Humber estuary finished … I see the sea!

March 16, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Friday 14th March 2025

Another absolute corker of a day. Intermittent showers but largely sunshine. Another easygoing path and …. after 8 days of walking we have finally completed both sides of the Humber Estuary!!

We parked the car up in the village of Welwick and walked a mile down a country road to reach the official Coastal Path. Lo and behold there was actual signage, beautiful new wooden ‘King Charles III Coastal Path’ signs – looked like we were going to be spoilt today. The path was wide and easy underfoot, we even had occasional stretches of newly laid tarmac in the areas where they had erected new bird hides – they must love those twitchers. Or maybe Charles and Camilla had been to visit – it was like red carpet in comparison to the usual terrain! There’d clearly been some titivation going on along these parts, all very smart.

*Sparkling new bird hides with newly laid tarmac!*

All ran smoothly until we reached the dreaded ‘no entry gate’ at Skeffling. We were obviously being diverted off but there was no hints as to which way we should go. We sort of guessed our way round and could see some construction going on. Spotting a ‘pedestrians’ sign we followed the roped off path and then saw a muddy hill taking us back up to the sea defence wall. There were lots of bright yellow diggers and men in high viz … we tried to slip by inconspicuously. We heard some shouting and beeping of horns and presumed they were just noisy builders communicating with each other. Before we reached the top, one high viz and helmeted man came running towards us saying “you can’t go that way.” Well, poor chap received the full brunt of our frustration at the lack of coastal path diversion signs – he was lovely though and listened to our woes and even showed interest in our walking project – we had such a friendly chat as he escorted us off site and directed us to where we could pick up the path. He even agreed to a selfie!

We stopped for our picnic lunch just past Kilnsea and re-energised ourselves for the rest of the walk.

At Spurn we decided to stick to the country path rather than risk the soft sands but a mile or so later we opted for beach walking (1) because the other option was to go quite some way inland and (2) we were so excited to see the sea and hear the waves. The two miles of beach walking was actually OK, not too soft and it was just amazing to be back at the real coast as opposed to the estuary mud flats. Back to my happy place.

And from there it was an easy wander into the village of Easington – another pretty East Riding village with a spectacular church. The size of churches in these Yorkshire villages is just mind blowing! This was our destination for today after 9.25 miles of walking. On discovering we had 50 minutes to wait for the bus we took the opportunity to have a rewarding drink in the ‘Marquis of Granby’ … and why not!

And for the rest of our time here now we’ll be at the seaside – lets get the buckets and spades out!

An easygoing 6 miles on the path today …

March 13, 2025March 16, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Thursday 13th March 2025

It took two buses to get us to our start point today but the connections went like clockwork. We picked up the sea defence wall where Steve left off yesterday, near the village of Paull. The terrain immediately seemed to be improvement from the previous day so that was a bonus. In fact the whole day was relatively comfortable underfoot.

There was something for everyone – some road walking, sea defence walls, farmland paths, a stroll through the pretty village of Paull, more sea defence walls, industrial backdrops and a housing estate, before an easy pavement brought us back to the main road to catch the bus back into the city. There was just about a mile of a narrow, muddy and slippery path towards the end – but with a slow pace and full concentration I managed to stay fairly upright – regretted not having my walking pole once again!

I’m so in awe of Steve and how he manages to plan these routes – I just always feel I’m in the middle of nowhere and then suddenly it all seems to piece together. It all worked like a dream today, even the buses.

Being a shorter walk, we decided to stop off in the city for a while. I deposited Steve in a Quayside Bar and went for a little cultural stroll around the Old Town and Marina. You can really see the effort they put in to earn their “City of Culture” status in recent years. As well as grabbing the opportunity to enjoy the marvellous architecture, I paid a visit to Ferens Art Gallery – not huge but some wonderful art. And of course I then joined Steve to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine to round off the afternoon.

And now to continue with the ‘easygoing’ theme of the day … it’s dinner, feet up and early to bed. We are so rock and roll.

An ‘industrial’ two days of Coastal Walking

March 11, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Monday 10th March 2025 – New Holland to Immingham…… 12.5 miles

Tuesday 11th March 2025 – Immingham to Cleethorpes ……. 11 miles

When you think of coastal walking you imagine skipping along the shore on golden sands, clifftop paths with stunning views, buzzing promenades, the odd sea defence wall to divert you from the mud flats or even an occasional woodland. No-one imagines dual carriageways and miles of heavy industry. Unfortunately that has been our experience for the last two days and, although interesting for us Southerners who rarely see it on this scale, it has not exactly been the most inspiring. However, if we’re going to join up all the dots of this UK coastal path, it just has to be done.

