Meandering the Lune

Many times we have driven north up the M6, especially when Sheila's mum lived in the Lake District. At junction 34 you get a great view down to the River Lune and it always looks an inviting scene. So that's the basis of why we decided to go and have a walk there this weekend.

With us having never been before we only had a vague plan and route which was always subject to change.
Here's the route we finished up doing.

Pleasingly we found somewhere to park and it was free which made a nice change. It used to be the railway station car park at Halton on the Lancaster to Wennington railway. Part of Dr Beeching's cuts of many years ago.
The old line is now a cycle/walkway from the centre of Lancaster to a point just east of Caton. But for the real energetic it can be extended all the way to Glasson Dock.

We had it in mind to follow the river rather than the old line so as soon as we could we hand railed the waters edge going in a clockwise direction on the map above. Considering the car park was so empty there were plenty of folk about but ALL of them were on the old line. Easier i suppose.

What was very noticeable was all the detritus high up in the tree branches. Remains from the recent floods. It must have been very scary at the time looking at how high the water had risen. Today though it was calm, serine in some ways.

The slipway at Halton.

 Bulk Bridge

 Halton Railway Station opened in 1849 and closed in 1966. The original station was built of wood and burnt down in 1907 when a spark from a passing steam train set fire to some barrel's stored next to the station. The station now is used by Lancaster University rowing club for storage.

 Halton weir and road bridge.

 A serine River Lune.

 Some parts of the original riverside track has been washed away but alternatives have been made. We made the mistake of following the original tracks on a couple of occasions only to have to retrace our steps. There were a number of trees like the one in the image above which shows how much banking has been lost over the years.
The river is crossed by the old track and it is possible to join it from the river if required. We carried on around the Crook o'Lune coming to more washed out paths with detours.

 One of the detours.

 Money tree with AR carved into it. I promise it wasn't me who did it.

 Rounding the Crook, the double bridge parapets came into view. The road and the rail.
It is a popular spot with quite a few benches for picnics and meadows planted by the local Beekeepers made a pleasant stopping point.taking advantage of this we had elevenses.

 Otters must be found here abouts. There was plenty of fish jumping and plenty of fly fishermen.

 The Caton Lune Bridge. (Road)

 The walk/cycle way bridge.

 Walking away from the railway track the river starts to widen out and slow down. The views become much more extensive and the flood plain becomes far wider. We get our first glimpse of Ingleborough. At 723 metres high the hill and its surrounding moorland is the most prominent subject on the far skyline.

The walking is fine in the lush grassland although a bit damp underfoot. Many anglers are passed, some on the banks but many wading deep. The channels which lead into the river are thankfully bridged and there was only one channel where we had a bit of a struggle and muddy feet.

 Ingleborough rising in the background.

 The map shows the bridge, above as The Waterworks Bridge. There isn't an official right of way across it and it looks like it was completely shut at some time. Considering there is a definite shortage of crossing points in this area it's good that the waterworks have made it crossable to pedestrians.
The bridge carries the Thirlmere aqueduct and was erected in 1892 by Manchester Waterworks.
They certainly didn't do things on the cheap when you consider how much it must of cost to complete all the works involved in bringing water from Thirlmere in the Lake District down to Manchester.

 Waterworks Bridge.

 Just after the bridge the Lune does a meander, 180 degrees. We decided that we would miss out the bend and re-join the river to the south of the bridge. We pass a number of old boundary stones in the field before reaching the river where a lone angler casts his fly.
Rounding the bend near Bull Beck Bridge we rejoin the old railway track for just a minute or two as this is the end of the line. It's a shame that the track finishes here as the road is very busy and very fast.

 For us we headed back to the river. Signs of recent rains were everywhere with the many ponds and channels. Again we managed to hit the river side path without much difficulty but this is the real flood plain and i guess that sometimes it will be difficult.

 I think this is a Valais black noses sheep.

 The route goes through numerous fields with gates and stiles all in place. The first few fields were habited by odd looking sheep but as we made progress towards Claughton the livestock changed to cows and then young bulls.

 Cormorants drying out.

 In the final field before exiting onto the lane at Cloughton were some very lively bulls and Sheila was getting a bit panicky. There were a couple expressing their desire that we were not wanted in this field. She said "i think that one's going to charge us". I said i hadn't brought any money.
But we were fine, they did a bit of prancing around but never approached us close. We made it to the lane and then to The Fenwick Arms.

 Going back towards the start meant that unless we retraced our steps we had a bit of road walking to do. "I'm not going back through those bulls" Sheila said.  So the road it was. To be honest it wasn't too bad as a footpath is available on one side or the other all the way back to the railway track. We re-joined the track along with quite a few others. Its a pleasant stroll but not as good as being alongside the river.

 We passed the old signal box in someones back garden.

 Then on reaching the Crook o'Lune bridge we decided that at 1.30pm we had better eat the lunch we had brought.

 I remember reading Conrad's blog, about the Tercet's and we happened to pass one. It was number 8 and in need of a good clean as the poem was difficult to read.

 Tercet 8. (one of 10) Commemorates Jane Bulcock. It is a way marker on the Lancashire witches walk. A poem is located on the top face but is in dire need of a clean.

 In the ring is a Heron. (Look closely).

Yet to open.

Walking along the track is quick although the number of bikes and near misses was not great. Bells on bikes used to be common but not now. More's the pity.
Anyway we had a good day out, it didn't rain, it wasn't too sunny and we did 17km of enjoyable walking.

A couple of things we noticed with the map were two places where there was a right of way going across the river. We thought they would be bridges but having checked there is nothing there but open water. Below are two images showing the crossing points that are not.