The start of my next long distance walk
Barrow in Furness Cumbria, to Barrowford, East Lancashire.
Day 1 Barrow in Furness to Ulverston 15miles 1150ft
Having left my car in Ulverston I got off the bus here at the impressive Barrow town hall....
.....before making my way to the nearby Devonshire dock where BAE Systems build and service nuclear submarines for the Royal Navy.
Here is HMS Agamemnon
I walked further out to Ramsden dock where the commercial shipping docks....
....and again
Looking back to the distinctive clock tower on the town hall
Arriving on the coast with a view to Piel Island where each landlord of the one pub is traditionally crowned King of Piel Island
The unusal lighthouse known locally as the 'Needle' guarding the estuary between Roa & and Piel islands
With a strong wind and some interesting early morning light I took the following photos over the next 7 or 8 miles
....before arriving in the tiny hamlet of Aldingham. The hall here was built for the Rev Dr John Stonard who upon his death bequeathed it to his butler and family who once saved his life! It's now a nursing home!
....and again
Leaving the coast at Aldingham I walk inland towards Ulverston over Birkrigg Common, with distant views to the lakeland fells
Arriving in Ulverston I visited the Ulverston canal which though now disused linked the town to the coast and was once the shortest but deepest, widest & straightest canal in the UK
....and again
Above the town stands the Hoad Monument, but more about this when I visit it on my next walk
Now Ulverston is well know for the home of Laurel & Hardy....
....however & finally for this week's little known fact: Did you know that Pole Vaulting first started in Ulverston! Local farm shepherds had competions jumping over gates using their Shepherd's crooks as poles. The first world champion pole vaulter came from Ulverston!!
This was a great first day's outing on a my latest long distance walk with much of interest and a very enjoyable coastal stretch
