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Training Walk Number 1 – Lancaster to Blackpool

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Glass on Docks (June 2023)

Sunday 27th October 2024 (23 miles)

With the start of our trek now under 150 days, it’s time to put boots and paws to the ground and cover some hefty distances.

I’ve been wanting to return to Lancaster for a while to try out this 28 miler I’d planned, but train cancellations and strikes set me back several months.

But today the sun is shining in Manchester and seems like a perfect day to head out.

The first train of the day was 20 mins delayed, and likely also going to be packed, so Tess and I decided to catch the later one affording time for a coffee and a game of fetch.

1 pint of coffee!
Fetch with a sock on Symphony Park Manchester

The outward journey

The train, as you may imagine was packed due to the earlier cancellations and delays. I was very fortunate though to be positioned near a couple who were disembarking at the first stop of Bolton, and so we had seats for the rest of the way. A few minutes later a young woman, who I later learned came from Tuscany sat down beside me and so Tess hopped on to my lap. Tess was still a little bit under the weather and appreciating all the hugs. The Italian was completing a degree in Scotland in the psychology of robotics changing trains in Lancaster to head further North.

Along the Canal

It was about 1100 that we finally arrived into Lancaster. The sun was shining, and I was sporting shorts and a T-shirt to really stretch the notion of British Summer to the maximum. The shorts I’d actually repaired the night before, necessary due to a wardrobe malfunction on an earlier walk in which the entire right leg had split. I’d used the collar from a floral shirt I’d also ripped to make the patch.

The first 6 or 7 miles followed the canal, resulting in some fast easy walking. And were it not for a pesky spaniel who kept on insisting that the canals were in fact for swimming in we would have easily made a 4 mph pace.

The Rural Section

Just after the canal junction that connects Glasson docks to the Lancaster canal, we left the sure dry footing and ventured into farmland. Many of the paths we encountered were quite uncared for, disappearing into the tilled land. The ground quite soggy due to recent rain. Fortunately all encounters with cows were largely uneventful due to the presence of fences, although some were a little more precarious than I would have liked.

We passed a quaint arts and crafts fair in the town of Cockerham, but running low on time, we just had a quick bite on a picnic bench over looked by the village hall. I changed into some trousers as the weather really had turned.
Just after a brief encounter with 10 slightly too friendly horses a friendly farmer pointed me in the direction of the ferry. Tess and I were quite tired and wet at this point as we needed to cover 4 miles in one hour to make the earlier crossing across the river Wyre.
However there was one additional snag, the ferry only accepted cash and I’d forgotten to refill my wallet, meaning I had a cashpoint stop to fit in as well.
We were really on the minutes, and the cashpoint I’d navigated to was out of order. So I had to resort to cashback from the cashier at the Co-op. I entered my PIN incorrectly twice but on the final attempt succeeded.
The slipway to catch the ferry was still 800m away and the ferry was due to set off in 2 minutes but Tess and I are a great match for speed when timing is tight…

The Ferry and Beyond

We made it to the top of the slipway and could see the lone small ferry approximately halfway across the Wyre. Tess and I sprinted down to the river front as fast as we could hoping to make ourselves seen to the boatmen. I was a little concerned that I wasn’t quite in the right place as I could see no one else queuing up. But it turned out that we were the only customers either that way that crossing. The boat can afford passage to 35 people of which perhaps 15 can sit. The crossing takes 5 minutes and was slightly anticlimatic. For the first time in my 2 years with Tess I was charged a dog ticket on transport.
There was about 15 minutes of twilight left by the time we got to Ferry beach and Tess had a lovely time playing fetch and swimming in the freezing sea.
As dark was fast approaching, and the precipitation picking up, we walked in the vague direction of Blackpool looking for a cosy dog friendly pub that served food. I turned down a few options as they looked too posh, or had a poor menu and eventually settled on Strawberry Gardens.
Inside we met Tess’ doppelganger an eight year old springer called Eric. The two had a good sniff, and I did enquire as to whether Eric would like to be a father, but his owner declined the offer citing Eric as being too old. The Sunday dinner was delicious and well-portioned and complemented well with a local ale.

We both didn’t fancy the 5 mile walk into Blackpool at this time, so took the tram instead, where I was asked to pay for Tess again! Not that I minded, but Tess and I have travelled to London half a dozen times, to Norwich, to Belfast and to Anglesey by public transport and never been asked to pay. But here in Blackpool charged twice in a single day.

We purposefully overshot our destination by a few stops to pass the glorious illuminations on the tram. Unexpectedly, the town was alive at 7pm on a wet cold Sunday night, as for the North West of England, schools had just broken up for their well-deserved half terms and the excitement of Blackpool was keeping the streets busy despite the atrocious weather.

Overall a slightly challenging walk, with a beer, a boat and a beach all in the final stint.

We’ll be doing the whole thing in reverse on Saturday 23rd November, and with an earlier start, made possible by better Saturday trains, hopefully we will complete the entire 27 mile challenge.
For details of how to join in – and if you’re up for a relatively brisk 27 mile walk, see details here.

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