Midge Walkers
Worden Park Circular 16-03-25
After a period of sustained good weather, Sunday the 16th was bright, but with a gentle chill breeze. So much so that 21 members and Noola, Jayne’s friendly rottweiler, assembled at the car park of Worden Park and set off at 1.50 p.m. Turning right down Worden Lane, we continued to Holt Brow,
passing a property bearing the unusual name of Swiss Lodge and displaying the crest of the Farrington family engraved on the chimney stack. A stile on the right gave access to a field with an incline, which our leader led us to a gate to enter another field. Here he obviously believed that as we were in the period of lent, we should undertake a a session of wandering, so we passed around the field and finding no other exit,returned to the same gate and passed back through it. Whilst our leader was somewhat mortified and appologetic everyone agreed it had been a very nice field, it was very green, very flat and very square.
Following the hedgeline to the left we found a stile which gave us access to a different field leading us past the buildings of Altcar Farm. Another stile allowed us to angle left along the frontage of the buildings to exit that field by another stile on to Altcar Lane.
Continuing to a group of houses, a drive towards a metal gate, beyond which a concealed property, appropriately named Meadow View, provided access to a path around the perimeter, accessed by a stile at one end and exited at the other by another. Turning right along a path and by crossing over a stile into a series of fields, a footbridge into a field led us to a further stile exiting us on to Flag Lane, where we turned right. At the junction with Leyland Lane a right turn brought us to a seat at the junction with Holker Lane. This provided a suitable spot for our refreshment break.
Supplemented by the contents of Jack’s chockolate treats, we set off down Holker Lane to a footbridge on the right and passed down the side of an enourmous greenhouse located at Nook Farm. A gate gave access to the next field and further progress brought us to a footbridge crossing Hollins Brook. An enclosed pathway ending with a stile led to a farm track at the end of which a gate gave access to a couple of fields, which under normal circumstances would have been exited by a concrete bridge and gate. Unfortunately a nearby tree had recently shed a hefty branch right across the bridge, causing some difficulties in crossing, but all safely negotiated the hazard.
Attaining the outer perimeter of the water treatment site (Sewage Farm), we continued through a couple of gates to arrive at Emnie Lane. Following this to it’s junction with Leyland Lane, we crossed over the roundabout and took the first road on the right, (Shaw Brook Road). Skirting the edge of Wade Hall estate, the rear entrance to the park gave access to the network of paths allowing us to regain our starting point, completing 5.5miles.
As ever the invitation was perhaps marginally understated in terms of distance and stiles, but had it not been for the inadvertant meanderings we would have been closer to the target. As the weather had been so kind to us nobody really made any adverse comments. So from that it can be fairly judged to have been another success.
Take a look back on previous walks - click on this link - www.midgewalkers.co.uk
