-army.
Yes, the times they have a’changed! And largely for the better in this regard .. but I’m sure you had a lot of fun.
Fantastic adventure!!!
Thank you, Jeremy! x