For newcomers

At the bottom of each post there is the word "comments". If you click on it you will see comments made by followers, and if you follow the instructions you may also comment and I always welcome that. I have found many people overlook this part of the blog which is often more interesting than the original post!

My blog nick-name is SIR HUGH. I'm not from the aristocracy - my middle name is Hugh which relates to the list of 282 hills in Scotland compiled by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891. I climbed my last one (Sgurr Mor) on 28th June 2009

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Monday 7 November 2016

Wyre Way in sections (1)


SUNDAY 6th November '16

The Wyre Way is a strange long distance path (LDP), I say long distance but it is only 45 miles. It  starts at Abbeystead and makes a loop north then east following the Tarnbrook River Wyre into the attractive footings of the Bowland Hills then swings south and west to follow the Marshaw River Wyre without going to the source of either of these two feeders, then  returning to Abbeystead where the two rivers join to form the river Wyre proper.

The main river is then followed to its mouth at Knott End-on-Sea where logic would say it had achieved its objective, but no! The ferry is taken across the mouth to Fleetwood from where the walk follows the western coastline before cutting across the peninsula to finish back at the Shard Bridge over the Wyre. There seems to be no rationale for this final section or the finishing point, but there it is. The route is well way-marked, and I think well used.

Click to enlarge - The blue line shows my return path today - see below map for more detail
In January 2013 I walked the first loop from Abbeystead and back with Gimmer.

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST

Today I decided to carry on and walk the rest in sections using other paths to return to my starting point each time, which will take a few visits - I can only walk half the distance on the LDP from my total distance for each walk.

Please click to enlarge. This man-made beauty seemed to rival nature at its best - the whole ambience of the shimmering, flowing water and the sensuous curves moved me quite profoundly

A bit further downstream this elaborately designed bridge must have been associated with the waterworks of the weir - I'm not sure of the date but it comes from an age when design was considered well beyond utility - see next photo

Again, please click to enlarge. Note the round top rail with the contrasting square bottom rail and the elborately designed joining brackets and the elegantly tapered pillars

Back towards the weir - not much sunlight, but autumn colours and light still forceful

I quote below from the above mentioned post recording my earlier visit.
The commemorative stone with the plaque (photo below) is seen bottom left
"Abbeystead, starting point for this walk, was the scene of a dreadful explosion in an underground building at the waterworks in 1984 that killed 16 of a visiting party of 44.

Although I lived only a few miles away in Preston I have always had a feeling that I would somehow be intruding if I visited - the same applies to Lockerbie."



A more modern bridge than the iron beauty - utility rules

Dolphinholme
More attention to attractive stone built architecture in this backwater village
Start Abbeystead - clockwise

This waymarker was not on the Wyre Way, just a minor public footpath on my return route, and I saw no others to supplement it. Anybody any knowledge of its references? Note the letters "TA" on the top surface. As far as I can remeber it was located at approximately SD 554 533



5 comments:

  1. Nice route Conrad. The Rams Head stone does seem to fit in with the other Wyre Way stones. It's a long shot but I wonder if it was installed in the wrong place or if the route was altered at some time.

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  2. Alan Rayner - I forgot to include the detailed route map which I have now done. It seems unlikely that the stone would have been put in the wrong place? I've just looked back at the photos on the first section in the post I referenced and realise that I had photographed other similar stones but I saw no more on this trip. I'll keep a look out when I do the next sections.

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  3. Conrad, Glad to see you are on with that interesting and varied 'Wyre Way'
    Checkout my posts from May 2014 for some ideas of breaking down the route using public transport.
    Dolphinholme - Scorton circular.
    Scorton - St. Michaels bus one way.
    Knott End - St. Michaels bus one way.
    I didn't go down the otherside, didn't look inviting, will be interested to see your report on it though.
    Will be in contact when back from Tenerife.

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  4. BC - I'm looking forward to doing the rest if it. I'm quite happy to walk short sections and return by other paths - it means I cover even more new ground and extends the project which suits me.

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  5. Completely agree with that philosophy. Have fun. Don't drown as I could have done.

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