With sleet forecast for later in the day and muddy conditions everywhere I was surprised but delighted to see that twenty eight of us were prepared to endure the conditions.
We met at St Andrew’s Community Church, many of use taking advantage of a hot drink at the Mums and Toddler Group before setting off. I was the walk leader for this walk (Pete H) and mentioned to the group that I had changed the route slightly to avoid the worst of the mud. Unfortunately the change meant more road walking and a repetition of a section of the walk.
We set off across fields towards Cowley Hall where we joined Cowley Lane. This was the start of a 15min period of road walking and for some reason the usually quiet country lane was a little busier than usual. After passing Cowley Mission we took a footpath on the right leading us into a field that was full of sheep enjoying a good feed. Continuing on we soon joined Barlow Lees Lane leading on to Gateland Lane. Although this path goes all the way to Barlow we turned off after around fifty metres to head for Barlow Lees. At this point we lost (not literally) two of our group who were tempted by the delights on offer at the Hackney House Café (other eateries are also available in Barlow.)
We took the opportunity to have our coffee stop by a slightly down at heal shelter before progressing on to Barlow Lees Farm. The path through the farm took us all the way back to Cowley Lane and from there we re-taced our steps back to Telly Tubby land which effectively marked the end of the walk.
Many thanks to everyone that turned up. The conditions weren’t so bad in the end, although the condition of my boots tells a different story.