On Monday particularly we got up close and personal with it. At one point during the day we found ourselves walking through an oil and gas plant with its gigantic tanks, pipes, smoking chimneys and rigging. It was a public footpath! Later we reached a locked gate and had to be escorted by a security officer through an incredibly busy freight terminal – it was a public footpath! And later still there was a designated walking area through a working timber yard with mountains of stock and moving vehicles. Again, it was the public footpath! Oh we do love to be beside the seaside!!!!

*The locked gate – security escort across freight terminal*

A fair amount of road walking too, including a two mile stretch along a dual carriageway, leading out of Immingham on Monday. We tried everything to find an alternative but there was nothing … I would recommend a taxi for anyone else embarking on this route. Said dual carriageway had no pavement so we scrambled along a grass verge which was OK until it became a mass of brambles. I nearly came a cropper right at the very end – I jumped onto the road and my foot caught in the bramble … I just managed to save myself from face-planting the A160!! I shall be writing to King Charles about this – he needs to know that this path named after him is at times ‘dangerous!’ It left me quite shaky and anxious about a lot of that day’s walk as nothing seemed straightforward.

The road walking we did on Tuesday was not glamorous but at least there were pavements … and for that we were grateful.

*A beautiful ‘Tommy’ remembrance in Immingham*

The majority of the walk however was on a wide concrete sea defence wall alongside the Humber Estuary. On Monday the foghorns were sounding consistently and we presumed it was because it was foggy and this estuary is such a busy shipping lane. We found it to be a real nuisance! It was only later in the day that we heard that two hours earlier a US flagged oil tanker had collided with a ship containing highly toxic chemicals and burst into flames. We saw nothing, such a tragic incident.

We were greatly surprised when we saw a car coming towards us on the sea defence wall – that had never happened before. Then others followed, it seemed that this was a popular area for birdwatching and also for fishing – cars were permitted for those who were unable or unwilling to put in the miles on foot! In fact, come to think of it, we were the only walkers we saw all day! We were able to appreciate the birdlife though – quite the ornithological feast … terns, oystercatchers, curlews and ducks, ducks and more ducks. Couldn’t help but think what a great life they have.

The coastal path on Tuesday continued to come with stark industrial views – more oil, gas, chemical plants and a power station. It was made worse as we were diverted off the sea wall due to repairs. So we not only had the gas and smoke smells but we also passed an outrageously stinking waste disposal/recycling site and then hit the pungent fish smells of Grimsby. It was quite a day.

*Vehicles galore – waiting for new owners*

Walking through Grimbsy was quite an eye opener although we saw signs that said it was a great place to live, work and play – maybe we were just in the wrong neighbourhood. And just as Grimsby emerged into Cleethorpes, we took a turn which brought us back onto the sea defence wall. We were able to enjoy the estuary and sea views as we entered this popular seaside resort. We had a race off with a couple in mobility scooters as we hit the promenade and made our way along the amusement lined path to Cleethorpes pier – our planned destination.

We’ve walked a total of 23.5 miles in the last two days with not one Coastal Path sign in sight. Maybe we went the wrong way!! Although it is said that the UK Coastal Path is complete – is it really!? Well, we’re still ploughing on, we’re still talking, we’re still walking … and hopefully our next two weeks here will get a little less industrious!

Let’s get to ‘The Point’

March 9, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Sunday 9th March 2025

Woke up to yet another beautiful blue sky day – perfect Spring weather. Up and out sharpish as today we were walking Spurn Head Spit, where tides can be an issue – we weren’t going to take any chances. Decided to drive as the bus journey was going to take two hours. Didn’t end up saving ourselves loads of that time due to tremendously stressful traffic diversion and congestion in the city – road closures – and then further on the roads were largely restricted to 30 and 40mph. We drove through some gorgeous villages though, some with magnificent churches, and it gave us a clearer picture for further days of walking.

