Janet & Jim

We would like to thank all our friends at Christ Church for the wonderful send off that was arranged for us. To Helen for a most memorable service “Going on a journey.” We will never forget it.    To Pam and the catering committee for all the delicious food prepared thank you and to everybody who stayed to help eat it and offer their good wishes to us.  We had much pleasure spending the most generous cheque presented to us. We chose a blue duvet cover, pillowcases and curtains from Laura Ashley. Our bedroom looks beautiful.  Thank you to everybody for everything. (more…)

May Ramble: Darwen Moor

If you look South from Longridge, you will see the large Winter Hill TV mast. Move your attention to the East, at the top of the next hill and you will notice the Darwen, or Jubilee, Tower. This prominent landmark was the target for this month’s walk. The tower was built to commemorate the local landowner’s decision to allow free access to his land for all.

As the Bolton group were in charge today, we had to start from a civilized starting point, Roddlesworth, with its café and toilets. (more…)

April Ramble: Whittle-le-Woods And The Walton Summit Branch

This popular and enjoyable walk was undertaken a few years ago, so we decided it was time to re-visit the area again. Not only is this a scenic area, it is also steeped in local history largely connected to the commerce of the canal era.

First, a little bit of history. The Lancaster Canal was originally planned to link up with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which involved a large aqueduct across the Ribble. However, due to a lack of funds and the future competition from the railways, this structure was never built. The resultant link consisted of a canal spur from the L&L Canal to Walton Summit, followed by a tramway, which crossed the Ribble at Avenham Park, across the wooden bridge that still exists today and on to the canal basin at Corporation Street. This canal spur was the focus of our walk. (more…)

March Ramble – Abbeystead

For this month’s walk, we ventured a little further from home to explore the pretty landscape to the north of the county around Abbeystead.

Starting from the car park at Stoops Bridge, we entered the estate of the Duke of Westminster, following the Wyre Way, a good path which crossed the Marshaw Wyre a number of times. To our left appeared the imposing manor house, one of the Duke’s many properties. Pheasants were a regular sight, reminding us that this is a shooting estate. (more…)

Star Festival

  The theme of our decorations this year is to be The Star. If you want to make one or more stars to contribute, please bring them to church on Thursday December 16th between 10.00am and 4.30pm. (Stars can be any size and made of any material. Large cardboard star Read more

Biblefresh

In 1608 King James I ordered a team of 50 scholars to translate the Bible into English. Until this time the authorities had usually frowned on making the Bible available in anything but Latin or Greek and most translators were persecuted or even martyred. In 1611 King James had copies Read more

November Ramble – Haigh Hall

Haigh Hall and its surrounding country park are situated to the North-East of Wigan and provide a variety of pleasant walks with links to the local industrial heritage. Bill, from our Bolton group, kindly offered to lead us on this walk, in a part of the county that is somewhat Read more