Day 145 Hest Bank to Lancaster

 

Date: Sunday 1^st September 2013   Distance: 17.03 Miles

 

We left the house in Lancaster at 9am and rode down the canal which is part of the cycle network towards Carnforth then we turned off towards Hest Bank where our official starting point was. It was lovely cycling through Morecambe along the seaside. The tide was out leaving a lot of sand behind. There had been a festival and although many people were packing up and leaving there were still lots of fairground rides and activities left on the promenade. Someone had given the statue of Eric Morecambe a patch- worked coat and on his shoulder was a stuffed material seagull. They were beautifully made so we hope no harm comes to them.

 

The promenade is 4 miles long, and it was all into a very strong headwind, its curve gives a panoramic view including Piel Island to the Lakeland hills. We rode alongside the sea till Heysham village when we had to go on the road or walk with the bike. As we turned right off the road (preferred to walking today) we spotted a cafe open and had bacon butties.

 

The village is twisting with narrow streets dating from the 7th century. We didn’t cycle by the tiny Saxon chapel that is high on the headland but we saw St Peters church set among the trees on the hill, when we diverted to the road. Beside the chapel are some ancient graves cut in the rock, shaped for the body with a socket cut to hold a cross and the church has many interesting features of Saxon, Norman and even 17th century origin in its architecture and stone effigies. Our legs ached too much to climb today but we had seen the church before.

 

 Modern Heysham  is centred on the freight harbour and ferries to the Isle of Man.  Heysham has 2 power stations and they are both like square concrete blocks. We have noticed that where there are power stations there are usually nature reserves nearby to give perhaps some compensation to the land for the ugliness of the building and the possible ecological effects it might have on the land. Nature does seem to thrive near them though, particularly birds (and seals at Hartlepool!)

 

Turning back towards Lancaster beside the river Lune we were met with a road closed sign despite us being on the cycle route. Cars were turning back and we were told they were working on the electricity pylons. We travelled a few miles before we saw any sign of the works that would block the road but the cycle-route turned off yards before them anyway. It was lovely to have traffic free road but we wonder how many people had been put off by the initial road sign.

As we rode we noticed flotsam by the side of the road where the river must flood. In the distance we could see the castle that began life in Norman times then became a prison and courthouse for centuries. On another hill, we know to be in Williamson Park, we could see the high domed Ashton Memorial built in 1902 which I think is more of a landmark than the castle as it can be seen from the motorway.  

 

Across the river, where a jet ski tossed up the water as it powered by, is St Georges Quay with its tall, gabled 18th century warehouses. Then we reached the bridge that would take us into the city and we finished the ride there.