June Ramble – Worthington Lakes
This month’s walk was in the hands of Bill, from our Bolton group. The interesting route, roughly between Wigan and Adlington, involved walking along a dismantled railway, river bank and canal and therefore provided a good, solid surface for most of the distance, which considering the weather on the day, was most welcome.
We met up at the car park on Red Rock lane and immediately, the heavens opened. We stayed in our cars for about thirty minutes, until the rain eased off and we then started the walk.
Leaving the car park, we joined the dismantled railway, which, as usual, made a superb footpath. Soon we passed under the aqueduct that carries the canal over the railway and continued on towards Adlington, where we left the railway and joined the banks of the River Douglas. This section was cut short as the path would have been too muddy.
After some pleasant paths, we eventually arrived at the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and followed this and the river down to Worthington Lakes and our lunch stop, at the picnic tables provided. Thankfully, the rain had stopped by now and the fishermen had started to emerge from their tents to try a spot of fishing. What a lot of kit these fishermen carry around these days!
The remainder of the walk was a mixture of paths and canal which took us back to Red Rock Lane and the car park.
Many thanks to Bill for devising this walk for us. In view of the weather conditions, it turned out to be the perfect choice and another example of a walk where we benefit from the local knowledge of the leader.
Linda & Eddie Grange