My walking had really fallen off as of late. Countryside (real, off-road stuff) has been a no-go all year for reasons I really can’t justify, the unfulfilling slip and slide in January at Anglezarke really seems to have acted as a deterrent and as such I appear to have reverted to road walking in Southport. However, since 3/4 of the way through November, even this had subsided. It was time to do something about that!

So off I popped on to the route at 12:00. I was trying to time it so that as I was returning I would get to see the multitude of Christmas lights which adorn our estate – which would look better after sunset, this was forecast to be at 15:45. The first leg of the route would be to head into Kew Woods, cross Bentham’s Way (which is now playing host to roadworks / temporary traffic lights), then the tarmac path leading past the horses (and donkeys) paddock to Warwick Street then to chicane my way on to Cemetery Road. I went straight on through the traffic lights onto Crescent Road which in time becomes Grosvenor Road – and the houses get bigger and (it has to be said) posher! Eventually I reached the crossroads and which I turned left and headed up (YES, you read that right, UP – in Southport!) Waterloo Road / the A565. It struck me as quaint that the streets had a definite Nelson feel to their names (Trafalgar, Waterloo…I’m not sure who Grosvenor was, but I do like his street).

 

 

Effectively this was now the second leg of the walk, from Birkdale to Ainsdale. I first past the enormous and impressive mansions atop the Birkdale climb just before reaching Hillside proper – although to be honest this must surely be snobbery naming at its finest as there is nowhere more qualified to be known as “hillside” than the hill itself, but oh well if the authorities want to dissect the locale as opposed to have the name envelop the entire hill then who am I to counter this decision by throwing common sense at it? Let the naming of the area not detract from its beauty, much of this scenery has been affected into existence via the hand of man, the almighty simply set out the raw materials! I should return to the summit of hillside, as to me – it’s a largely unexplored location and a majestic setting. This was now the long downhill (not falling down Pendle-type downhill but certainly progression was aided by gravity) section which would terminate in the joining of the two a-roads at our weirdly shaped roundabout adjacent to Carr Lane. Sticking with my unofficial role of commenter of place names, I have to say I adore the name “Windy Harbour Road” – given that there is no harbour and most places in this town are in fact somewhat “Windy” for most of the year. Oddly enough and given that we had just experience Storm Darragh at the weekend, the wind was conspicuous in its absence, and I welcomed this ironic twist! The traffic noise had now gone into full crescendo – it was truly awful and somehow always seems to subconsciously force me to walk so much faster. By the time I reached the cemetery which spans the road, I was pretty much hyperventilating! Ten more sonically stressed minutes and I was at the roundabout from where I headed off onto Station Road and a quieter stretch.

It’s hyperbole to declare that I’m never not going to state I love Ainsdale, but I do. Living here would be a dream come true for me, it’s like a village with its big boy’s pants on with designs on being a township. Oh sure the railway bridge was down, it generally is whenever I hit this location, but for a change I opted to take the bridge (it’s not much bigger than a gantry in reality) and my knees seemed to really thank me when I descended the other side! I was thirsty by now and had promised myself after my last time in the area that I would call in at “The Spitfire” which was now only around fifteen minutes away. Even though still within the realm of “broad daylight” it was noteworthy that the moon was visible, indicating a clear sky in its upper levels. The bloody pub was closed, imagine my dismay! Worse still, Mr Rain kept trying to have a say in the day’s proceedings, I’d packed wisely and often ransacked my bag for my cap, if the weather really took a turn for the cold I was equipped with a woolly hat as well as the scarf I had been wearing all day and the gloves which I’d worn for the first twenty minutes of the walk and promptly removed when my hands started to feel a bit clammy! I just wasn’t prepared for the pub being shut and as such had a bit of dehydration with which to contend.

But as I turned onto Segars Lane, I didn’t want to cut short the walk (unlike the last time I was in the area) and I was curious as to where I’d end up if I took one of a handful of turnings with Royal sounding names (George, Elizabeth, Mary, Phillip, Charles and Ann), I figured they would arc from and back on to the road and that they might offer some lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

I looped back onto what was now Heathfield Road. The overall impression when driving this road is that of a very straight (somewhat boring) slog. On the ground it’s a lot more curvaceous than that! The meanderer of the title could well be this road which snakes its way from Ainsdale  through Birkdale and terminates at Carr Lane only for the equally bendy Guilford Road to take up the reins and escort us to Moss Road on the outskirts of Halsall. Much of what Moss Road has to offer is blighted by the narrow road and footpath – there are decent views to be had but always one has to be wary of traffic flying on by and the chance of injury or being splattered in mud, in short, this road has been ruined, perhaps it will be repaired when the heavy traffic going to and from our housing development has finally abated, you’d hope so. The final stretch featured some lovely views across Birkdale Cop as the dusk arrived.

 

I’d wanted to get back as the Christmas lights were coming on, I think I should have probably added another half an hour to get the full high-contrast effect but then I can get this any ‘evening’ of the week. I arrived home around twenty minutes short of the four hours I’d estimated, with aching limbs and a raging thirst but this had been a wonderful return to Southport walking and I eagerly anticipate the next one – maybe New Lane and The Moss.