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Sunday 8 April 2018

Bacon butty to Burscough.

We had a nice night watching the final of 'The Voice' and our joint choice won too. This morning I went off to get the Sunday paper and then settled down to catch up with the 'Archers' and the papers. Once that was out of the way we wandered down to the cafe near the canal bridge, 'Yours is the Earth'. It was very popular at 1130 but we managed to find a seat and enjoyed a couple of coffees and a bacon sandwich that hit the spot.

After our butty we decided to have a little walk round a bit of the village we hadn't been round before. It brought us back to the canal towpath and as we passed the site of the old boatyard, and the 'Rose of Parbold' moorings I was interested to see the way that they moored her up. The stanchion must be there to breast her away from the side so as to prevent boarders and the chains so that it can not be let go. You would have thought that Parbold would be a 'nice' area, but better safe than sorry I suppose.

Just outside Parbold on the way past Newburgh my curiosity was piqued when I saw the date stone on this building by the canal. When I looked it up the place is called Giant's Hall. Apparently there is another one close by and it seems the name come from the numerous erratics, boulders that were left by the ice age. The idea was that nobody but a giant could have moved them. They were as large as 5 tonnes. In fact the date stone seems to have been re-sited as the listed building, Grade II, is actually a farmhouse from the late 18th or early 19th century still not a bad spot.

In the offside reeds approaching Spencer's Swing Bridge I spotted the remains of a steel hulled boat. It wasn't just a work butty as there was the circular area where the rudder came through the hull. Mind you it isn't very long.

As Helen started to open the swing bridge at Ring of Bells and I started to move ahead to get through quickly, I didn't. I didn't move ahead that is. I gave her a big astern and managed to move ahead to get through the bridge. We carried on to Burscough Junction with the idea that we would take water and I would check the prop. We tied up to find one of the permanent moorers filling their wide beam from their mooring. I dived down the engine hole to check the prop and found a big piece of heavy duty canvas on the blades. It was easily cleared, fortunately, as the water was very cold!!! We had a little walk around the junction and found another tap just under the bridge on the Rufford Arm. N o good for us but worth remembering. The Junction is a conservation area with the dry dock and workers cottages with cobbled lane. It is quite a photogenic area really.

Ainscough's Mill at Burscough. (What is the meaning of 'cough' in the names round here?). It has been converted to flats and it looks pretty good to me. I hope the residents enjoy them. It seems that a two bedder is about £175000.


The railway bridge is obviously original as the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway Company was formed in 1846 and the line opened to traffic in 1849. Ten years later it became part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

We were soon moored up and settled down to getting some computer errands done, and planning for the next month or so. We have a few days now to get to the start of the Liverpool Link when we are booked in for Thursday. We will be able to potter along till then. This evening it is lovely, as the sun has come out and there are plenty of folk on the towpath too.



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