The ubiquitous mud was semi frozen - not unpleasant to walk on, and there were long stretches of smooth turf. This section was mostly through open fields providing pleasant enough walking, but not much of note to record, and only about three dog walkers were met with brief greetings exchanged.
I tried to Google the strange name of our finishing point, Cabus Nook, but could find nothing of interest except for a link to a website recording canal walks by a Wigan father and son duo recording their various canal walks: CLICK HERE.
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| This map looks almost 3D - it was scanned from the somewhat crumpled printout I took on the walk |
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| One for my "Relics" folder - even if it was restorable I reckon the quality of the original construction wouldn't be worth the effort |
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| We had a chat with the skipper - unfortunately it was on the other side, otherwise we might have cadged a brew. He had done all the restoration himself, said it was a dog when he bought it - very proud |
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| Most of the canal was frozen, and quite thick with it - on the last picture a channel can be seen where a boat had ploughed through - the owner of the boat in that picture told us it was against canal rules to motor through ice |
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| A large and attractive canal side house - it was much bigger than the photo shows |
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An abnormally acute left hand bend here reminded me of a James Stewart (and other notables) film I saw when I reckon I was about fourteen - the film's date was 1952. My memory recalls the title "Where the River Bends", and I found it under that via Google, but other info, and this poster say otherwise.
I have no doubt my film buff brother (RR), who has a phenomenal memory will be able to comment. We very likely saw the film together - he will probably remember which of the thirty or so suburban cinemas around Bradford at that time we viewed it in |
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| The distant Bowland hills. The walk in my last post toured at the base of those hills |
The trouble is Google renders us all equal. Bend was for instance not quite the first starring role for Rock Hudson (underrated as a light comedy actor) but one which took him out of the list of also-rans. I seem to remember he gets shot, but I cannot remember whether this turned out to be fatal or not. I'm deliberately not going to Google another possible fact, merely guess at it. Bend may have been directed by Anthony Mann; if so it marked the beginning of a run of Anthony Mann/James Stewart westerns all notable for their wonderful outdoor settings which tended to be set further north (one of them involving snow on a mountain pass) than the equally splendid John Ford movies shot in Monument Valley. As an outdoor enthusiast you can feel confident recommending the Mann/Stewart movies to others of your kind not just for the settings but also their strong plotting and excellent character acting, especially from Walter Brennan and John McIntire, the latter providing an Oscar-deserving performance as a jovial but very serious villain. One other point: James Stewart appears to wear the same crumpled and dirty hat throughout the series.
ReplyDeleteI meant to compliment you on a new emerging style in these most recent posts. The dogged "then we walked to X and then to Y" has been dropped for a more conversational, more episodic approach which is much more agreeable. Again, the limitations of the walks (as walks) plus the decision to shift the travelogue to pix and and slightly lengthier captions, appear to be forcing this change and I hope when your knee mends and you are able to tackle more aesthetically splendiferous journeys you bear this in mind.
Well done Conrad - it's good to see you continuing to get out - I hope the knee is slowly, if imperceptibly, strengthening...
ReplyDeleteRR - Thanks for that, but I am still puzzled about Where the River Bends versus The Bend in the River. Was it known for titles to be altered (I think this might have applied depending on which country the film was being shown in)? I was aware of John Ford. Over and above Ford's other famous productions, Grandma Robinson took me to see Stagecoach at the cinema in Idle, perhaps somewhere around 1950.
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Phreerunner - thanks for your good wishes. My wish is for less imperceptibility, and MORE perceptibility.