We managed to take the last parking spot in the car park at Spurn and predicted this was going to be a busy old place. Turned out there was a European Angling Competition taking place and the anglers were all spaced out, with all the gear, along the whole stretch of beach. We got chatting to one competitor who told us the first prize was £4,000 for the weightiest cod or ray. He loved talking all things fish but seemed completely uninterested in our coastal walking chatter – funny that!! We continued our walk up the sandy beach, a little miffed that the fishermen were hogging all the firmer sand … mustn’t grumble. After two miles we were led on to a path that took us off the beach and behind some sand dunes. This shortly turned into a concrete path … being nature lovers we’re ashamed to say that we love a concrete path occasionally – today it was a lifesaver.

*Setting off on today’s walk of Spurn Head Spit*

Spurn is a narrow sandy spit that juts out into the Humber Estuary and curves round to the North Sea. It has a lot of history as a defence location, it has a lighthouse (open for visitors and refreshments) and a redundant lifeboat station. The spit’s main purpose now is a Wildlife Haven – you just have to be aware of the unpredictable tides that can leave you stranded. We were aiming for ‘The Point’ at the furthermost tip, so an out and back which we reckoned on being about 6 miles. We felt comfortable, although not many but other walkers heading the same way – we reckoned we’d be safe.

Spurn Pilot Station

There were glorious views the whole stretch, sea all around and sandy beaches, just wonderful. Shortly past the lighthouse, the signs for ‘The Point’ took us through a long and winding stretch of sand dunes. Steve did suggest we skip this bit and just head back but I said it was a shame to get this far without getting to ‘the point’ … ha ha! Did I ever regret that comment. Because (1) ‘The Point’ was literally a bench with one of those signposts that tells you how many miles it is to Timbuktoo and (2) after that it led us back to the beach. Now I love a beach but not walking another 4 miles of it on soft sand, I’d much rather admire it from something firmer. I confess to getting a little grumpy. If ever you find yourself on Spurn Head, take my advice … maximise the use of the concrete path.

By the time we got back to the car we had clocked up nearly 9 miles, 3 more miles than estimated. We found a spot on the beach to tuck into our picnic lunch and hot chocolate – always a great soother. We could relax while watching the anglers do their stuff – well not much really, they just seem to sit and look at their lines … saw no fish activity at all.

So, despite some grumbles and some achey legs from soft sand walking, the point is … we had another fabulous day.

All about the Humber Bridge

March 8, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 8th March 2025

*We had views of this wonderful bridge all day*

Naturally, bright and early we hotfooted it to our usual Saturday morning activity and today’s choice was the Humber Bridge parkrun. For anyone planning to do this one, leave yourself plenty of time after parking up as it’s a fair old walk to the start and down a particularly steep set of steps to boot. And remember those lovely steps are waiting for you to climb up on your return, so pace yourself! But what a fabulous route – three trail laps around pretty woodland – this Country Park was originally a quarry.

Before setting off on today’s Coastal Path walk we sensibly checked in to a Greene King pub for breakfast – turned out to be pretty disastrous. We were pointed to a table without being given any instructions, so we fiddled around trying unsuccessfully to download the app. Our table was right next to an ever growing table of cheery bikers – they were lovely but incredibly noisy and we were just drowned out! No-one came to serve us so we moved to a different table and then just decided to help ourselves to the buffet. We had to search around for plates – the food was good but cold by the time we’d waited for the bread to toast! And there were no mugs so NO tea! Oh well, we had some sustenance which is more than we accomplish sometimes!

We parked up again at the Hessle Foreshaw car park (it’s free) as today we were walking the other side of the estuary. We caught a bus to Barton on Humber and a train from there to New Holland. We had a very smooth connection (timing is everything) and enjoyed our little countryside ride.

Disembarking in New Holland, we found ourselves walking amongst impressive seaport industrial sites -it is a tidal dock, almost entirely used for the import of timber. The path eventually led us on to the more peaceful environment of embankment wall where we had spectacular views to our right of the Humber Estuary and to our left a nature reserve gleaming in the sunshine. We could see the Humber Bridge in the distance and as we walked the views just got more and more magnificent.

*Started our walk from New Holland Railway Station*

The weather was glorious again today – blue skies and sunshine. I was walking in my t-shirt most of the way, Steve clung on to his layers and thick jacket! And the spring flowers and blossom make this time of year even more joyous – it’s a good to be alive day!

Just before the bridge we dived into the Humber Hideaway cafe where we indulged in lashings of tea and raspberry and coconut slices – yum! From there it was a short walk to the bridge – we eventually found the access route to get on it, one pedestrian side was closed. It was a stunning walk over with views of the Humber river and the surrounding area stretching for miles. Then back to Hessle to find the car.

