The January Ramble – Around Scorton
Due to the poor walking conditions following the endless rain, Jim wisely decided to abandon the planned walk and substitute an alternative using hard paths and quiet country lanes. The forecast was for a very rare dry, calm day, which proved to be the case.
Having paid to park, (a first?), at the car park in Garstang by the river, we started the walk around the playing field and climbed the banking and had a look at the flood defence system, contemplating whether it will be put to use anytime soon?
From here, we followed good paths and farm tracks, heading north to arrive at the pretty village of Scorton. Here we enjoyed a leisurely lunch stop, after which we continued our walk, climbing up the very pretty Snow Hill Lane and crossing the M6 by means of the sloping bridge that is so prominent from the motorway. At the top of the lane, we arrived at a junction. At this point, we could have taken the path over Nicky Nook Fell and down Grize Dale, but under the circumstances, we opted to follow the narrow Higher Lane, but even from this height, we had a magnificent view to the west, over the Fylde Plain and the coast.
We were now heading south, crossing a couple of fords in full flow and steadily descending along Keepers Lane. Here, we observed a clump of very pretty flowers that our group botanist identified as Periwinkle. The motorway was then re-crossed, followed by the railway and the River Wyre by means of a footbridge next to a ford and on back to the car park.
Many thanks to Janet & Jim for providing us with a pleasant, mud free walk. Quite an achievement under the circumstances!
Linda & Eddie Grange