I was woken this morning before my alarm by the pub next door throwing all their bottles into the recycling bin. While I had breakfast there a little later, a local radio station was playing and one of their adverts was for ‘Fiona Bruce Solicitors’. She is our local Tory MP and I am definitely not a fan of hers so it spoiled my breakfast a little. The receptionist gave me a great send off when I checked out as she had sussed out by the rucksack and camera that I was not one of the many workers staying there. She said that she was very impressed by my plans and had known an elderly gentleman who had in his youth, walked from Warrington to London. I took the riverside shortcut into town and after waiting for the shops in town to open for supplies, I headed on up the A49 which is lined with retail parks all the way to the M62 interchange. It was pretty warm today so although I had only done just under four miles, I stopped after crossing the motorway for a cold drink at the services.

At Winwick I experienced a bit of a blast from the past seeing a sign for ‘Delph Lane’ and the walls surrounding the grounds of what used to be the psychiatric hospital for the area. I had been there on several occasions years ago before it closed in 1997. The asylum buildings are still there but have been converted into apartments and houses. It was pleasant to be in an old village and I took the quieter road to Golbourne where I could hear the birds singing and enjoy the flowers in the hedgerows. This road name appealed as I feel I am on something of a pilgrimage.

Apparently, there is the site of a battlefield nearby where in the 2nd English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell defeated some Royalist Scots on 16 August 1648, but I did not pass it. The road passes over the M6 which I did for the second time on this walk but will be doing several more times later on. There is a big railway junction just south of Golborne so the road passes under and over several railway bridges including the West Coast Mainline which I have been on more times than I can remember passing through Warrington and Wigan. Several Virgin trains whizzed past me at various points today. In Golborne I found a quiet green space under some trees by a brook to have my lunch.

There was also a poignant memorial to local miners in the town.

At Abram it is possible to leave the road and walk into Wigan via the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. It runs through Wigan Flashes which are large ponds on what was mining country. Further south in Cheshire, many of them are collapsed old salt mines. The Wigan ones are now designated as a Local Nature Reserve. There were many waterfowl on the lakes and some of the paths were closed due to the breeding season. There were some mallard on the towpath, Canada Geese on the canal and someone had been feeding the Bean Geese and their goslings.



Every pedestrian, cyclist and people passing by on barges said hello. One of the things I have enjoyed about living in the North West for the last 28 years is that people are generally very friendly. Some kids who were planning to swim in Scotsman’s Flash asked me if I had any shorts that they could have as some of the girls had only their jeans with them. It may have been 24 degrees, but it usually has to be at least 30 plus before I break out into shorts, so I could not help them. A little further on, I could hop off the towpath into town and find my accommodation.