Worthington Lakes

Friday 29th July 2022

I really struggled to get up today. I eventually managed to force myself out as I needed to do a recce for the parish walk tomorrow. I was struggling to decide where to go, then I remembered one walk we've only done once (with the walking group). Half of the walk is back along the canal, so I knew that would be ok. I just wanted to remind myself about the first bit.

I walked along the old railway line and then up to the golf course, down into Adlington woods, up the other side of the woods and out to Worthington Lakes, a series of three reservoirs. This walk only skirts the edge of one of them, it then goes out around a field. All was going well, until then. At the end of the field the path turns right but it was all overgrown with ferns that were taller than me. I still managed to push my way through and reached a stile, which was in a state of collapse. I managed to get over it and did a mental risk assessment. I decided, with care, it would still be ok. I walked around the next field and came to the next stile which was a fence with four bars ... unfortunately the step of the stile was nowhere to be seen, despite the footpath sign still being in place. Another risk assessment, this time it failed, I can't take the group over this! So pleased that I did the recce. 

I retraced my steps back to the woods and along the path the other way, which comes out at a track across a field which then meets up with where we would have come out. It shortens the walk a bit and misses out the lakes. I then remembered that we'd had to take that route last time we did it as the field leading up to the no step stile had been extremely muddy and the next field full of cows who didn't seem to want me to pass when I did the recce. By then, today, I was rather hot and I didn't really want to walk much further as I was saving myself for this evening. From memory the rest of the walk should be ok, fingers crossed! I returned back through the woods, across the golf course and then dropped to the canal to take me back to the car. . 

I had just over an hour to rest at home and then went out to play 9 holes of golf with A at Grange Park. It was a lovely evening and I played reasonably well. I really enjoyed it, except for the flies that seemed attracted to my head!