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