Day 66 - Southport to Tarleton

We have breakfast and check out in time for an 8:15 departure from the Hotel, and Ben effects early purchase of postcards while John dons his boots and puttees. For the first hour or so, having retraced our steps to the marine lake, we walk alongside the A565 towards Preston but, when the road turns away from the coast, we start to follow an embankment which runs between the sea/marsh on one side and farmland on the other. Someone has suggested that today's route should be pretty straightforward, but this does not take into account the fact that, as it transpires, sections of the embankment have been closed "to strengthen flood defences". Not only is the logger unaware of this, but also it is not immediately clear on the route itself which sections are closed (either that or we don't see the signs). As a result, we firstly take what proves to be an unnecessary diversion (of about a mile and a half) away from, then parallel with and finally back to the embankment and, shortly afterwards, continue along what is, in fact, a closed section. Fortunately, when we realise the second error, we're able to get over a gate and onto a couple of farm tracks (just before some livestock herding by the farmers) which ultimately lead back to the next open stretch of embankment close to where the River Douglas flows into the Ribble. We're hoping to end today's walk at one of the pubs somewhere on the other side of the Douglas but the precise location will depend on whether we can get across the river before it reaches Tarleton. Some maps - including those by the river - suggest that there might be a bridge by the West Lancs Light Railway. However, no such bridge appears and, just beyond the Light Railway, we find that the river bank itself has been closed because of erosion. This necessitates walking along various lanes and roads and means that we probably won't get beyond Tarleton itself. The probability becomes a certainty after a couple of phone calls establish that the Cock & Bottle in Tarleton serves food until 3:00 pm and that a taxi firm in Preston can provide a cab to pick us up at 3:45 and take us to Preston station. Lunch at the Cock & Bottle is, therefore, suitably relaxed, and M-A-D Johnny is now lagging 4 or 5 miles behind us. Ben takes the front seat in the cab and has much to talk about with the driver who also has numerous children. We arrive at Preston in good time, which permits an unhurried visit to the station buffet (the selection of John Smith's by one of our number is a schoolboy error) before catching our trains home.