Walking with a friend who also writes their own blog risks repetition for people who are followers of both. As we walk we tend to take similar photos of the same points of interest, and our posts will inevitably include similar accounts of incidents.
Today's walk was covered by Bowland Climber in his post which conveys a vivid account of the whole walk and I recommend this to my readers here, and also use it as an excuse to omit an inferior detailed account myself.
CLICK HERE FOR BC's ACCOUNT
My thoughts on this trip major on the number of stiles. I am sure I don't exaggerate if I say there were more than twenty. With my twin knee replacements stiles are more of a challenge coupled with a heightened fear of slipping or falling. Many stiles today were in bad repair with wobbly planks, often coated with green slippery mould, ergonomically too high to conquer with comfort, and in perhaps a majority of cases doubled due to stream or ditch crossings. BC is very patient when I tackle these obstacles, taking more time than sprightly, less than seventy year olds.
For a couple of years now I have walked in Gortex or similar lined waterproof trail shoes rather than boots only using the latter if I anticipate pathless, rough, moorland terrain, and I have rarely suffered wet feet. It is surprising how that can be achieved with a little care. Today we had several gloopy sections and one in particular where you may see a photo of of me on BC's post looking as though I am on the point of sinking up to my waist, but despite appearances on the photo my feet remained dry in my Mountain Warehouse trail shoes.
Despite my grumpy stile comments and the muddy conditions the walk was enjoyable in good company and the route is improving as we move further east.
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Old fire station in Singleton from the days when the village was part of the Miller family estate.
The Millers were wealthy cotton mill owners
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| The white panels were decorated in an embossed fashion. Here I have altered the lighting to try and enhance that feature (click photo to enlarge) |
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| You had to be jack-of-all-trades to be a fireman in those days. I wouldn't fancy my chances of catching the horse before the house had burned down. |
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| Singleton church. The congregation were just emerging from Sunday service as we passed |
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| BC negotiates one of the old parish gates - a welcome relief from the more frequent stiles |
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| This less than attractive modern house was built next to what could have been a pleasantly restored seventeenth century period thatched cottage. The cottage had been bodged about with awful modern windows and a lot of amateurish repair work, then apparently abandoned. What the plans are we could only guess but at the moment the combination of the two produced an unsightly mess. |
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| One of the many rickety double stile/bridges encountered on this walk |
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| Blue line is our "straight line" - pink is the one mile north parameter |
It seemed more than 20 stiles with all those bridges with a stile at each end.
ReplyDeleteYour 'rickety stile' photo says it all.
You do indeed look like you are about to sink ever deeper into the mire Conrad and that rickety stile looks worth avoiding.
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder why we enjoyed it so much .
ReplyDeletebowlandclimber- I should have acknowledged your interesting and informative post in my comment. I think I understand why you enjoyed it so much. What's not to like?
ReplyDeleteTell you what, I'd rather live in the modern house than its squat neighbour, peering out through windows that are little better than portholes. Imagine the gloom therein.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved from Kingston we had various priorities, notably bad cess to anything called "character" - a euphemism for "decaying". As it was we moved into a house that was newer than new (ie, when the deposit cheque was despatched, the place still lacked lavatories. This was quickly rectified and for the first time in my life I may now do my business upstairs or downstairs. Light to read too.)
BC - I once started counting the stiles on one of my long walks but lost counr after 50 or so,
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Afoot - Rickety stiles could not be avoided, but they do need care and take up a lot of time, as does navigation on these country walks.
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RR - I think I would agree with you in general, but this particular house was aesthetically repelling to me and its close proximity to its neighbour created a jarring contrast.