Day trippers. Exploring Carnforth and Lancaster

When we want to go a little farther than our little feet will easily take us, we do take advantage of public transportation.  The City of Lancaster has a Dayrider ticket that allows us to travel by bus all day throughout a pretty big region for about $10 Canadian each.

Carnforth

Last  Tuesday, we decided to do a bit of a walk starting in Carnforth.  The bus ride took about half an hour and we enjoyed having a lookie-loo from the top deck on the way.

Our first stop was a surprisingly interesting and informative heritage centre at the train station/bus station.  As I type, we are watching an episode of the BBC’s Great British Railway Journeys which features, among other destinations in the Lake District, Cumbria, and Lancashire, this very stop in Carnforth.

Techie Alert:  Taking a picture of the television screen is a screen shot, right?  Impressing myself with my new skills each and every day!

One of its claims to fame is that the station was used for filming the 1945 film, A Brief Encounter.  It was thought that London and nearby areas would be at too high a risk for bombing, so Carnforth was selected.  All of the filming was done at night when the regular train service was not running.

We walked along the Lancaster Canal and made our way to Bolton-le-Sands.  It’s only about a 2 mile/3km walk, but it was so beautiful.

There’s something about sheep grazing in the sunshine that makes me think of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great & Small.  By Canadian standards, County Durham is not all that far from Lancashire.

Of course, we were eventually forced to find refuge from all of this natural beauty by way of a pub lunch.  Look, I’ve read it’s what’s done.  I can’t help it!

Lancaster

On Monday, we decided to check out the public pathway along the River Lune.  Once again, we hopped the direct bus and enjoyed a scenic tour through the industrial district.

We toodled around the city a little and wandered into Lancaster Priory to the sounds of the bells ringing.  How could I not enter with such a gorgeous invitation?

Lancaster Priory was founded in 1094 and the building, the furnishings, the stained glass windows, and its history are amazing… even for this heathen!

It was gorgeous and sunny out, so we decided to postpone taking a tour of the neighbouring Lancaster Castle until a rainy day, and we headed down to the river to enjoy our walk along the water.

Even though we’ve been watching the news, it was impossible for us to comprehend how high the river water had risen to cause the recent flooding.  Not only was the public footpath along the River Lune closed due to damage, but these buildings across the street from the river wall had sustained serious flood damage.

From across the river, I could see just how high the water had risen.  Absolutely staggering.  There are homes and businesses along this street.  Of course, not only were ground floors under water, but cellars would have been completely swamped.  We passed pubs and restaurants and thought about the stock that would have been lost (pubs in the UK cellar their ales and much more, I imagine).  One of the buildings has a plaque designating it as a heritage building; it is the former Custom House, built in 1764.  It’s just so sad.

Lune Millennium Bridge

With Plan A thwarted, we decided to take advantage of the fantastic public pedestrian and bike path and walk back to Morcambe.

It was interesting to note that this walk was only 3 miles and took us about an hour.

We have made the trip via car and bus, and it has taken half an hour.  Once again, we prefer to travel by foot.