Canal Walk: Burscough

A very short (two mile) walk today but one with a couple of surprises. I parked on the road by the canal at Burscough bridge (32A) and walked west. It had been sunny in the morning but was looking a bit grey by the time I got to the towpath in the afternoon. The first interesting thing I saw were several shiny metallic disks, very X-Files.

I have no idea what they are though...
As I strolled along my second surprise was a half mile post. I hadn't expect to see one there and wasnt particularly looking for it, but there it was. It marks 23.5 miles to Liverpool. Its in good condition but needs a coat of paint; which is more than can be said for my third surprise of the walk...
As I was approaching Crabtree Swing Bridge (#32) by the Slipway pub a couple of boats were passing through. While it is surprising to see boats on the move on this stretch it was not as surprising as seeing a milepost (Liverpool 23 Miles, Leeds 104.25 Miles) that I had looked for on more than one occasion. In fact last time I visited I had a good look, had a OS map from 2005 showing where it should be and took a photo of where I thought it would have been. There was no sign of it at all. Yet with the brambles died down I noticed a very falorn milepost halfway down the side of the embankment. It had brambles over it, a chunk missing from the top, no paint and is in a precarious position. I couldnt reach it but managed to move the brambles enough for a photo.
Happy with my find I turned around at New Lane Swing Bridge (#23) opposite the Farmers Arms and headed back to Burscough to watch the local team play Marine. Marine beat Burscough by 3 goals to nil. I recommend a bit of nonleague football to any boaters passing through.