I was the only person down for breakfast at 7am as most of the other folk staying had been out Friday evening. I set out on a very grey morning which varied from being dry to mizzle and drizzle. A few times I had to stuff the camera away and don my waterproof jacket but later on it did dry up. The A49 northbound was relatively quiet early on a Saturday morning. The first old milestone of the day was spotted on a railway bridge in Standish-Langtree.

Standish used to have a station on the West Coast Mainline, but it was closed in 1949. A little further on, I stopped for a coffee at the local butcher’s place which also has an adjoining licensed restaurant. I spotted a Pilgrim’s Lane in Standish and after passing through Coppull, a ‘German Lane’ in Charnock Richard. It would be interesting to find out how this came about. Charnock Richard is mostly known for its M6 Service Station, so it was interesting to walk along the old road. This old milestone updated my progress.

As it was Saturday, there were a lot of cyclists out and it must be a popular activity round here as there is a large Cycling Outlet Store by the A49 in Charnock Richard. Much of the traffic leaves for the M6 at Standish so the A49 here is a little quieter. The road begins to descend towards the Ribble Valley and passes through Euxton and past Leyland where it got busier. There is a business park here and new luxury homes being built. At one point the road is sandwiched between the M6 on the left and the West Coast Mainline on the right. I could hear the motorway for most of the time but only one Virgin train passed me today. However, there was still some greenery around.

I took the quieter A5083 and then a B road towards Lostock Hall which is a more direct route to the city centre for walkers or cyclists. From there, the last 2.8 miles were via lanes and footpaths, some of which are unused tramways, south of the Ribble. Part of the area is a Local Nature Reserve.


There are a number of sign-posted routes. Mine passed a cricket pitch where a couple of matches were in progress and I met lots of dog walkers. After crossing the Ribble, it was a short but steep walk through a park to the city and my hotel. 17.5 miles today brings the total so far to 55.5 miles.