The forecast for our canal walk had been for a bright and sunny day, so I was
decidedly miffed to throw open the curtains on Saturday morning to discover
that it was pouring with rain. By the time I was due to leave for the station, it
had eased off but was still wet and murky.
I met up with the ‘gang’, Linda, Tracy and Sue in Manchester and we proceeded
by train to Chorley, where, lo and behold, the rain had cleared to give a bright
and sunny morning. We made our way through the environs of Chorley to the
canal and enjoyed a leisurely walk towards Wigan.
After all the rain recently, the towpath was rather muddy in places but not
excessively so.
The canal runs through pleasant countryside with good views
over the hills towards the Horwich and Bolton direction.
One problem we did encounter was a distinct lack of pubs along the way.
We passed various boarded up and closed down establishments (truly a sign
of the times).
Enquiring with various locals only elicited much head shaking
and convoluted directions to distant hostelleries; we decided to press on and
were rewarded with a most welcome stop at a well appointed pub at the top
of the locks at Wigan.
From here it was a comfortable walk down the flight of locks (past yet more
boarded up pubs) to Wigan, just in time to catch the train back to Manchester; All this with no running or sprinting to make train connections !
An enjoyable day out after all; and thanks to Linda for various (very) sweet treats and
Sue for yummy Xmas cake (plenty more for future walks, so do come along and
try some).
John H
