Friday 25 May 2007

Early Spring Walk from Freckleton to St. Annes

Early this Spring, before the Ribble banks erupted in all their Spring glory, we walked from Freckleton to St. Annes, along the North West Coastal Path at Freckleton Naze, on a cool but beautifully-sunny March morning...



Before we set off, the Ribble from Penwortham Old Bridge in the early morning sunshine: the tide is going out so the marshes and mudflats out at Freckleton and St. Anne's should be exposed, showing off the Ribble's intertidal landscape at its best, and therefore hopefully we should get good views of the wading birds too...

We park at The Ship at Freckleton (we WOULD have considered walking all the way from Penwortham if we'd had the time but needed to be back to pick up the children from school) then we walk through to the path which runs alongside Freckleton Pool.
This path is part of the new North West Coastal Path, which itself will form a part of the huge network of interconnecting paths and cycleways which will eventually form a fantastic way to experience the newly-launched Ribble Estuary Regional Park: the Ribble Coast & Wetlands.


The North West Coastal Path around Freckleton Pool is a fabulous place to walk, even when the hedgerows are still in their Winter aspect. It's actually quite useful coming along here in the Winter months as you can see through the hedges across the landscape, and through to Freckleton Pool itself.


Catkins wave gently in the early Spring breeze...


Spring blossom is out in the hedgerows...



Freckleton Pool at low tide, glimpsed through the hedgerows as we pass - and shielding us from the birds there so we get to see quite a few, feeding on the Freckleton mudflats.


Boats at Freckleton Pool. This is one of the busiest boating areas on the Ribble.


Farming and nature conservation go hand in hand along the Ribble...

As we get out to Freckleton Naze, it's well worth spending a few minutes making good use of the higher vantage point at the end of the Freckleton Pool section of the path before walking down to river level.

The views across the Ribble to the Douglas (or Asland) from the top of Freckleton Naze are fantastic. The sun is incredibly bright, and glints on the water flowing down the Douglas in the distance. There is a seat here too - but we'll save that for the walk back - we've barely started and it's quite a walk to St. Annes...

We walk down the gentle slope to the riverside marsh beneath. It's very boggy going at times, and walking out onto the riverside mudflats themselves is not recommended - especially so soon after the tide has receded! We stick to the marsh grasses, and set off...


Muddy is raring to go. The riverside marshes and grasses along the Ribble at Freckleton are beautiful. The sun reflects in the standing water on the marsh right to the River's edge, marking a still-mirror contrast with the sparkling of the moving river water flowing down to the sea.


The Ribble mudflats at the confluence with the Douglas are teeming with all kinds of bird life, and their beautiful calls echo out across the landscape as they feed on the Ribble mudflats of low tide.


The Douglas (Asland) joins the Ribble, and they travel the rest of the way to the Irish Sea together.


The receding tide leaves silt-rich pools on the marsh.


Unconcerned Shelduck watch us pass...


A Peacock Butterfly and a Ladybird sunning themselves on the flotsam on Freckleton Naze.


Reigh Belisama is an ancient name for the Ribble - it means the Goddess of Shining Waters, and it is clear why! Our eyes are streaming against the glare - who would have remembered to pack sunglasses in March?


A Ribble shipping legacy: the remains of old boats are evident alongside the long canalised section of the river.



This can be an eerie landscape, huge tree corpses are left delicately balanced on the marsh where the Ribble's spate waters and tidal range have left them.

Eventually we get to St. Annes, and walk alongside the vast intertidal saltmarshes, mudflats, and sandflats here...


Ribble intertidal mudflats and saltmarsh and inhabitants...


So many wading birds are everywhere you look.


A Turnstone is right by the path... totally unconcerned about our presence.