So, 7 miles clocked up in coastal walking + 3 miles of parkrun – think we got our steps in today.

Friday 7th March 2025

Just to fill the gap in from yesterday – day off the coastal path – we went to Hull New Theatre instead to see ‘The Book of Mormon.’ If you haven’t seen it – go, it’s hilarious!

So so sunny Yorkshire

March 6, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Thursday 6th March 2025

Yesterday we drove up to our latest house-sitting assignment in the village of Anlaby, East Riding – just a short bus ride away from the interesting city of Hull. We’re here to see what the Yorkshire coastal path has to offer us in the way of adventure.

I have to say that today’s ramble was gorgeously straightforward – easy terrain, blue skies and oodles of sunshine. We parked up in the Hessle Foreshore Country Park car park and were immediately wowed by the views of the quite magnificent Humber Bridge, so majestic. And on our walk up to the bus stop we were further impressed by the grand houses with sweeping driveways – breathtaking but every newspaper boy’s nightmare. We had to admit that this is just not what we expected of Hull.

Two different bus rides took us to where we wanted to start our walk today and it was the perfect chance to get our first glimpse of the city. We said it so many times today – so different to our expectations – stunning period architecture mixed in with clean modern buildings, smart streets with vibrant atmosphere – we just can’t wait to explore more.

*Starting off from the industrial area of Salt End – the large Siemens site* (wind turbine blades in the background).

These towers are connected with either the gas powered power station or more likely a large chemical production facility … check out this list … acetic acid, anhydride, ammonia, butanol, ethyl acetate and vinyl copolymer … yes I don’t know either!

Salt End is where we started and it was a long straight walk through an impressive large scale industrial area – the pavement being wide and plentiful and set well aside from the road. Great coastal path signs too, confirming we were doing okay thus far. And the signs eventually led us off the main road and along to the Humber Estuary, this magnificently wide river basking in sunshine. Estuary walking generally means trudging along muddy paths or suffering high winds on embankment walls, but not today – the path almost the whole stretch was like a promenade, all our dreams come true! For a section we were diverted off and into the quayside area, down a popular street of pavement cafes and colourful shops. At the harbour we had to walk over a small lock and then an incredibly high lock – needed us to switch on our ‘head for heights’ bravery. Made for interesting views over the city though.

The last two miles we were provided with a kerbside path that was fenced off from the high volume of traffic on a major road – noisy but, like the rest of the day, perfectly manageable.

*Nearing the end of our 10 mile walk at the magnificent Humber Bridge*.

A bowl of Shreddies, a Gregg’s sausage roll and a fruit bar had fuelled our 10 mile walk today – no cup of tea stops unfortunately. And sadly I have the onset of a sore throat and head cold, so have stocked up on a concoction of strepsils, lem-sip, Jakemans, Paracetamol and vitamin C – nothing’s going to stop me on my quest!

It’s wonderful to be back on the path – we’re lapping up this fresh air and sunshine – long may it last.

So so sunny Yorkshire!

To Morecambe … and back again

January 26, 2025March 4, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 25th January 2025

Storm Eowyn has been doing its stuff over the last couple of days – today we woke up to stunning blue skies, but still a whole load of wind. So Saturday at 9.00am, of course we found ourselves at a Parkrun! The Lancaster one had been called off due to fallen trees and so Morecambe it was – and how lovely to finally find ourselves at the seaside. It was a wonderful out and back run along the promenade with fantastic views of the wide expanse of sand, the sea and the Lake District coastline on the horizon. The return part was not much fun however as we were running into strong wind – it was a battle.

We drove back to Lancaster and after a quick turn around we were heading back to Morecambe – this time walking. We caught the bus to the bus station (our starting point), couldn’t find the bus station cafe so carried on – our tummies were well and truly rumbling by the time we came across sustenance in Starbucks, about two miles in.

The Bay cycleway had been our path thus far, and we could have carried on this very pleasurable route all the way to Morecambe but that would have only been a couple more miles and cheating as so inland. The true coastal path option was a little risky as it floods daily and you need to know the timing of the tides. It would also have meant going via Heysham and being a 15 mile day. So our plan was to walk roadside into Morecambe – we had two roads to choose from. We checked them both out, neither had pavements! One of them did have a narrow kerb so we went for that, but it really wasn’t safe as it was National speed limit and we were getting some funny stares. A little over a mile of this stress we came to a turn off and Steve worked out a cross country option. And it was beautiful. Yes it was muddy paths and waterlogged farm fields but I’d take that over the craziness of speeding vehicles any day. A huge relief.

