Return to Carr Mill

It's been some time since we last visited Carr Mill Dam but it was bound to happen.
Today's 3.8813 miles (6.2465 km) route has been saved and is available at...

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6733354

km marks

Starting at the Sankey Valley Visitor Centre (Car Park behind The Ship Inn) we headed out onto the A58, Blackbrook Road...

Nice Gate

...to cross to the opposite bank of the St Helens Canal.

We then headed North towards Carr Mill Dam.

We both liked the clumps of Bull Rushes along the walk...

...but the amount of Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam) is a concern...

 In the ever changing environment we walked past fishing lakes...

 ...past fallen trees covered in fungi...

 ...catching glimpses of the industrial past...

 ...under roads...

 ...through woodland...

 ... under railway lines...

 and eventually reached the Dam...

 I love the view, once you've climbed the face of the dam...

 and there's always the chance that the first bird you see will be...

 ...a  Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus).
We walked anti-clockwise around the reservoir, through woodland...

 ...past a dog protecting his masters fishing gear...

 ...while he fished...

 The Autumnal changes even more noticeable than last week...

 We felt that there was a fishing match in progress as every fishing stand was occupied...

 Apart from those fishing there were not many others enjoying this beautiful environment...

 Who lives here?

 The number of fungi spotted indicated the time of year...

 ...with a number of different types noted.

 Geese have returned to the North West and were observed on the reservoir and flying overhead...

 At the end of the walk the canal basin has further signs of the industrial past of this area.

If you visit this region, it's a walk I'm sure, like us, you'd enjoy.

You can take a look at all the photographs I took, as a slideshow, at https://sharalike.com/s/hTJT or via the embedded version below...

W&WPL #7 - The Ship Inn Haskayne

The 5.364 miles (8.6325 km) Walk part of W&WPL...

...has been saved and the URL for the route is at... 

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6538316

NOTE: We caught the 300 bus back to Maghull.
The Ship Inn at Haskayne...

...was the target for the Wednesday Pub Lunch (WPL) part of W&WPL; you can see our evaluation of The Ship via our Maghull Foodie Blog at...

http://maghullfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-ship-inn-haskayne.html 

As usual the Walk starts and ends in the car park behind Costa in Maghull.

Starting from the car park, we headed round the front of the shops, turning left and walking parallel to the A59 towards Ormskirk.
We crossed the A59 and along Dodd's Lane, bearing left when we reached Northway School.
Straight across Kenyons Lane and along Millbank Lane.
Turn left through a signposted gap in the hedge (if you reach a junction with a road coming in from the right, you've gone too far).
Keep the hedge on your right and, when you get to the end of the field, pass through the hedge and turn left.
After a short distance, follow the path round to the right and head up to and through Hartley's Nursery and down to Robin's Island.
Bearing left we then crossed the A59, turning right and following the footpath round to the left into Liverpool Road.
Crossing over Liverpool Road, we took the first right into Moss Lane then, a bit further along, right into Pygon's Hill Lane.
Along here we saw our first Dandelions of 2015...

...and some crocus...

Continuing along Pygon's Hill Lane, ignoring Sudell Lane on the right, until we reached the Leeds Liverpool Canal.
The steps down onto the footpath are on the left-hand side of the road.
We descended the steps onto the Tow-path and turned left under Bridge 19...

Bridge 19

We stayed on the Tow-path until we reached The Ship Inn passing a Swing Bridge...

...a family group heading for the winding-hole; they passed the pub, on their return journey, while we were eating...

... another Swing Bridge, which in its current state I doubt would work...

...and The Pride of Sefton 2, a short-boat...

When we reached The Ship Inn, we left the Tow-path, crossing the grassy area with picnic-benches into the car-park. 
From here we went into The Ship Inn for lunch and a pint or two.

After our Wednesday Pub Lunch we went back out through the car-park onto Rosemary Lane. 
We continued until we reached the A5147, Wanishar Lane, where we turned left continuing to the Bus Stop.

At the time of writing this, the 300 Bus leaves this bus stop at...

• 20min or 
• 50min 

...past each hour.
Another enjoyable walk which, as it follows the canal, is fairly level.