Day 79 Bootle to Ravenglass

The train times meant that we had a relaxed start to the day. After an excellent “Cumbrian” breakfast, we boarded the 0913 getting back on the route at 0946. We were quickly joined a lively sheep dog, that stayed with us for over an hour. Eventually we called the owner from the number on the dog’s collar and the dog was collected just before we had yet again to go off-piste on account of the high tide covering the road. This detour, our late start and the wet conditions under foot, meant that we made slow progress and we could do no more than get back to the Ratty Arms just in time for a sandwich, which John had taken the precaution of ordering by phone when it looked like we would arrive after the chef had left. This meant that we had now been in the Ratty on three separate occasions and walked past it a fourth time – another record. Another rather feeble trip of just over 10 miles meant that over the two days we had let 15 mile Johnny progress from 4 miles behind to 6 miles ahead. The trains behaved themselves on the way home

Postscript – the next day we heard the sad news that Gary’s mother died on Tuesday night

Day 78 Haverigg to Bootle

The trip had a rocky start when Ben’s newly acquired reliance on modern technology, the mobile phone, proved misplaced in that he either failed to set the alarm properly or it rang too quietly for his ageing ears. However awakening at 0553 in Putney, he managed to get the 0640 from Euston with some minutes to spare. John joined the train at Birmingham without crisis, but then matters deteriorated. The train slowed sufficiently for the team to see the connection to the West Coast line pulling out from Preston as they arrived. In the faint hope that the express might overtake the branch line train on the way to Lancaster, the team stayed on board, but to no avail. Spirits were restored by excellent coffee in the Lancaster station buffet whilst waiting an hour for the next train.

Unfortunately as we got under way, Gary then had sad news that his mother was very poorly and after some consideration decided that he had better not disembark at Millom but carry on to Carlisle and return home to be on hand. So it was the duo of Ben and John who were forlornly ringing for cabs in the teeming rain at Millom to get a taxi to Haverigg. Fortunately after only a short wait, Julie of Julie’s cabs arrived and brightened our mood with talk of the weather blowing through. Finally at 1315 the duo got under way into some of the wettest windiest weather we have experienced. We made surprisingly good speed partly because we eschewed some of our normal brief breaks on the hour to record progress given that the log book would have suffered considerably from the elements. The sea was dramatic, crashing in to the beach as we walked along fuelled by the south westerly which was fortunately mostly at our backs or at least our side. Over the course of the day we met no other walkers which may be a first – certainly unusual. In spite of our good progress, our late departure and the early darkness exacerbated by the gloomy weather meant we had to call it a day near Bootle station after less than 10 miles. Northern Rail turned up on time and we made the short trip to Ravenglass. Gary had reported that the Ratty Arms seemed deserted at lunch time, but the hostelry located right on the station, possibly the former ticket office, opened as we arrived and we had an agreeable pint by the fire drying our feet and warming up. Then we walked the short distance to the Rosegarth B&B for excellent showers before back to the Ratty for supper. An extensive selection of malts resulted in two rounds of stickies before bed.

Day 77 – Broughton-in-Furness to Haverigg

A comfortable and quiet night and good breakfast before an 8:30 start to the day’s walking. Broughton is a very attractive, traditional market town – its appearance no doubt enhanced by a bright and crisp morning. Our aim of getting to Silecroft in time for an early afternoon train might prove to be a bit optimistic, particularly with almost an extra mile to walk from the coast to Silecroft station but, subject to any problems crossing Millom Marsh, we don’t anticipate too many difficulties with the terrain. Reflecting the end of yesterday’s walk, the first mile or so today is alongside roads, but we then go through a field to cross the Duddon (at long last) at its eponymous bridge, and climb up to woodland paths above the A595 running along the northerly bank of the estuary. On a couple of occasions, we’re not sure that we’ve followed the prescribed route through the woods. Not a major problem, but even a small diversion could affect our prospects of getting to Silecroft. Still, at least when we come back to and cross the main road and get beyond Lady Hall and Green Road station, we find that the route across Millom Marsh is perfectly straightforward along a raised embankment. At this stage, Kirby is on the opposite bank of the river, and there is some discussion of whether we might have stayed there yesterday evening and walked across the estuary at low tide this morning. It might have improved our chances of getting to Silecroft which become increasingly “cuspy” as we try to keep as close to the coast as possible around Millom resulting, as it transpires, in one short retracing of steps and two bits of fence climbing. By the time we’ve reached Hodbarrow Point, it seems that we’ve all silently accepted we won’t reach our planned destination, because our pace has slowed, we stop at the iron lighthouse by the lake at Hodbarrow Hollow to spend some time reading the signs about its history, and (perhaps most significantly) we’ve ascertained that there’s a pub at Haverigg from which it’s not too long a walk back to Millom station. At the bridge over the River Lazy with the pub on the other side, we have a desultory conversation about whether we should keep going, but it’s just for form’s sake. There was never any doubt. Into the pub for some lunch and a couple of pints, and it’s not then a rush to get to Millom station in time for the 2:50 train to Lancaster

