Well, the plan was to go to Leasowe by train for today’s walk, but our train from Maghull was cancelled. With it being a Sunday service, this would have meant a half hour wait for the next one, followed by a twenty five minute wait at Liverpool Central for the Wirral train. Rather than wait, a Plan B was decided on and we took the train to Ormskirk for a circular walk there instead. We set off on the “Smith Way” footpath from the station car park through the woods. The path is a wide, tarmac, shared cycle and pedestrian path, but it soon narrowed with a canopy of trees arching above. Some quite thick branches just about gave headroom as we wound our way through to Nursery Avenue Park. We crossed a field to reach Greetby Hill and followed it to Dark Lane. On our left were some large detached houses – one with its name displayed in a stained glass window – and further on, older terraced cottages. We turned into Lathom Lane and followed it to the “Lady’s Walk”. The stony path led uphill past the water pumping station and the cloudy skies showed us that the heatwave was definitely on hold. The last stretch of Lady’s Walk took us to Crosshall Brow and we crossed it to pass through fields packed with crops, which our Farming Correspondent informed us were broad beans. We soon entered Ruff Wood by the owl and squirrel carvings, and meandered through, taking care not to trip on tree roots. We left the wood on to Ruff Lane and walked back into Ormskirk for the train home.
Thanks to Brenda and Brian for planning the original walk, and for reorganising and co-ordinating the Plan B walk at short notice. All agreed that this was the best outcome.