February Ramble – Around Heysham
Unfortunately, the countryside is still very waterlogged, so this month we selected a somewhat urban walk around the village of Heysham.
Our meeting point was the Half Moon Bay Café, a welcoming shack overlooking the sea and featuring a log burning stove. After coffee, it was time to start the walk, but it must be said that there was some reluctance to leave the comfort of the café and face the freezing wind. However, we made a start up the hill and onto a grassy area that led to a large housing estate which took us some time to negotiate. Eventually, we arrived at the Old Hall Inn, crossed the Morecambe road and again passed more houses, along a quiet road that became a track over the railway and at long last into the countryside. This area is known as the Moss and looking east we could see the outline of Lancaster and the hills beyond.
The next part of our walk was along a straight lane, Clay Lane, pointing north, with fields either side. We followed this until we arrived at the very busy Oxcliffe Road that now took us west to the promenade. Here we stopped for lunch on the seats provided on the children’s play area.
On our way again, our party of eight followed the promenade to the quaint old village centre of Heysham and a stop to have a look at St. Peters Church, one of the oldest churches in Western Europe. Unfortunately, the church was closed, so we were unable to see the Viking relics. From the church, we climbed up to the ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel and along the grassy path with superb sea views. After a short while, the two giant Monoliths of Heysham Nuclear power Station came into view. Someone considered how many windmills it would take to replace this one facility?
Now we were nearing the end of the walk and the café was coming into view. We all piled in and ordered coffee again, the Dear Leader being offered a comfortable armchair in front of the stove.
This proved to be a worthwhile winter walk with little challenge. The highlight was the old village and the dramatic contrast between the old and the new in the form of the nuclear power station and the 10th century church.
Linda & Eddie Grange