When we reached the outskirts of Morecambe, we had another hellish 200m walking another section of narrow busy road, with the blindness of a bridge thrown in. We took our life into our hands inching our way up and over, making our way to the safe haven of pavement. We really did get some puzzled looks that time!

And before we knew it, we were on the beautiful promenade of Morecambe – all our stress fell away. We walked 4 miles along this perfect stretch, making our end point at the oh so famous Eric Morecambe statue. What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful entertainer. It felt fitting to pay our respects for all those heartwarming Christmas Day memories.

Morecambe Bay with the Lake District in the background.

There’s a huge amount of Cormorant sculptures – funnily enough we didn’t actually see any real ones!

The absolutely wonderful Eric Morecambe!

Me and Eric xx

We treated ourselves to food and a few celebratory drinks back in Lancaster. So recommend ‘Merchants 1688,’ a bar just near the castle, a fabulously atmospheric venue for eating and drinking.

Today we walked 8 miles (plus our 3 mile run in the morning of course!!)

On this trip, we have covered off 43.5 miles over 4 days of coastal walking. Not bad for a couple of old codgers. And we will be coming back one day to continue this stretch of coastline, beginning with a guided 9 mile walk over Morecambe Bay, notorious for its quick sands – we are definitely not taking any risks by going solo!! Till next time Morecambe.

Walking into Lancaster

January 24, 2025March 18, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Let’s give this a go!! Yesterday’s blog was taken down from Facebook – I have no idea why. I have appealed and am waiting to hear.

Thursday 23rd January 2025

Apart from being up to our ankles in mud and at one point up to our knees in water, our walking day wasn’t too bad. The start was a little challenging and I so nearly turned back. It was a ridiculously narrow path, on a slope and slippery. After a half mile of this, with lots of muttering, we took the alternative lower path which was very wet – nothing like starting the day off with wet feet!

The first 6 miles was a complete mixed bag of terrain – from boggy to tarmac, from puddles to farm lanes – you never take anything for granted. Stopped and had a lovely chat with a farmer in his tractor – he was just about to start lambing and explained all about it. He was fascinated that we were walking all the way to Lancaster in this weather – mad Southerners! I’m sure this area is fabulous in sunshine but even today the Lune estuary was pretty scenic.

Our half way point was Glasson Dock, a quiet village and marina. We treated ourselves to a coffee stop and a humungous slice of Millionaire’s Shortbread – they had the thickest layer of caramel and the thickest layer of chocolate that you’ve ever seen – the perfect energy booster.

Rejuvenated we made our way to our next path and were delighted to find another tarmac surface – in fact it appeared to be an old railway walk as long, straight and flat – a complete breeze for ramblers. Halfway along, the app suggested a turn off onto a sea wall path – after a ‘brief’ investigation we decided it was far too muddy so stuck to the very lovely manageable path all the way to Lancaster – great decision.

It felt like coming home walking back into Lancaster. We’ve so quickly blended into this historic city – everywhere you look is magnificent, even the newer builds are so cleverly designed to merge in tastefully. Plenty of student halls too – sneaky views of untidy bedrooms!

11 miles today.

And back to our temporary home, muddy boots and all – to find our little charges, Monty and Kit, in their usual cuddling position.

Cockles and Cockerham

January 22, 2025March 18, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Wednesday 22nd January 2025

An altogether much brighter day – started in rain but ended with some blue sky and the sun trying to pop his head through the clouds – we’ll take that, so much better than yesterday. We started off walking from Knott-End-on-Sea, a pretty seaside village although somewhat deserted. Lowry used to sketch here, it was a great inspiration to him. So we had to get a photo by his sculpture – forever the tourists!

We quickly picked up the sea wall path and it was such a treat to find it was tarmac, no squelchy mud thus far. There was a huge expanse of sand on the beach and we’re guessing the sea was there somewhere but was shrouded in mist. Some smart coastal properties too but their signage was well and truly letting us know that this foreshore was private property.

The sea wall came to an end after 3 miles and at this point we got chatting to a couple of cockle pickers who had just returned on their quad bikes, bringing in bags of cockles. They were a jolly pair too and were delighted to share all their cockle picking expertise – shame we missed a photo opportunity! As we left them, Steve started reciting: “I’m not a cockle picker nor a cockle picker’s mate, I’m only picking cockles cos the cockle picker’s late.” Well, I could not get that rhyme out of my head for the rest of the day!!

