Eleven Stramblers took the train to Aughton Park and walked along Long Lane to Holborne Hill. Here, we crossed the main road and turned through some houses to a path through fields. On reaching a barn we took a path through more open fields with views of Aughton’s Christ Church to our left. We passed a couple of giraffes and a superlambanana before reaching Holly Lane and Gorse Hill Nature Reserve. We cut through a corner of the reserve and took a path to Booth’s Lane where we had difficulty finding another footpath as its signpost was overgrown. This took us to Fir Tree Lane and Clieves Hill. We had a snack break here, with good views towards Southport, the Welsh hills, Seaforth Docks and Liverpool. Refreshed, we continued on Clieves Hill Lane and eventually turned into the drive of a house to reach another footpath with the owner giving us a cheery wave. (I’d have thought we’d gone wrong here! Well done Bob!) The path took us past a large house said to be owned by the impressionist, Jon Culshaw and through fields to Cut Lane. A track then took us past a Marl Pit (pond left after excavating clay) more fields with beautiful cornflower blue flowers. We’d seen more of these flowers earlier and Bob discovered they were linseed crops. We now reached Gorse Hill Nature Reserve and entered on a narrow path with shoulder height vegetation on both sides. After a short open stretch we found ourselves on another narrow path with tall nettles, ferns and brambles attacking us. A narrow, muddy path then led us back to the barn we’d passed at the beginning of the walk. From there we took a wide track back to Holborne Hill with good views of Ormskirk Parish Church and the walk’s end. The group split here, with some going to the café next to Christ Church, some to the pub and some to the station for the train home. The weather had been good – cloudy but warm with only a couple of short spells of light rain.
Thanks to Bob and Shirley for organising, recce-ing and leading the walk.