Walk Summary
Interesting out-and-bank walk along the banks of the River Lune. Starts with the Lune Aqueduct, the largest masonry aqueduct in Britain. Passes the Halton weirs and rapids. Visits a horseshoe turn in the river known as the Crook O'Lune, so picturesque that Turner painted it.
Date: 18/12/2022
Length: 7.2 miles
Height Gain: 24 m
Terrain: Tarmac trail, stone paths, grass fields (sometimes boggy).
Navigation: Trails and paths are well defined. Signage good. Following the side of the river Lune and so it is difficult to go wrong.
Start: Lune Aqueduct Carpark
Route: Lune Aqueduct Carpark, Lune Aqueduct, Lune Valley riverside trail, Halton, Crook O'Lune, Applehouse Wood, Crook O'Lune, Lune Valley riverside trail, Lune Aqueduct
Map: OL41 Forest Of Bowland And Ribblesdale
Weather: Icy, grey, light rain
Walkers: Nun
Gallery
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Lune Aqueduct
Captain's Log
Dark Side Of The Lune
The weather forecasters warned that we were in for some freezing rain today and so I decided to start my walk from the hotel in Lancaster. There was no rain when I set off, but there was a dreary gloom that persisted all day. My first stop was a 10 minute walk from the hotel, the Lune Aqueduct. It was an impressive structure and carries the Lancaster Canal 16 metres over the River Lune. The canal was frozen solid; unless they were icebreakers, not many barges would be using it today. I walked along the pathway to the middle of the viaduct. I'd planned to walk along the River Lune, but had not decided whether to walk westwards into Lancaster, or eastwards, out of the city. Looking towards Lancaster's centre I could see warehouses, pylons and tower blocks. Looking the other way there seemed the prospect of open country and so I started walking eastwards. I'd not expected the River Lune to be so wide. The flow was quite low near the aqueduct and some of the river had frozen over. I'd assumed that the river running through it would be called Lan, as in Lan Castra (castra being 'camp by...', in Latin).
Graffiti
The path by the river was actually a tarmac single track road. There was too much undergrowth between the path and the river, to get a good view of the river. On the occasional glimpse I got of the river, I could see thin slabs of ice floating down. The first part of the path was a bit uninspiring with an industrial estate being immediately on my right. I could tell I was approaching the M6 by the increasing drone of traffic. Eventually three bridges loomed high before me. Unlike the ornate aqueduct, these bridges were designed purely for function. The concrete pillars and slab embankments were adorned with graffiti. A sign said that CCTV cameras were operating in the area, but it hadn't deterred the spray painters. A lot of it seemed tags and others indicated pissing ground bravado. A large piece warned me that Covid 19 is a scam. Well, that's good to know. I'll start getting all my medical advice from graffiti in future. The best art work was under the M6 bridge and it all suspiciously looked as though it was made by the same artist. I left the bridges behind and, as it happens, the detrius of the city too.
Graffiti Medical Advice
One Of The Better Paintings
Crook Of Lune Bridges
Crook Of Lune
A short while after leaving the bridges I spotted a Kingfisher on a tree's branch, not ten metres away. As I stopped in wonder, it flew off down the trail, flashing a blue so vivid, that no graffiti spray paint could ever match.
Although houses lined the other side of the river, the area had much more of a wild fell about it. At Halton the old railway station had been taken over by Lancaster University and was now used by their boat club. The rowers certainly couldn't row upstream from there since the Lune turned into a series of weirs and natural rapids. It was actually quite impressive and I was surprised that the stretch didn't have a name on the OS map. After this wilder stretch I came to the Crook Of Lune, a horseshoe shaped turn of the river. Within a short distance two bridges cross the river twice, positioned in a pretty wooded gorge. Turner was so impressed, he couldnt resist painting it. You are supposed to be able to see Ingeborough in the far distance, from the second bridge, but it was too misty and gloomy to see that far today though. I had to descend from the second bridge in order to follow the Lune further upstream.
Flood Plain
I felt that I was really out in the country now, with fields lining the river. The area around the river looked very much like a flood plain. At a weir a building that looked to be used by the water company had been built on a column about 10 foot above the river bank. I could see that in the far distance, over the other side of the river, high embankments appeared to protect some houses. Given that the river was flowing a couple of metres down from the river bank, there must be a vast amount of water flowing down the river when it floods. I walked through a wooded section before crossing the river, using a footbridge that also supported some large pipes, from one side to the other.
Tree Gradually Falling Into The Lune
Posing Lune Pigeon
Rainy Return
I started returning downstream and was joined by some light rain. I put my jacket's hood up and walked in my own world of softly pattering rain. There were still plenty of people out on the trail, taking their Sunday walks or runs. Some cyclists had even braved the frequent patches of ice. Near Hatton, I caught up a rambling club, who I'd initially seen on the other side of the river, further upstream. One of them was dressed up as Father Christmas and a couple had Christmas lights flashing around their rucksack. Back at the bridges, there were no Graffiti artists around. Maybe the rain had put them off, or it could have been the World Cup final starting in a couple of hours time. By the time I reached the river side industrial estate the rain was a steady stream and, rather than return by the route of the viaduct, I took a footpath that was a shortcut back to the hotel.
Weather wise it hadn't been the best of days, dominated by gloom and rain. The River Lune though had been a lot prettier than expected. Maybe the next time I'm around here I'll follow the river eastwards into the city. Looking at the map I could even follow the Lancaster canal to Morecambe Bay, that sounds a good option too.