Day 26 To Catterall

These pictures from the bottom: Preston town centre, the Lancaster Canal near the centre of Preston, ducks on the canal, and 2 of a heron on the canal.

Day 26th - Thu 30th April. Rain was forecast and we awoke to grey skies and drizzle which remained with us for most of the day. Our B&B was a large and unusual stone-built house with a Loire chateau-style turret at one end. Our landlady, Lisa, had inherited it from her parents and had one wing set aside for B&B where she runs a welcoming and efficient operation. She kindly donated £5 to our charity as we set off. We walked over fields and lanes northward until we reached the River Ribble a couple of miles from Preston. I have walked along the Ribble Valley up in the Yorkshire Dales where it is a pretty stream, whereas at Preston it is a big river and has been used to bring large cargoes to and from the city. The tide was out and it looked rather sad on this grey day. The flat countryside was littered with power pylons as there was a large electricity station which we passed. I wonder why people are prepared to accept these so readily but have such a problem with wind turbines, which would be fewer in number and are less unattractive?
Preston has changed a lot over the years and is a clean and lively city where we did some bits of shopping and had a coffee. We found our way out of the centre and onto the the Lancaster Canal, which is hidden away behind the houses. After a couple of miles we turned off the canal onto a pleasant cycle path that took us out to the countryside. As we found before, this was a charming way to walk through an urban area: it is restful, leafy, there is wildlife and it is easy walking. These sorts of routes have saved us from walking through miles and miles of suburbia,and we are very grateful!
We crossed the M55 Blackpool motorway, then north of Woodplumpton, rejoined the Lancaster canal which we followed for the rest of the afternoon. It rained steadily but the miles passed quickly, and our feet felt the benefit of not walking on concrete! John spotted some huge mushrooms growing out of a willow tree - about 50cms across the cap! It looked rather like a parasol mushroom (Lepiota) but they grow from the ground, not from trees. We had seen herons on the Ribble and lots of ducks, swans and coots, but there was a heron standing on the canal bank which stood long enough for me to get some great shots of it, including one of it taking off. Apparently there is a large heronry - a collection of heron's nests - nearby which is thriving.
The canal, main West coast rail line, the M6 and the A6 all come together at Bilsborrow, where we counted 5 open pubs and a canal boat marina, along with other services for travellers. The only reason must be the confluence of transport at this point as there is no actual town.
We stopped at a pub with nice rooms in Cotterall having done exactly 20 miles where, after dinner, I got to perform in the bar. It was quiet at first, but became quite busy later with locals who seemed to enjoy the experience, and we got to meet some people and get a better feel for the area and also pick up some donations. In spite of the day, we felt this was a successful and rather enjoyable day.