Canal Walk: Appley Bridge to Burscough 6 miles

Today I was dog sitting. But Troy doesn't like being sat on so we went for a walk instead. We took the train from Burscough to Appley Bridge, it cost £3.10 to go 3 stops down the line but Troy travelled for free and only left a few dog hairs on the seat.  Off the train in Appley Bridge and we walked down the hill to the canal. Troy claimed most of the gate posts and a recycling box (sorry!) as his property. 

Troy 29.5 miles from Liverpool

On the towpath and it was getting warm as we set off towards Burscough.
The towpath was quite busy with walkers, dogs and cyclists but hardly crowded. It was nice to be somewhere so quiet, no traffic and no seagulls. The only interruption to the quiet was the occasional passing train. The two shallow locks at Appley Locks are looking worse every time I see them, which is a shame. 

Troy heads towards Gillibrand Bridge

In Parbold Troy noticed a World War Two post hole. The WW2 concrete is quite lumpy, with more stones than cement. Set vertically in the concrete is a pipe, probably a sewage pipe or similar. A post would have been dropped into this to block off the towpath at night. The posts would have had barbed wire attached. Next to the post holes is a concrete cube.

WW2 HomeGuard Roadblock Post Hole

We passed a lot of purple plants, Rosebay Willowherb, Marsh Woundwort, Common Vetch, Himalayan balsam and Troy weed on many of them. We were soon through Parbold and we stopped for a drink of water by the concrete pill box that guards the bend. 

Pill Box by the Canal

Approaching Spencers Swing Bridge we heard the sound of Happy Birthday being played on a brass instrument wafting down the canal. We walked past the chap sat next to a boat playing his whateveritwas.  There should be more brass music on the towpath. 
There were some blue damsel flies and a large dragonfly flying about the water. A mystery animal jumped into the canal as we passed it. 
At the 25 miles milepost we overtook a scouser trying to buy drugs from his friend on the phone. 
In Burscough there was a strange floating shed/piano/cupboard. Not something I have ever seen before. 

Piano

Pontoon

Burscough Wharf Canal Heritage Week 2012

Kennet

Today I went to Burscough to see the newly refurbished Kennet having its re-dedication. The weather was not too bad considering the week we have had. As I parked up I could hear music wafting along the canal. 

I haven't been to Burscough for a while, Southport FC haven't been in the same league as Burscough FC for a few seasons now. While the football club has gone downhill the rest of the town seems to be doing okay. The Waterfront pub is now the Packet House, going back to almost its original name. Hopefully the pub will have a better reputation than it used to have. 

Canal Horse

I was a bit early so I walked along the towpath to the Rufford Branch. The towpath is pretty bad on this stretch and the recent wet weather. It would be a good stretch for BW or the council to improve. It is a popular stretch and links Burscough to the Ship Inn at Lathom. As I got the junction bridge I met a group of cyclists. They were heading from Wigan to Southport. It is always nice to see cyclists using the canal and this group was certainly a diverse one; it included a nurse, Captain America, Wally (from Where's Wally) and Santa Claus. 

While I was at the junction I tried a 360 degree panoramic photograph. Here is the result:

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=59f1cec3-fb08-4c88-9d3a-ca99a6c6ae1b

On the way back to the wharf the cyclists passed me, Santa bringing up the rear and not looking enthusiastic.

Back at the Wharf the Mayor of West Lancashire was just starting his speech. There was a good crowd on the towpath by the wharf. Unfortunately another larger group of cyclists came along and had to detour around us.  The rededication of the Kennet involved breaking a bottle of beer on its bow. The sight of this  brought a tear to the eye of many a bearded man on the towpath. The mayor got a round of applause rather than an ASBO for this act of vandalism.

Rededication of the Kennet

With the ceremony done the Wigan Ukulele Club started up again, no Stairway to Heaven but they did do some classic tunes.

Wigan Ukulele Club

Its good to see the Kennet looking so smart and getting some attention. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society and the Friends of Kennet both do a great deal of good work promoting the canal and educating people about our heritage. 

Burscough Wharf

On the way back I stopped off and took a new photo of the former Scarisbrick Arms, now called the Gastro bar and grill. Updating the pub guide on my site I noticed that it had been hacked by Israeli porn sites. Luckily not many people look at those pages so I doubt anyone noticed the 800 comments about a pub in Netherton that had more to do with anatomical improvement than canal side drinking.

Canal Maps, Treks and Events

Today is the Solstice, the longest day of the year. I'm still not sure if we have already had our Summer; I hope I haven't missed my chance to go walking and cycling in the sunshine.

Google Maps and Canals

The most exciting news for a long time is that Google Maps are going to start mapping the canals and river footpaths and cycleways. It has been very frustrating using GoogleMaps to plan walks and bike rides along canals. At the moment google cannot see towpaths, so to get from point A to point B on a canal may take you via point C,D, and E, on the road. I look forward to planning bike rides and being able to quickly get directions and distances and times on an easily accessible website.

I have tried to create my own maps in Google of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. My maps are useful but they do take time and effort on my part and I am a naturally lazy person who gives up on things like this, which is why the maps are mostly incomplete. So to have Google do the hard work, and produce a more accurate map than me is a good thing.

This could however take a lot of traffic away from canal websites like mine and others who are based on helping people plan canal routes. And traffic is the life of a website. Not just for the advertising that pays for it, but for the interaction with other people who like canals and can be encouraged to use them.

Hopefully towpathtreks.co.uk and other sites can use the new google maps feature to continue to promote the canals and enhance our service.
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/902687-google-maps-to-begin-charting-britains-canals-and-rivers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/19/google-maps-uk-rivers-canals?newsfeed=true

Burscough Canal Heritage Week

This week is the Burscough Canal Heritage Week 2012. Last year the weather was hot, sunny with a couple of showers. The forecast for this weekend is not as optimistic. Last year there were a good collection of former working boat. Burscough Canal Heritage Week 2011 blog I intend to head up to Burscough on Saturday to see whats going on and take some photos. It is hard sometimes for heritage events not to look twee and irrelevant, but at Burscough Wharf the new development shows that canals are very much a contemporary feature in English life.

Other Days Out

Sunday is the Africa Oye in Liverpool so I will be there for that, weather permitting.

Next weekend I am off to the east end of London to have a walk and see what the canals around the Olympic site look like.

I have a medium sized bike ride planned around Runcorn Widness, and I am hoping for the weather to do that over the next few weeks.

Canal Walk: Burscough

After lunch we parked by Burscough Bridge. I took some photos of the new street furniture in Burscough and of the Waterfront pub. We walked up to the Farmers Arms, taking photos of the Slipway on the way. As we walked we had a look at the wild flowers on the towpath. Most were known to us but there were plenty we needed to look up.
I was surprised to see that the half mile and 22 mile post have been painted. Some one has been busy with the paintbrush!
At the Farmers Arms a couple were making hard work of operating the swingbridge. Luckily for the waiting motorists I was passing and pointed out the bridge wouldnt do anything while the barriers were open. On the way back to Burscough I did my second good turn by freeing an anglers line from the towpath.
The towpath was busy with walkers and it is always good to see boats on the move.

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.