Leyland to Southport 10/09/15

17.6 miles, via Moss Side, Bretherton, Sollom, Mere Brow & Long Meanygate.

Second rest day, has a lot more rest than the first, the only trip out going to Whalley Abbey in the afternoon before lethargy takes hold, and we retreat back to Finch Cottage so I can chill out before the final push comes on, hoping the mileage to come is not going to psych me out. Fortunately, the coming day is of a completely different profile to those that preceded it, just like the last day to the North Sea coast, level going and heavily drained agricultural land, though this quarter of Lancashire lacks a distinctive name and identity like Holderness. Anyway, back to Leyland by the Parental Taxi, resuming my walk from the railway station carpark, starting out at 9.30am and giving myself a 7 hour window for the long day ahead, passing over the West Coast Mainline and down to the town centre, along Chapel Brow and Hough Lane, and having seen the smarter parts of town yesterday, we now pass through the more ordinary quarters, and they are to be expected in a place that it synonymous with the motor industry, its name still attached to vans and buses worldwide, and at the bottom of Thurston lane we find the British Commercial Vehicle museum in its natural home. Press on westwards, Towngate and Lancastergate suggesting that they ought to be the oldest part of the town, but aren't despite being host to the civic centre of South Ribble district, and we lead out of the town past the duelling Seven Stars pubs on the Leyland Lane - Fox Lane corner and on out over the River Lostock, which is surely a completely different channel from the one I encountered yesterday. Dunkirk Lane crosses the bypass and the remains of surely the oldest building in town in the Dunkirk Hall pub, and on into the suburb of Moss Side, and altogether more pleasant corner than its namesake in Manchester, all 80s suburbs with a couple of old building hidden in among. Thence we are out into the countryside, following the B5248 as it kinks its way through the fields, and even with the amount of traffic on it, it's preferable to anymore field walking, as we are deep into the harvesting and harrowing season. Pass over the Preston - Ormskirk Line, and the bridge provides the most challenging rise of the day, as we are soon below the 15m contour and among some remarkably flat lands, the long straights of the road giving me plenty of cues to dive out of the way of traffic before we finally find a footway at Four Lane Ends, and after observing the Ribble Valley as being the hotbed for Lancastrian cycling, this quarter is revealed to be the place for the Senior riders.

Marl Cop, a quieter sort of lane, takes us from North Road to South Road and the village of Bretherton, where the B5247 has just as much traffic as its predecessor, and the whole settlement seems to be a mix of made-over farmsteads and modern retirement cottages. It's hard to get a handle on its vintage, with its Victorian churches and chapels and contemporary bungalows, but it's properly old, if the inscription of the old Free School building is to believed, the churchyard offering a good spot for an early lunch break. Eyes Lane passes out of its west end, not offering the most direct route west, but bringing shade from the warming skies and occasional views back to the West Pennine fringe, which is preferable to field walking, as I'm feeling pretty much done with uneven surfaces after my last excursion. Similarities to Holderness become more noticeable as we pass across the River Douglas (or Asland), the only major watercourse draining these flatlands, and a little further along is the old river channel, once canalised as part of the Leeds & Liverpool's Rufford branch, before Lock Lane leads us to Sollom, a blink and you'd miss it hamlet, that must have been an inconvenience to the A59, now avoiding it on a very short bypass. Green Lane is the hard surface lane that will lead us for a mile or so of solitude, passing some way south of Tarleton, the only major settlement in the vicinity, the church spire being a constant sentinel as we go, and among the recently harvested fields attention wanders to the hills off to the south, as I can't get any sort of handle on where they might actually be. Pass the halfway point on the day, and deftly fold my E285 in the breeze as it goes, and farm traffic only needs dodging in the lane's later stages, as it enters the empire of poly-tunnels and greenhouses that extend out from Tarleton toward Mere Brow, the village we meet along the Southport Old Road. More bungalows have grown in this flatland village, bypassed by the A565, but it too has an older heart, with attractive Methodist chapels, a smithy and a pub, the Legh Arms, which I don't think will ever fail to amuse me. This brings us to the footpath, one of only two on the day, that leads down to the driveway into the Leisure Lakes complex, which looks like it was styled in the 1980s and saw its best years a long time ago, it's now out of season (or virtually closed down), presently offering little more than golf links and a pair of lakes, for fishing and boating, a quiet and shady spot to enjoy my late lunch.

