Beautiful Lancashire

[Mathos]

The weather has been quite nice,
we had planned on taking a trip to
The Lakes and going on the fancy
miniature railroad through the
mountains and down to the coast.

However, Flobo, has been quite bad with a
'chest infection' following a heavy cold,
this morning she wasn't looking very well at all.




Phoned The Surgery and explained
the sequence of events, they were
a Little concerned it might be
'Swine Flu' but we certainly didn't think so.

Bit dull, but still nice.




Fetch her in for 10.20 and one of the Dr's will see her.

So we made our way to the surgery.

Should have taken my camera.
it's all been refurbished and looked really flash.





There's a fancy electronic panel which you go to first of all.

You have to spray your hands initially with a fancy liquid.

Press buttons, for your sex and date of birth,
it confirms the appointment time,
which Doctor or Nurse you are seeing,
how long you will have to wait and
then request you take a seat,
after spraying the hands with the
supplied anti-bacterial liquid, again.

Doctor checked her out, gave a bit of a
brief cough and;

"'Haven't you stopped smoking yet Flobo?"

Oh Well. Bad infection on the lungs.
Seven day course of anti-biotic tablets,
3 x 500 mg of amoxicillin daily.

She wasn't up to a drive to the Lakes and train journey.

Fancied a short drive and then back home to rest up.

So I thought the coast, only 20 miles across the road,
and a walk in the fresh sea air would perhaps be good for her.



She loved every minute, even though she felt really grotty.

[Mathos]

We stopped at Fairhaven Lake, Lytham St Anne's.




Top corner of the Lake, we walked right round it.

Not an easy task for Flobo, but she wanted to do it.



It's a nice walk, you can look across The Ribble Estuary, toward Hesketh Bank and Southport.

Beautiful.



The grounds around the Lake are really gorgeous.




Plenty of Ducks, Swans,
Gulls and various Water fowl
on the lake and surrounding lands.




Half way down the lake and looking across
towards the small Bistro and shops on
the other side.

Come on Flobo, I'll buy you a coffee, if you make it there.

Nice place it was as well.

[Mathos]

A really nice place.



Clean and very inviting.



Nicely designed, served great coffee.

They had a very nice menu, but it was only about noon,
we weren't ready to eat.

Next time perhaps.

I have a few more nice photographs
from around The Lake to put up another time.


It's a very affluent area, Lytham St Anne's.



Some outstanding homes in the area.

[Mathos]

The walk around the Lake,
including 10 minutes for the coffee,
took about 45 minutes.


We decided to have lunch out, then make our way home.


We remembered calling to The Shard Riverside at Hambleton
a couple of months or so back (great place, but it was closed)
it was being refurbished.

It's nestled neatly on the River Wyre.

Only about 12 or maybe 15 miles from Lytham as well.

We drove through Blackpool.

The work there is coming on great.

Talk about spending millions.


We must do a special trip there, after the season ends,
take some photographs of the re-development projects,
sea wall and front.

It was busy with holiday makers today.

Very busy.



Nice view here towards the Shard Bridge from the Hotel Car Park.


We had a really nice lunch.

(Photographs and more detail next visit)



They have really made a brilliant job of the re-furbishment.

Top class.




Clean, very fresh, airy.

It not only looked great, it felt superb.



We will certainly be going back there for
an evening meal and a nights stay over.

Very much the place to be.

Nice link here as well.


Shard Riverside Inn, Old Bridge Road, Hambleton, Poulton-le-Fylde ...
Leave M55 at jct 3 (A585 direction Fleetwood). Turn right at the sign for Hambleton. You are now on Shard Bridge. Take the next right onto Old Bridge Lane. ...
Shard Riverside Inn, Old Bridge Road, Hambleton, Poulton-le-Fylde presented by A1 Tourism - Cached - Similar

You might find the local map here interesting.

[luckyhands]

really nnice pics there mate i live in blackpool and visit all over lancashire due to my work but those pics are of some of this fantastic country side we dont get too see keep up the good work

[patsycat]

Hope Flobo feels better soon...

[bsnub]

Why do you ever leave such beauty?

[Mathos]

Originally Posted by luckyhands

really nnice pics there mate i live in blackpool and visit all over lancashire due to my work but those pics are of some of this fantastic country side we dont get too see keep up the good work

Cheers Luckyhands, welcome to TeakDoor, I note you are a new member.


