Day 11 - Chorley to Ingleton (60 miles)

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Today has been a great day. It has been a day of grand views from the tops of hills seen while listening to lambs bleating, a day of canals and larks and grass. It is also the official half way point of the journey, the 500^th mile of a 1000 mile odyssey through Britain. I seem to be doing 20% extra though, whether through being lost or staying in accommodation off the beaten track.
Today I left Chorley to go to Wheelton. Didn’t there used to be a children’s programme called Chorley and the Wheeltons? I used Navigation by Local, asking the way every ten feet, and I was soon out in the countryside again. Wheelton is a major canal venue with locks, hire boats and boat sales.

Wheelton lock

A man was opening the lock gate for his wife to drive the boat in. “It’s ‘ard work with just two,” he said. I have this idea of doing a canal boat odyssey when I retire (next time) but I never thought it would be ’ard work. There was no weather today; no wind, no sun and no rain, and I had baby moorhens and hedges instead of the lorries of yesterday.
It was hilly though and I had time to spot all the hawthorn trimmings on the road. I once lost three inner tubes to a single thorn hiding in my tyre so they made me nervous. Next came miles of holly hedges along Goosefoot Lane, the first ones I’ve seen.
I passed Alum Scar lane and stopped at the Nab’s Head for tea, plenty of names and origins to ponder. What’s a nab? I finally left the hills with their marvellous views behind for the flat of the Ribble Valley. Lazy Legs Lees likes valleys.
This is a holiday week in England and there were plenty of people out for a day in the car. Two dumpy ladies passed and their old car was filled with their smiles.
Everywhere tall, lush grass has been newly cut to make hay and in one field there was a lapwing in every dreel.
I know I have sounded pretty relaxed about today so far but I was way behind schedule and on course for another late finish. I continue to find new ways to get lost and today I got lost by reading the map from north to south instead of south to north for a short while (I know, I shouldn’t really be allowed out of Glamis!). This caused me to ride the same bit of road three times, losing about 45 minutes. At Slaidburn I still had 15 miles to go and it was 6pm. Twelve of those miles were on a “quiet lane” at the edge of a supposed forest. What actually transpired was a very steep bare hillside which I had to push my bike up for most of six miles. Exhausted and not a little bit concerned, I stopped at the halfway point and at some nuts and chocolate and pondered my futures. There were two. In the good future, I was near the top and would freewheel six miles down the other side and arrive at the youth hostel before dark. In the bad future, I had another six miles of pushing which I didn’t think I could manage and I would arrive at the hostel some time on Sunday. Can you guess what happened?

Picnic spot on a quiet lane!

I got lucky and hauled in to Ingleton YHA at 9pm, thoroughly depleted, with all the usual chores still to do. I also had to share a room with two ladies who were already in their beds. I finally got to bed at 11pm, not sure how I was going to get up and do it again tomorrow…