The second footpath of the day leads to the crossings of the Tarleton Runner and The Sluice, the major drains which divide up this flatland at the 2m contour, and we are led out onto Long Meanygate, technically a road but really an unsurfaced lane which services the many farms in this seemingly empty corner. It's a mile or so from Meanygate farm to Winacre farm, and the lane is positively a hive activity, with farm vehicles kicking up the dust at regular intervals, as well as a couple of vans that I think might have gotten lost, a much more interesting landscape than you'd think, regaining a hard surface across the Middle Drain, and setting course for the final push. Peets farm and Wyke Hey farm pass very slowly, as do fields of arboreal husbandry before meeting the outer edges of Southport's suburbs, and we gain a footway along Moss Lane as the path across Three Pools Waterway and out of the countryside. The fact that there's nearly two folds of map to go means there's a lot of town to come, pass the town's old Golf links, and I have no real preconception of the town as I arrive, finding the track along Roe Lane and Manchester Road (surely not actually going there) to be seaside suburban, lots of semis with a lot of that faintly Italianate styling. Our route crosses the West Lancashire Railway's missing line to Preston, and on through the inner suburbia past the tall spire of the Leyland Road Methodist Church and the bonkers styling of Holy Trinity church on the Hoghton Street Corner, then its on straight into the town centre, which fairly bustles with life on a sunny afternoon. Beyond the Railway station, and Eastbank Street, and it's out onto Lord Street, the smartest road in the town, home to the Town Hall and the many hotels, and pubs it seems, where older folk take their drinks in the sun. Onwards to Portland Street and the Promenade, and the streets get quieter, as if the town was actively turning its back on its seafront, not that it's actually that close, Princes Park and the Marine Lake occupy most of the land behind the sea wall. Pass the Southport Pleasureland, and it's a sad sight, virtually inactive at the close of the summer season, as my final steps take me up the Esplanade and Marine Drive to finally get sight of the sea from next to the Trans Pennine Trail sign, also seen at Hornsea, and I have completed my trek to both coasts, all finished at 4.15pm, after 11 total days of walking. Of course it's myth that the Irish Sea can be found at Hornsea, the tide is out about as far as it goes and the low tide mark must be a mile distant over the sands, making the pier look faintly ridiculous, and I could walk that extra distance to paddle, but it would be unkind to make My Parental Taxi wait an extra 45 minutes, wouldn't it?

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 1927.5 miles
2015 Cumulative Total: 525.3 miles
Up Country Total: 1767.8 miles
Solo Total: 1715.5 miles

Leyland, home of Leyland.

The British Commercial Vehicle Museum, I Know I'm Interested!

Dunkirk Hall, Moss Side. Aged at 1628, according to the Inscription.

Walking the B5248, and losing count of just how many
of Lancashire's boroughs I've visited.

Seniors Cycling at Four Lanes End.

St John the Baptist, Bretherton.

The West Pennine Fringe, from Eyes Lane.

The River Yarrow meets the River Douglas (or Asland).

Green Lane, near Sollom, at its most Green. 

Mere Brow, and one of the county's excellent road signs.

The Mere, Leisure Lakes. Either out of season,
or out of business?

Long Meanygate, a prominent lane that hides on the map.

Three Poole Waterway. Like Holderness, this is a territory
of flatlands filled with drains.

Roe Lane, Southport. Having fun spotting the older buildings
amongst the expanded seaside town.

Holy Trinity, Southport. Bonker styling in extremis.

Southport Town Hall and Lord Street. Not looking anything like a seaside resort.

Southport Pier, and the Irish Sea coast achieved! No, really.

NB: I blogged this holiday on one of the most uncomfortable fold-up chairs that I have ever used, and all because I cannot actually use my laptop on my lap.

Next Up: Does my Lancashire Jaunt have fourth walking day? The weather suggests 'No'.