The best laid plans...

Thursday - 31st January

Car parking can be one of the two most difficult challenges to face on a walking day. The second, especially with Grande Randonnée walks in France, is finding where the path starts in a village or town first thing in the morning.

On my weekly jaunts with Pete down the Lancaster Canal we have become prudent. Our furthest south point on the canal each time will be our starting point next week, and we survey for potential parking. All that is somewhat against my nature - experience has taught me that such prudence can be annulled in mysterious ways, often leading to humiliation.

We had identified parking in a residential street. Just after our planned spot the street took a ninety degree bend, leading in another two hundred yards to a one way, narrow, hump back bridge over the canal and the start of the walk.

As we smugly approached our predetermined spot, at the last moment, I inexplicably decided to carry on round the bend to see if I could get a bit closer. In retrospect this was stupid, because we were on a circular walk, and wherever the car was parked would make no difference to distance walked.

Round the bend the road narrowed. There was no parking possibility and I could not turn round. I proceeded over the bridge. The route became a positively single track country lane and I had to drive on to find a turning place. I drove for perhaps three quarters of a mile, upsetting various dog walkers along the way, and then submitted to loss of face upsetting them again as I returned.

Our canal aqueducts over the River Calder (Wyre) - not to be confused with other rivers Calder.
Looking at the map it could make an interesting walk to its source on the slopes of Hazelhurst Fell

This is the overflow from the aqueduct. I wouldn't like to fall in there. I reckon a dog would have no chance.

Another posh house along the way

Man versus nature.
 A lot is being said about windmills blighting the  countryside. What about the pylons, which we now seem to have accepted? I must admit they blend in just a little bit more than the obtrusive windmills, but there are plenty of them in wild and remote spots in Scotland.

Every now and then we got a patch like this. It seems to be a persistent occupational hazard for we walkers at the moment.

It's not all pretty down the Lancaster Canal

We Spartans carried on without being tempted here

On our return journey - crossing the railway, then the M6

-----------------------------------------------

I usually reduce image size of photos to 600 x? pixels (they come out of the camera at 4320x?). The theory is to  avoid lengthy downloading when the blog is opened. I have now reduced them to only 1000 and at my end there is no perceptible increased delay, and the result  now shows much larger images when  "click to enlarge" is  implemented, so it' is now doubly worth the effort.

__________________________

KATIE UPDATE

Ladies who do lunch?
-----------------

CLICK HERE FOR A LITTLE VIDEO - Katie in the snow
Sorry - I tagged this as private, but this is now rectified

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Car damage

Replying to Bowlandclimber's request here are photos of the damage to the car (see my last post - A day of good and bad bits - River Sprint 3).

At first glance the damage looks minimal, but the whole of the panel outlined in red dots, and the silver one underneath have to be replaced and painted plus a new number plate, but even so the cost seems excessive. Fortunately it will be met by the third party's insurance.

Although I have had the car for two and a half years I never knew that the circular disc in the photo houses a spray which comes out automatically when the windscreen washers are operated and sprays the headlamps.

A new key for the Yeti with automatic operation would cost £140, but I can have a manual one for £67. The Skoda dealer has to send off for the key and wait about two weeks, then they have to have the car and "code" the key.