Crooke to Lathom Junction

Hmm. It rained today. Quite a lot.

We cycled along a track through a field to church in Shevington this morning in the dry, although it was raining by the time we came back. We had Sunday lunch in the Crooke Hall Inn, then hung around a bit waiting for the rain to ease before setting off towards Liverpool.

Dean Lock came soon; there was a boat, Rosina May, on the lock landing with the crew filling the lock. I hung back but eventually came in to the side as they were having difficulty opening the gate. On my way to give assistance I managed to wind down a bottom gate paddle a fraction, then with my additional weight on the balance beam we managed to force the gate open.

Progress after this was relatively smooth, but the rain it did fall. We encountered the first of what will be many swing bridges. The first was an easy manual one; the next two were electrically operated.

We stopped at Lathom Junction where the (currently closed) Rufford Branch joins the main line. It stopped raining as soon as we stopped, so after tea we walked down the Rufford Branch to see what we could of the reason for the closure. A temporary fence barred our way after the fourth lock down; the pound was low but not empty.

Something I forgot to say yesterday: the train we caught from Wigan North Western to Blackpool North was packed. I haven't been on such a crowded train for a long time. We had to stand until Preston.