Returning Home from Morecambe

Grange Over Sands Across Morecambe Bay

Today we decided to have breakfast at Wetherspoons. Weatherspoons breakfasts are great value and filling, with unlimited coffee. My wife’s diet (the Keto Diet) restricts what she can eat, basically no carbohydrates. Because of this, she couldn’t eat some items that came with the breakfast; they were happy to swap them, which was good. I had the usual big fry-up.

On the way home, I wanted to visit Glasson Dock. It’s on the River Lune south of Heysham and Overton. It’s connected to the canal system by the Glasson Branch of the Lancaster Canal.

The lock at Glasson Dock

It’s an interesting place. I had a quick walk around while my wife sat in the car. I took some photos of the docks, but the sun’s position made the marina hard to photograph. Because I was with Polly, I only had time for a quick look. I need to come back on my own for a closer look. Basically, today’s visit was more of a sussing-out visit.

It looks like there is an interesting walk around the marina; on either side of Glasson there are salt marshes. There are some interesting old buildings, a lighthouse and the Harbour House. The area needs a couple of hours for a decent look around. Preferably on a warm sunny day so I can rest my legs now and then, while reading an interesting book. You can get there by bus from Lancaster.

While I was walking around, Polly realised she’d left her Kindle at the hotel, so it was back to Morecambe to retrieve it. Then back to the motorway for the drive home.

The Bank Top Tap, Bolton

We called in at the Bank Top Tap for a break and refreshments. It’s a pub, a few miles north of Bolton, just off the A58 in Astley Bridge, close to the M61. From the map, it looked like an easy place to get to. In practice it wasn’t; the A58 is very poorly signposted. We ended up going via the town centre.

It’s a pleasant pub with excellent prices, selling a large selection of their beers. It’s the sort of pub we would happily use as a local.

After some drinks, we continued the drive home.

A Return

We’d both like to return to Lancaster, especially for a session in the Gregson. So far, we’ve only scratched the surface of the city; there’s a lot more to see. It would be nice to stay in Lancaster, but it can be cheaper to stay at the Morecambe Travelodge and bus it in.

There are some interesting places on the Cumbrian side of Morecambe Bay. Places easily accessed by train.

I also need to come back myself; there are lots of photo opportunities in the area.

The Drive

The drive there was OK, no issues.

The drive back was a nightmare. Going back to Morecambe, it took just over 40 minutes to cover a quarter mile on the Lancaster ring road. The ring road is a dual carriageway circling the city. Today, one of its lanes was closed for roadworks. Causing complete and utter chaos.

Getting to the Bank Top Tap was also problematic. There are few signposts on the A58; we ended up in the centre of Bolton. Heavy traffic and roadworks really slowed us down. Getting back to the M61 was difficult due to the complete lack of signposts. Basically, I had to guess the way.

In places, the M60 was busy, especially when joining it

The drive home made me realise how much I hate driving.

The train would have been much more fun.

We had planned to visit Bolton Market, but because of the traffic, we decided not to.