By Bus to Boilton Wood

Last month as part of our anniversary celebrations we decided to go on a local walk.  Unlike our attempt to reach RHS Bridgewater, which was cut short at Chorley, this one proved much more satisfactory.

We began with the bus down to the barracks and then caught another for a short ride to the industrial estate.  I have only ever driven through here before so we remained the last two passengers on the bus to its terminus.  The kindly driver told us to take care (a common local admonition) as we had announced we were going to join the Guild Wheel on foot.  

Once on the path, and evading the occasional keen cyclist, it was easy.  I noted where the track of the old railway to Longridge diverged, but that is a trip for another time in fine weather.  Then it was over the main road, through the Cemetery and down the steep descent through Boilton Wood.  We pushed our bikes down here once, in a summer before the pandemic.

Lunch at the wildlife centre, where we were amused to see a corporate away-day taking place.  There were ducks and a solitary swan but a noticeboard informed us the osprey had flown south.  It was time for us to turn west.  So, under the motorway and on a long stretch next to the river which, though rippling merrily in its shoals, was not proving to be as photogenic as I had hoped. 

A pause on a bench to check readings, and then on again.  

This is the hardest part, for me, of any walk - the period after lunch when I begin to wonder if I have correctly balanced insulin, carbohydrates and exercise and how long it will take to the next bus stop.  We persevered, noting familiar landmarks until we reached the aptly named Watery Lane where streams ran in gullies on either side of the road.  The bus stop, and the bus station were not far away.

I have thought about this walk since then.  It was much easier by bus and foot and we shall be using our concessionary passes to walk other routes.  It was between five and six miles.  We both needed the exercise and this distance is do-able.  There was a sad contrast between the carefully conserved landscape of the wildlife centre and the litter-strewn banks of Watery Lane where I wanted to scoop up the cans and packets into a purple sack.  And the bus was on time, all the way from Skipton.  There's an idea.