Midge Walkers
Penwortham/ Tram Rd Circular, 19-01-25
Booths car park at Penwortham was the starting point for our January walk. Whilst being quite cold, the 15 participants had dressed with suitable padding to insulate from the chill factor. Setting off at 1.45 p.m along Millbrook Way towards Cop Lane, we turned left and crossed at the traffic lights to follow a footpath at the side of the Primary School, where one of our members had spent his formative years. The dual carriageway of Golden Way could be seen below to our right through the trees and Hurst Grange Park was on the left.
At the T junction we turned left, passing Hill Rd Cemetery on the right and turning right in to Valley Rd, with some elegant houses on the left, we branched right to pass across a foot bridge, over the main road to bring us to Leyland Road adjacent to a car wash. Turning right we made our way towards the Old Pack Horse Bridge built in 1759. Continuing along the same side of the river, previously impassable due to flood defence woks, we were impressed with the new concrete walls topped with glass balustrades and the resurfaced roads and paths.
Following the route with the river on our left and under the stone arches of the North Union Viaduct dating from 1838, we continued along the path under the next bridge, now purely pedestrianised to the site of the former Tram Bridge which had been erected in 1802. This is now undergoing reconstruction following the old bridge having been declared unsafe. Work with is suspended at the moment allowed us freedom of access to view the progress, which appeared to consist of the erection of one of main supporting columns mid stream. The design depicts two, and then the over arching span and is due to be completed early in 2026 at a cost of £6.6M.
Taking the tree lined route along Tram Rd to a right hand branch and turning to follow this track brought us in to the grounds of Vernon’s Cricket Club. This was to be the site for our refreshment break followed by the group photograph and the highlight of any walk, Jack’s sweety bag which he generously shared.
Setting off across the playing field, we headed for a gap in the boundary, passing under a bridge formerly supporting one of the many rail lines inter lacing the area. Climbing the steps to a path, we joined a tree lined path which led us to Leyland Rd, emerging opposite the fire station at Middleforth. Turning right, we continued to turn left into Stricklands Lane and subsequently entered the Park Home Caravan Park..
Passing through we left through a rear exit to join a path through a tree lined route heading back towards a flyover footbridge crossing the dual
carriageway. This brought us to the T junction we had diverted at some two hours or so earlier and from here we retraced our steps to our starting point.
We had covered a distance of 5.2 miles on good walkways with no stiles or obstructions and whilst a little chill, predominantly good weather. Favourable comments were received from the participants on the quality of the walk and the interesting points along the way. Thanks as ever are recorded to the organisers with the anticipation of the next one on 16th February.
Take a look back on previous walks - click on this link - www.midgewalkers.co.uk