Today’s walk began at the Ship Inn in Halsall, where twenty two Stramblers met. We set off along Rosemary Lane and crossed the busy main Southport road into School Lane. We passed the Old Post Office with a display of dolls’ houses in its window and a beautiful “chocolate box” thatched cottage before turning into a narrow footpath with tall fences on either side. This led us across a wooden footbridge and into open fields of wheat and barley. We doubled back on ourselves to take a narrow path down through trees and bushes and across a wooden footbridge to Haskayne Cutting Nature Reserve and out on to Station Road. After a hundred yards we turned into more fields, some with wheat and some with poppies and wild flowers. We walked a short way along Plex Moss Lane and crossed another field and a further wooden footbridge to reach Carr Moss Lane. We were now back to the main Southport road and some of the scarecrows from the previous weekend’s Halsall Scarecrow Festival were still on show. We passed St Cuthbert’s School and walked through the dell where we saw the Gruffalo. Back on the main road, we took a break in the Village Bakehouse by the War Memorial Playing Field. After our break, we turned into Summerwood Lane and made our way to the Leeds Liverpool Canal. We saw more scarecrows here and the theme appeared to be “Artists”. There were homages to Picasso, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Banksy, although the most impressive one was “a man up a ladder”. This was so realistic, we all thought it WAS a man up a ladder! We reached the canal where, on the 5th November 1770, the Honourable Charles Mordaunt, of Halsall Hall, ceremoniously dug the first piece of turf. A sculpture, “The Navvy”, by Thompson Dagnall, commemorates this event. We passed under Bridge 25 and took the towpath for half a mile to Bridge 24. This was a traffic free carting bridge and we stopped here for a short break before crossing and continuing on the far side of the canal with butterflies dancing among the bushes. After two hundred yards or so, we turned away from the canal and crossed fields with more poppies and wildflowers to reach the delightfully named, Trundle Pie Lane. (Don’t think I’ve ever eaten a Trundle Pie). We followed Small Lane South and Plex Lane before skirting a field of lush grass, presumably a turf farm. At our last wooden footbridge Ann cleared the way for us by cutting down some brambles with her handy secateurs. We were soon on Rosemary Lane and back to the Ship Inn. The weather had looked a bit “iffy” at the start, but apart from a fresh breeze it was fine and dry.
Thanks to Shirley and Dave for organising, recce-ing and leading the walk.