We do indeed have some really beautiful countryside.



A view of the approach from the beach at Pilling towards Morecambe Bay.

What a fantastic place, the wildlife, especially the visiting birds here is amazing.


Not forgetting of course, Blackpool Front.



I rather think the redevelopment here is going to take Blackpool to an extremely high level during the next ten years or so.

It's obvious a great deal of thought and careful planning is involved with this present development and general upgrading of everything.


It has to be very good for the area in general.

And again, a short drive from the resort, we find places like this:-





Isn't it amazing, and so nice to see how people make the commitment to carry out such wonderful developments with specimen buildings of this nature.

Thanks for your interest Lucky.

Appreciated.

[Mathos]

Originally Posted by patsycat

Hope Flobo feels better soon...

Appreciated Patsy..


Thanks

x x

[Mathos]

Originally Posted by bsnub

Why do you ever leave such beauty?

I rather value the question Snub.

Man is blessed with a natural tendency to
seek out and conquer whatever he finds across the horizon.

It's evolution, survival.


'Out of Africa' no doubt being a prime example
of the somewhat natural nomadic inherent attribute
applicable to our species.

As we round one bend in the road, cross each mountain,
sail each ocean, in our search for knowledge.

He still has to desire what comes next.

Hence our present delving into the heavens.

We need to know the secrets of space.

Man is quite malicious in his mannerism,
expressing with total impunity his total
actions of wanton destruction including
death in his quest for knowledge,
power and supremacy.

Far be it from me to sit on the side-lines
ignoring the historical events of
man's tsunami like determined and forceful aggression
throughout the ages.

'Might is Right'

Now, and now being the very recent present indeed,
I can quite honestly look at my days of searching
and travel knowing deep within my body and soul
that my desire to leave these shores is no longer manifest at all.

There is a gratitude to the powers of natural existence
that I thank the realisations only too well.

Knowing, that I belong here.

Nature has a way of doing that.






All of this from fire, earth, wind and water.


Amazing.

[Mathos]

A little more here from Fairhaven.




Really nice place.





That's the famous 'White Church' in the background.


The White Church

white church , weddings, united reformed, lytham st annes, lancashire, fairhaven, ansdell, rev david phillips, oliver cromwell, protestant, listed building, ...
thewhitechurch.moonfruit.com/ - Cached - Similar




This link is well worth a click,
sometimes the page takes a few seconds to load,
but well worth the wait.




A little more information from the Fairhaven Café.

Really nice place.



It's great to see folk of all ages enjoying themselves in such peaceful and attractive surroundings.

[Mathos]

Back to The Shard Hotel.



It's blessed with a really nice setting on the banks of The Wyre.


Flobo not feeling really hungry (due to being off colour ) settled for a simple
Fish and Chips with mushy peas.



She really enjoyed the fish and peas,
but as her appetite was well below par
she left most of the chips.



She said the fish was beautiful.


I went for the Butterflied Chicken breast,
layers of fresh tasty sage and sun blushed tomato's,
a large piece of Lakeland Cured Ham over the top.

This was then dressed in a vary tasty buffalo mozzarella,
additional creamed leaks and some local new potato's.





It was absolutely gorgeous.


We had a nice pot of tea each to finish the meal with.

Nice.

[Mathos]

The present bridge replaced the really
old toll bridge in the 1970's.

If my memory serves me right.




I did quite a comprehensive write up
on the same with links, some time last year.

The menu was quite good all round and I asked for a copy.

No problem and they gave me a full menu plus the days special.



I know from past comments that several readers
enjoy the menu's I place on here.



Wine list too.



A nice selection.

Couldn't help but notice and over hear other
Diners mentioning how good their meal were either.




I'm getting hungry looking at this little lot.







The 'Old-Girl' on the horse looked liked
she was intent on enjoying herself too.

Simple and beneficial.

[Mathos]

Taking note of the sands at Pilling and Preesall,
the coastal defences are being improved all around
the coast of the UK from what we have noticed
on our travels this last twelve months or so.




They'd left a narrow strip for access to the sands though.


Good job, or 'The Old Lass' would have been confined
to the by ways and highways.



It's a beautiful bay, the wild life on this
internationally important site is well respected.

As the sign says:-

'Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.'



It's worth putting this photograph to full screen size,
there is some very interesting reading on the same.



