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There was a good turnout of Ramblers on this very dull and wet day, 14 on the main walk and 10 on the 3 mile walk on offer today; no doubt tempted by the coffee stop at the Garden Centre!
The first part of the walk, running parallel to the River Ribble was on a wide, well surfaced track and we made good progress, with occasional views across the river, but it was quite misty. The path then reduces to a field track around Red Bank before meeting a rough lane again to take us as far as Hothersall Hall. A rough cart track took us on a gradual rise to Ox Hey. We then had to start crossing fields on faintly defined paths to reach a gully where there was banking to sit and have a break. Unfortunately it had begun to rain heavily and there was little shelter and too wet to sit, so the break was kept quite brief, but a few appreciated the rest. Fortunately the tall crop of oats or special grass had been cut since the reccy so it was a relatively easy walk gradually descending to Parsonage Farm. Here we met up with the short walkers and two took advantage to return to Ribchester on a more direct route, whilst the main group did a further couple of miles circling to the north of the town before returning to the Ribchester Arms via Stydd Lane. Although several of us were quite wet – summer waterproofs not up to this level of rain, it had been an enjoyable walk. It was just a pity that the views were limited in the constant rain.
The pub was very efficient at serving the meals which were of excellent quality. Sods Law – the sun came out as we all made our way home! |
