Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
We started off our little tour of the Lune Valley in Halton at the Manor House. Halton was a strange mix of old houses and new houses and council houses reflecting its proximity to Lancaster I suppose. The countryside around was beautiful..... and we soon arrived at the Crook o'Lune a well-known beauty spot in Summer. Because of road works we were then diverted a long way round to Claughton the smallest parish in Lancashire. Along what was clearly an estate road we passed what was the local manor house. Next, to Gressingham and its Church which has quite a lot of interest. I did enjoy.........the roundel at its entrance - the hen harrier of Bowland. The Norman doorway is also impressive with its chevrons and ropework and in fine condition. The stained glass is by Morris and Co. Very unusually all the pews are box pews. Gressingham largely escaped the major Victorian works applied to so many ancient parish churches – but it may have acquired at least some of its box pews from another church which was having them removed as part of a Victorian restoration. The centre set appears to be newer than those along the north and south walls Our next call was to Hornby where we admired the local houses of several eras......... the fine gatehouse at Hornby Castle.... and the castle itself across the River Wenning (a new one on me). The castle is not open to the public, but they do do AirBnB. The parish church is St Margaret of Antioch (not many of those around), and its unusual octagonal tower dates from 1513. It was ordered to be built by Sir Edward Stanley on his safe return from the victory at Flodden. There were several ancient stones in the porch and the original porch door is shown inside the church. A lovely little place was Hornby. Being hungry we made for Kirkby Lonsdale but on the way came across a new Brunning and Price pub The Highway Man where we ate. Good service, the usual quirky interiors including what almost looks like a full library. We parked by the river Lune as we normally do and walked in a long the river. We only managed about half of the intended tour but this certainly gives us a lot to look forward to another time.
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August 2023
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