Day 76 – Barrow-in-Furness to Broughton-in-Furness

We revert to the traditional morning timing for our outbound trip to Cumbria, arrive on schedule, and are back by the pedestrian bridge (submerged) shortly before midday. The route out of Barrow takes us along largely deserted streets and, as such, is somewhat reminiscent of the equally unremarkable – and rather tired looking – outskirts of Blackpool. But within an hour, a narrow track takes us from the road in Ormsgill back down to the coast, from where there are good views back over to the north end of Walney Island. However, these are as nothing compared with what we see when we’ve walked round the tidal bay of Scarth Bite and then Lowsy Point. The vista along the Duddon Estuary towards the Scafells in the distance is described by the Coastal Way guide book as “stupendous”, and this is no overstatement. The sands stretch out before us in the sunshine, the indications from the guide book, John’s GPS logger and Ben’s OS map are that the route along the beach is not dependant on tide timetables, and we look forward to a few hours of relaxed and scenic walking towards Askam and beyond. How hopes can be dashed! Things remain relaxed and scenic for the 45 minutes or so that it takes us to reach Roanhead. This is apparently where “Barrow goes to the seaside”. It’s also where an abnormally high tide prevents us from getting round a rocky headland – and because our various maps and books all assume that it’s always possible to continue along the foreshore, there are no alternative routes which don’t involve very considerable diversions. It is far from easy to summarise the events of the next hour, but they include a steep – and heavily wooded – grassy bank up to a barbed wire fence which has to be negotiated to reach a field; a brief period of respite crossing the field and walking a short distance along a lane before heeding the warning of “Private Property” and, more significantly, “Bull in Field”, and diverting down a track to a woodland pool; realising that this is in fact the only track to/from the pool; and finally thrashing our way through bracken which is often at shoulder height (for John and Gary – Ben almost disappears on a couple of occasions) to get back to the beach on the other side of the rocky headland. During the course of this “adventure”, John loses his watch and, when we’re beyond the point of no return in the  bracken, and still  some way from the beach, we learn from the logger that our completely covered legs and feet have been walking over an area which contains several disused mine shafts! Might it have been better simply to sit on the beach and wait for the tide to recede??? It has to be said that all of this excitement seems to have a somewhat sobering effect on the rest of the day. Certainly, the scenery doesn’t look quite as spectacular as it did earlier, and occasional small problems with underfoot conditions and consequent minor diversions (particularly crossing and re-crossing the railway line between Askam and Kirby-in-Furness) create slightly more irritation than they would otherwise merit. As a consequence, after getting through Kirby and reaching the railway station at Foxfield, the unanimous decision is speedily reached that we should complete the remaining couple of miles to Broughton-in-Furness by roadside footpaths rather than risk further difficulties arising on a slightly more direct route through woods, fields and farms. We arrive in Broughton around 6:00 pm and any lingering “sobering effect” completely disappears when we enter the extremely welcoming and convivial bar of our overnight stop, the Manor Arms. During the course of our on arrival couple of pints, we are almost tempted to accept the invitation to participate in the quiz night which is due to start later in the evening but decide that, after freshening up, we should honour our booking for supper at the Black Cock Inn (a couple of hundred yards away) instead. Good food – and red wine – and also very good timing because we arrive back at the Manor Arms during an extended interval of the quiz thus affording the time for a couple of stickies to be taken on board and to get to our rooms before the resumption of the local hostilities.