Distance: 16.4 miles
Time: 6 hrs 30 mins
Weather: Warm and sunny
Cumulative distance: 520.7 miles
A perfect summer's day, good company, canalside pubs, a birthday barbeque (and some walking!)
Chris cooked another fine breakfast, including (finally!) eggs and then drove me to my starting point south of Preston. I really enjoyed seeing Chris and Alison after a break of too many years and they were wonderful hosts, providing food, drink, accommodation, transport and good company.
I was initially joined by a former work colleague, Alison, who had travelled from Lymm that morning. We caught up on recent events at my former employer and Alison's transfer to another division. After 5 miles, we were joined by my cousin Geoff, his wife Heather, their daughter Nicola and dog Coco. We diverted from the main road to join the Rufford branch of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, which later connected to the main canal. Canals have been my staple diet for the last few days and the change in both scenery and pace of life from the busy A road just a hundred metres away was dramatic.
In glorious sunshine, we followed the towpath past fields and meadows and, increasingly, moored barges. We stopped to refresh ourselves at the Farmer's Arms pub in Burscough (pint of Pendle Pride) and Alison shared her lunch with us. We continued as far as Haskayne, where further refreshments were required (due to the heat), in my case a pint of Eugene's Lair.
We returned to Geoff and Heather 's house, my accommodation for the night, from where Alison was collected by her husband. We then had a mega barbecue to celebrate Geoff's birthday and finished the evening in the early hours after reviewing the family tree.
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