 | Eunice Oct 1 |
Quite surprisingly, in spite of spending the night in the van alone in a strange place, I'd slept soundly all the way through and woke to early morning sunshine and the promise of another lovely day, and looking across the estuary I could see that the tide was in. A quick comfort break for the dogs, toast and a mug of tea for breakfast and I was ready for the first walk of the day, the reverse of the previous day's walk but with a slight variation which would bypass the village instead of going through it and past the marina. 
Looking south westwards from the top of the lane where I was parked I could see Cockersand Abbey with Blackpool Tower in the distance around twenty miles away. The original Cockersand Abbey was founded in 1180 as the Hospital of St. Mary-on-the-Marsh then was refounded as a Premonstratensian priory in 1190, and though it continued as a hospital it was elevated to abbey status in 1192. It was the third richest abbey in Lancashire when it was dissolved in 1539, then in 1544 the building and surrounding land were acquired by a John Kitchen, subsequently passing into the Dalton family in 1556 when Robert Dalton married Ann Kitchen, John's daughter. While some scrappy remains of the abbey still stand to this day the Grade l vaulted octagonal Chapter House is the only significant relic still intact. Built around 1230 and eventually used as a family mausoleum by the Daltons during the 18th and 19th centuries it's now classified as a scheduled ancient monument and opened to the public on special occasions such as Heritage Open Days. 
Heading along the road towards the canal I saw a sign on a gate for 'alpaca experiences' at a nearby farm and in the adjacent field four woolly creatures with cute faces were looking inquisitively at me from behind a fence. It was only when I looked at the photo on my pc later on that I realised there was a hare loping along in the background - it can just be seen in the centre right of the shot. 
Along the road towards Conder Green the high tide had filled all the creeks and channels of the saltmarsh and boats which I'd seen beached on the mudbanks the previous day were now floating gently at the end of their mooring ropes, although there was one boat which had obviously seen better days as it was partially submerged in the River Conder. The Stork pub was looking very attractive as it was now in full sunshine, and walking along the estuary footpath/cycleway I spotted a heron at the water's edge.             Back in the village the Lock Keeper's Rest was open and there was already quite a gathering of bikers enjoying breakfast in the sunshine. Crossing the green near the dock I stopped to photograph the picture boards outside the shop then my thoughts turned to treating myself later on to lunch at the Dalton Arms - that was until I saw the not-exactly-cheap menu outside. The prices were ridiculous so that idea was soon dismissed - if I really wanted something later it would be cheap and cheerful down at the Lock Keeper's Rest.        Back at the van I made another brew and contemplated what to do with the rest of the day. Glasson may be a nice little place with lovely scenery but 'little' is the operative word - it's very small, and there's only so many photos I can take and canal walks I can do without repeating myself so I got the last few shots from the end of the lay-by then took myself off to the big car boot sale at St. Michael's, a 20-minute drive away.    With the weather being so nice the car boot was packed with both sellers and bargain hunters but in spite of there being so many stalls I didn't see anything I really wanted to buy so I treated myself to a double 99 from the ice cream van then drove a short distance back along the road to Guy's Thatched Hamlet at the side of the Lancaster Canal. It's a quaint and quirky little place which I've been to a few times in recent years and you can read about its history here.   Having parked in the hamlet itself I walked up onto the lane and crossed the bridge to the main A6 road. A little way along was Old Duncombe House, a cottage-style B&B in what is believed to be a building dating back to the 16th century, and with its white walls, hanging baskets and colourful planters it looked very attractive in the sunshine. Walking up as far as the short lane to the next bridge I crossed back over the canal and headed along the towpath back to Guy's, then even though it was still only the middle of the afternoon I decided to head back home from there.       As far as completely off-grid camping experiences go my overnight stay at Glasson Dock had been a good one and in spite of being on my own in a very quiet location I hadn't felt apprehensive or unsafe at all. Since that weekend I've found details of a circular walk which takes in Cockersand Abbey, a place I'd like to take a proper look at, so maybe next summer I'll return to Glasson for another overnight stay - it's certainly something to think about. |
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