The farm land in this area is also superb.

Magnificent soil.

I've noticed, we appear to have capped our
food production in the UK these last few years,
yet land is being well prepared as if in preperation
for a major upsurge in growth.


Similar to our oil and gas supplied which are
all basically capped.

Maybe they know something we don't.


Well. It's their job to.



Look at the size of that small section of crop.




Most readers will be aware of how dangerous
Morecambe Bay can be.

The Chinese 'Cockler's who became
trapped and drowned here a few years ago,
are of course a prime example of the dangers.



BBC NEWS | UK | England | Lancashire | Tide kills 18 cockle pickers
6 Feb 2004 ... Bags of cockles on Morecambe beach as the search mission goes on ... cocklers - thought to be Chinese who do not speak English - were caught ...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/.../3464203.stm - Cached - Similar

Interesting video with the link as well.

[Mathos]

The country lanes in the locality are super.




It's a special kind of beauty.



Flobo was 'chuffed' to see the young Shetland Ponies.



They are a beautiful animal.



Some nice photographs as well,
the whole area was attractive.




An exceptionally nice location for the ponies and horses in general.

Peaceful.




Home, home. on the range.


It's very special.


This next photograph.

I thought what an amazing scene it was,
how brilliant it would be to be able to paint such a landscape.





If that was a painting on a wall..


Somebody would steal it.

[Mathos]

It's pleasing to the eye, noticing bits and pieces folk do about the various towns simply to brighten things up or bring a smile into existence.





There was a full scale 'Bill and Ben' sat on a
park bench across the road from this,
but the lights changed and we had to move on,
no convenient stopping place either to take a photograph.

Another time maybe.


In Lyhtam, they had a Ribble Discovery Centre,
provided by the RSPB (Royal Society for Bird Protection)
which had some very interesting information with regards
to future walks along the estuary plus various informative
tours.


They cover quite a range of topics with regards to the Estuary,
Sand Dunes, Binocular and optic use,
bird life, wild life and general restoration projects
for the future of the same,
along with the wild life and bird life habitats.





All interesting, if of course you have a leaning towards the same.



Quite surprising just how much is going on
along with how much interest is generally
given to these subjects.

[Mathos]

There is a tendency in younger years,
to simply move from A to B in the fastest possible time.


Since writing up and tasking the photographs and generally looking for different bits and pieces, we are quite amazed at the interesting levels of wild life in The UK.



You never really know what is in the bushes or around the next corner.



We have some fantastic photographs of wild life,
deer and otters, plus other on the Highlands
thread I started earlier in the year.



Quite a bit of interesting information on these sheets as well.




I like the fox.




We have seen a lot of Badgers this year as well.

Plus, stoats, weasels and a couple of pole cats.


Some amazing deer, especially in Scotland.



To say nothing of the scenery.



Sheer beauty.



Very special.




I'm getting carried away here.

It's special though.

[Propagator]

Originally Posted by Mathos

You never really know what is in the bushes

Very true

But I would quite happily shoot all the bloody rabbits that are around. Digging up all me nicely laid plants or else having to erect netting round em to keep the buggers out. (rant over)

Hmmm - could just fancy a nice rabbit stew.

[Mathos]

Originally Posted by Propagator

Very true

But I would quite happily shoot all the bloody rabbits that are around. Digging up all me nicely laid plants or else having to erect netting round em to keep the buggers out. (rant over)

Hmmm - could just fancy a nice rabbit stew.

Hi Props,

'Rabbit Stew' that takes me back in time.
They used to be a regular sight when I was a kid
just after the war as well.
Hung up skinned, in or even outside the butchers in those days.

Tasty meat it was.

Then myxamotosis was introduced to Britain and Australia,
if my memory serves me right.

It was a highly infectious disease purposely
given to the rabbit population in both countries
to reduce the numbers.

More likely to stop the poaching and get folk into
the habit of buying lamb, beef, pork,
chicken etc from the butchers,
when rationing was kicked into touch.

Mention eating rabbit to the kids nowadays and it's
a no no no.

[Loy Toy]

What I would do to have this sitting right in front of me at the moment mate. I love mushy peas and that fish looks the goods! Tell Flobo you both are ruining my diet as after every time I open this thread I am off to the kitchen to rustle up some grub for myself.



Gotta be one of the best threads I have ever enjoyed on any forum.

Thanks again for your efforts.