Wyre Way (part) and memories of BBC Home Service

 Sunday 2nd March 2025

I devised this route from my addictive map browsing. There was a car park cum picnic area marked as a good starting point for a walk, half on previously untrod paths. The second half being part of the Wyre Way I have walked before.

The car park accommodates about sixty cars and it was jammed and thronging with folk  I couldn't park. I panicked and anticipated an attack of enochlophobia and  drove straight back out. There seemed to be nowhere else near to park so I returned and managed to squeeze into a space. It seems that a dog walking event, something to do with horses, and one other event had all coincided.

I marched off on tarmac taking me over the M6. I thought but was not surprised, from the deafening noise, that WW3 had now started. That remained to a lesser or greater extent throughout the walk. I was reminded of a regular radio program we listened to back in the 50s and 60s called In Town Tonight, it was probably on The BBC Home Service? The introduction, "Once again we stop the mighty roar of London's traffic..." remained with me as an earworm forever. Oh! That also now brings back memories of Dick Barton, Special Agent, and then Radio Luxembourg with "The H. Samuel Everight strapped to the wheel of the Royal Scot...", and Horace Bachelor of Pools fame hailing from Keynsham, and many others,

I branched off on what's shown as a lane on the OS map but proved to be a well tarmaced road leading to a high class conversion of farm buildings. Here posh wrought iron fencing and an air of security anxiety prevailed, while the public footpath lead through the middle, I suspect to residents annoyance, to a narrow uninviting ginel lined with contrasting plebeian breeze blocks for we common folk.

Further pleasant walking followed through fields with distant views of the northern end of the Bowland hills, and then woods with peasant ambience, but with occasional muddy patches on a good footpath. The now more distant roar of the M6 was competing against loud twelve bore shooting, uncomfortably near, as the pheasant killers enjoyed themselves for over an hour.

Street Bridge spans the lively Wyre as it escapes forcibly from the Bowland hills not far distant. Here I linked up with the Wyre Way and followed that  back to the car on good paths, mainly through woods with snowdrops and early daffodils abundant. Despite all the cacophony I enjoyed this little four miler circuit at the official start of Spring, but I look forward to what I anticipate each year when the wearing of gloves is unequivocally not obligatory.

Posh security conscious conversions.
 The footpath goes through the middle, I guess much to their annoyance, leading to...

...the narrow ginel lined with breeze blocks exiting right of the ostentatious gate

Distant Bowland hills from whence the Wyre flows

These sumptuous moss covered boulders made my day.

There were a few muddy patches but not enough to spoil the walk

The Wyre at Street Bridge

Street Bridge

Welcome!?

Under the M6. Not sure what these sheep were doing on the edge of the river

Snowdrops and early daffs. A good finale photo

I used "tracking" for the first time on my recently acquired Apple Memory Map version..
The walk was anti-clockwise from the car park. The pink line is as I plotted beforehand and the blue is the track from MMap. Note what I think is a recent diversion for the Wyre Way from the south-east corner of Wyre Lake