Burscough, trips to Southport etc

We stayed moored at Burscough Bridge for the week & used public transport to do things, trying to avoid the weather.

We use our bow thruster to let us reverse to/from water points. When
we tried this in Burscough it didn't work well at all, fortunately using the
boat hook I was able to pull this canvas bag out!! It works fine again now.

On an iffy day of weather on Monday we took the train to Southport. Carol decided we urgently needed some new pillows & Dunelm sells them in the town. Before we caught the train I managed to perplex the ticket staff when organising our tickets for next week going to Chichester & then back with a stop off in Leicester for a friend’s 70^th. We have a problem with trains from here as Carol can’t abide using Virgin Pendolino trains as they make her feel queezy. I spent ages on-line fiddling routes to avoid them whilst getting the best deal but even so I occupied one of the station staff for well over half an hour, but even so we managed to get one ticket going the wrong way on the wrong day!!! All sorted and 9.37 Monday we are away.

In Southport it was wet at times, poor visibility, but going to the cinema using free tickets kept us in the dry! Ice Age 4 was hardly brain stretching but was enjoyable.


My cousin who hosts our stored clothes called in for a bite of lunch and a natter on Tuesday as she drove to stay with a friend at Lytham St Annes to watch the Open Championship. 

A "Gormley" looks towards Ireland as another
appears out of the waves.

Telephoto foreshortens the distance to Liverpool.
It was about 13.30 by the Liver Building clock

On Wednesday we decided to get to see Gormley’s men in the sea at Crosby but training it to Soputhport & then to Crosby station. As we wandered to the sea it decided to drizzle a bit more and then the sun joined the wind in welcoming us to the beach. We loved seeing them, especially with sun shining on them, though the wind added sand to our sandwich!

Carol thought at first modesty was required

There were many large jellyfish left by the tide.

Back to Southport and using Orange Wednesdays we saw the new Spider Man film, again enjoyable. It would have been more sensible to have gone to Crosby Beach from Liverpool, bear this in mind if you want to see these statues.

Eventually Carol though he needed a hug!

When we came out of the cinema, having enjoyed the film, we were able to see Blackpool, but were not able to see the sea at Southport, it goes out a very long way.

Blackpool viewed from Southport Pier

The sea is somewhere out there but I wasn't prepared to walk to it.

Thursday was a gardening day for Carol as Carol rearranged her troughs whilst I scrubbed the roof clean with no obstacles on it. It didn’t seem to be hard work but my back has been giving me gyp ever since!

The toms are growing well but in other
years we have already been picking them

The chilli looks healthy now but no fruit to be seen

The replanted planters, the pansies had shot their bolt

On Friday we took the train again, but this time to Wilmslow as we had been invited to supper with friends with an overnight stay. Again working out the most cost effective route took some doing, whilst avoiding tilting trains. We had a lovely time, meeting someone who joined the supper that I hadn’t seen for nearly 30 years, but who is now also a boater, & who is married to a chap for whom someone we know from Debdale used to work. Amazing these coincidences.

This old barge delivers fuels to boats in the Burscough area