TPT Day 1

2012 04 16 Monday - part 2 I Here we are again. Blog time. It's 00:30 when all law abiding citizens should be in bed and fast asleep. But I'm still awake and raring to go with today's story. No surprises there then. We have has just the most enjoyable evening with John and Jocelyn. And Maeve. The girls are Michael's sisters. They are typically Irish/Liverpudlian. What a childhood Michael must have had with a house full of sisters and just him. Lucky s*d. Anyway, back to the plot. Today has been just sublime. We have has superb weather. It's been sunny in the right proportions and yet cool allowing us to sweat our way across Lancashire with no visible signs. We got off to a very good start at 10:00. We were waved off enthusiastically by Judith (what was that all about?! and Margaret is already in Cyprus!) and effortlessly (ahem!) worked our way across to Great Harwood via our local turnpike route now celebrating its 200th anniversary. Great Harwood is where we could pick up the old railway line and then the Leeds Liverpool Canal towpath to Blackburn. Sunny and uneventful. What a way to spend retirement! Best of all it was flat. To say Blackburn is depressed is an understatement. Journeying along the canal towpath is very revealing but is it different to any other regional town with it's empty shops and derelict or disused industrial buildings? Particularly in the north. But there are little rays of sunshine. One or two Victorian, brick built multi-storey mills or canal-side properties converted into flats or commercial space look great in the morning sunshine. Very inspiring. And the Graham and Brown wallpaper factory is a real confidence booster. Yes, I'm being serious! All is not lost. Michael's gastric juices needed satisfaction so we gave in to his demands and left the canal at Eanam and dropped into the Mall in Blackburn town centre for a coffee. Little did we know that he was perpetuating his reputation, according to Graham, and getting us into trouble. Bikes are NOT allowed in the Mall. The burly security men left us in no doubt yet where was Michael to take his punishment. In the John as usual!! Well, after a bit of jiggery pokey the bikes were locked up outside probably never to be seen again. Who cares? As long as there's a coffee and toasted tea cake in it! Back on track, we left Blackburn with Thwaites Brewery behind us, suitably refreshed it has to be said, and struck out west on the local roads. We soon arrived at the villages of Riley Green and Brindle. Once rat runs the roads serving them have quietened with the construction of the M65. However, we still moved off the main drag to a back lane to Leyland, and succeeded in getting views to die for. We could see from Cheshire in the south to Snowdonia in the west to the Lake District fells in the north. Oh, happy days! What a panorama. And with our local knowledge it was nice to be able to work out the features, even if they amounted to the holiday hotspots of the north west, including Blackpool Tower and the Big One! After Whittle-Le-Woods we dropped off the well quarried hill and turned towards the sea and, via Leyland discovered the New Town village of Buckshaw on the outskirts of Chorley. The redevelopment of the old Royal Ordnance Factory into estate after estate of houses and commercial premises means a very urban scene for a few miles until well-established Leyland came into view and my bike got a front tyre puncture. Soon resolved by a committee of three and my new gas pump we were free to go as we fancied provided we stick to to the route to Southport. Flat moss lands west of Leyland have created a very fertile arable area which are open to the winds. Never mind, those winds weren't too strong so we got through to the A59 and Tarleton on the flat roads fairly swiftly. Meaning? Afternoon tea, what else? Scones of course, eh Michael?! A diversion north to Hesketh Bank along the very busy local road took us away from the noisy and busy A59, but was still veritably congested with school traffic. It left us on the busy and exposed "Shore Road" through another fertile horticultural landscape. A definite for flooding if sea levels ever rise. It also pitched us into the gentle south westerly which felt so much stronger at the front. Banks, with family connections for Michael, lead to the Crossens pumping station, typical of these Dutch-type, low-lying areas, and the sewage works, typical of everywhere with habitation! A new dyke path short-cut put us on the exposed coast road to Southport pier and the start of the Trans Pennine Trail. Southport is renowned for the distance between the "beach" and the sea. Nothing has changed. Some intrepid visitors had ventured to the sea. They were tiny dots on the horizon about a mile away. I now remember why we rarely came to Southport with the kids. And then . . . and then, the, The, THE start to the TPT with a notice board declaring the significance of it all. Photos were taken. And more photos for the sake of perfection and for tweeting. Then the slog of the dune part of the coast road. So boring. So into the wind. So necessary to get to Formby for our b&b and fooood! An unexpected sign to Formby created a quandry. After the usual committee consideration Michael made an executive decision and off we went across the dunes, through the Scots Pines, across the golf course to the posh Freshfield then the not-so-posh Formby. We know our place! We were given a Royal welcome by John and Jocelyn, Michael's sister, and son Chris. They accommodated us last year before our last Coast 2 Coast and did it so well we are back! Showered and refreshed we made our way to the Cross House Inn for food and refreshment and got both in good measure topped up by a dram our two back at theirs. At this rate we will be on our knees by Friday! But it's a truism. John and Jocelyn prove without question that scouse hospitality is unbeatable. Trans Pennine Trail Day 1 Route: Read to Formby Distance: 48miles Height gain: mostly descent! Time: who knows hrs Av.speed: who cares mph Weather: fanbl***ytastic Wind: yes Route features: Great Harwoid, Leeds Liverpool Canal, Blackburn, Feniscowles, Riley Green, Brindle, Leyland, Tarleton, Hesketh Bank, Banks, Southport, TPT start Birkdale and Ainsdale dunes, Freshfield and Formby.