We picked up a country lane now so again pleasant walking for a few miles – we were using our OS app to follow the Lancashire Coastal Way. Surprisingly it took us onto a fairly major road (we found out later that the rest of the sea wall is closed off for construction). There was no pavement on this road and cars were whizzing past at 70mph – not idyllic rambling conditions. So, after a mile, Steve worked out a detour on to some country lanes that would circle around to where our car was parked. It was a huge agricultural area, both livestock and arable – not seaside but still interesting. It did however add another 1.5 miles onto the walk but we decided it was worth it for stress and safety reasons. And as the weather cleared we were just about able to see the mountains of the Lake District in the distance.

We ended our trek in another lovely village, Cockerham, where our flask of hot chocolate was waiting for us in the car! The thought of it had kept me going those 9.5 miles. But today we’d had no mud and no wind … it was a good day.

Now home for cockles … or is it curry!?

OAPs let loose in Lancashire!

January 21, 2025March 18, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 18th January – Monday 20th January 2025

After a fabulous two night stay with Alice and Jon in Lymm, we drove up to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon for a week’s house-sitting assignment. The house owners, Paul and William were off to Gran Canaria for a break and leaving us in charge of their stunningly stylish Victorian residence and their two wonderful moggies, Monty and Kit. We spent a great evening with Paul and William before they flew out the next morning – a deliciously home-cooked meal and the most perfect company. We’ve fallen in love with Monty and Kit who are 4 years old and brother and sister. They lay cuddling each other for hours each evening and love to wash each other … and they have the odd scrap too!!

We spent Sunday settling in and exploring the interesting city of Lancaster. We walked up to the Castle and the Priory and discovered the history of its prisons and the stories of the Pendle Witches. The city is steeped in history and has the most spectacular architecture. There is also a vibrant University student life here so quite a contrast to its Roman and Medieval past. Always great to discover a different city.

So Monday was our first day of walking and by use of car and bus we made our way to Fleetwood, to walk the Wyre Estuary. If the ferry had been operating we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and effort – it might have been cheating but we were sorely tempted … then the decision was taken out of our hands, it’s in for repair. Treated ourselves to a bacon ‘barm’ and a mug of hot tea in the ferry cafe instead.

Overall not a day to write home about – it was cold, grey and drizzly and estuary walking is never glamorous. The first side of the estuary was 4 miles of busy roadside then a mostly manageable path. One section of it did have a ‘No Access’ sign but apparently that doesn’t apply to us!!!! The ‘health and safety’ aspect of heavy machinery did not worry Steve a jot, especially as no alternatives were provided. So, when we reached the digger, we skirted around it on the soggy mud flats and gave the digger driver a cheeky wave – he didn’t seem perturbed. The path got somewhat wetter between here and Skippool where we had parked the car, but we waded our way through. And, despite there being some stunning properties, it was like a boat graveyard, amazing vessels just seemingly left to rot.

Back at the car we warmed ourselves up from our flask of hot chocolate and tucked into sausage rolls and sarnies, heater full blast. Feeling rejuvenated, we talked ourselves into tackling the other side of the estuary, rather than come back to do it tomorrow. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

In reality it was pretty grim. We were SO cold when we got out and our clothes were so damp. After a small stretch of roadside we hit the worst terrain of the day – ’twas the mud flats – that sinky, boggy sort of rambling that appeals to no-one! But it was just a couple of miles of that and then we were on to lovely country lanes. Later there was a section of very high and incredibly slippery embankment walls – boy I was smug to have my walking pole – it would have got very messy without! Then more country lanes, a golf course and and an easy path into the lovely town of Knotts-End-on-sea.

And we’d racked up 15 Miles – not a bad effort at all. It’s weird though, the colder and wetter it is, the faster Steve walks (and I try my best to keep up) – so it becomes a physical exercise rather than a sightseeing stroll. But it was a section that just needed to be done and hopefully it will get a little more scenic over the next few days, despite the unpromising weather!

The best part about the day though was the buses – the Lancashire buses are fabulously comfortable and warm and the drivers uber friendly. Our timing was perfect to catch both the buses, no waiting. And … I got to use my newly acquired bus pass – so finally I’ve found some benefit to being a golden oldie!!

The rambling roses

Come along with us on our journeys :)

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