The sun shining on the vast expanse of wet mudflats and sandflats creates an incredible glare, and it is difficult to look towards the mouth of the Estuary.
Apart from the difficulty of walking towards the sun, we decide to turn back anyway as it's a good walk back, and the poor old dog is already dragging her back legs a bit (she is getting on a bit and has had 2 strokes recently, and these days her back toenails occasionally drag on the ground when she's tired, letting us know she's had enough!)

The walk back involves much less glare...

The Ribble's intertidal wetland is great for wildlife - and great for people.


Back at Freckleton Naze, the Ribble's waters have fully receded, so the birds have been busy feeding on the vast numbers of invertebrates which inhabit this rich intertidal ooze.

Speaking of lunch, we are feeling a bit peckish and this speeds our steps homewards...


Hurry up, an old dog has had enough!


Muddy indeed!


A welcome sight after a long and enjoyable walk! A late lunch at The Ship in Freckleton.

... and still back in time for school!

For more lazy days by the Ribble, see Spring Days on the Riverbank and Two Spring Evenings at Marshside.

You can contact me at savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk

Wednesday 16 May 2007

Spring Days on the Riverbank

The River Ribble and riverside Green Belt in Penwortham and Preston has erupted in all its Spring glory... and we've spent more time down by the river than sitting indoors blogging it!

If you fancy spending a day on the riverbank, see Ribble Events...

From February onwards, when the trees were bare and the scene from Penwortham Old Bridge at low tide was still very wintry, even in the unseasonably warm sunshine...



...and in March the Penwortham riverbank, and meadows and woodlands seen across the sparkling Ribble waters from Avenham and Miller Parks still wore their winter aspect...



... but by April the trees lining the river are definately springing forth, marking much more of a colourful contrast with the huge amount of rich brown silts flowing downriver to feed the Ribble Estuary's mudflats and saltmarsh - and the vast numbers of birds beginning to breed there.



Throughout March and April the buds burst out all along the river and in the woods alongside...



...until the end of April finds the trees suddenly rich with all shades of green, the riverside allotments on Penwortham Holme suddenly shooting leaves and new growth to repay all that hard work (although the hardest work is now beginning!), and football becomes a much more pleasurable activity to both play and support in the warm Spring sunshine (but especially if your team is winning!)




The River Ribble endlessly passes by, and it is a deep pleasure to spend time by the river, every season, every weather, every stage of the tide. Whether low tide, high tide, or somewhere inbetween, the Ribble is ever-changing, depending on the weather, the light, the amount of water running downriver or coming up with the tide, and the amount of silts the Ribble's waters take with them.

Here, it is a very low tide in April, due to the unseasonably low rainfall in early to mid-Spring (which the wet and cold weather appears to be making up for now in May!). The sunlight shines through the waters and shows the beautiful patterns of the riverbed below the Tram Bridge and the lightly flowing silts making their way downstream in the warm Spring sunshine...



... so warm, indeed, that spending time by the river includes messing about on the water - regardless of where the tide happens to be as the Ribble has been navigated for hundreds - indeed thousands - of years, and all without recourse to a barrage. These leisurely anglers are happy to lounge in the beautiful late April sunshine at low tide inbetween Penwortham Holme and Broadgate... probably waiting for the tide to come in and carry them gently back upriver again rather than spend too much energy rowing!



Nothing can beat the sound of the Ribble's waters racing over the stones and rivermud at low tide...



...unless it's coupled with the sounds of the birds singing in the meadows and woodlands alongside as May brings blossom, rich greens of every shade, and the birds in full voice... BLISS....



The Ribble's riverside Green Belt and floodplain areas are a beautiful and irreplaceable habitat for birds, insects, mammals, flowers, trees, grasses, and local people!


There are some fabulous trees along the Ribble, bordering the riverside meadows, and throughout the many copses and woodlands here, not just the famous Elms along the Tram route and along the river's edge through Miller Park, but Beech and Oak, Willow and Plane, Rowan and Poplar...


The famous Elms lining the old Tram route through Penwortham to Lostock Hall.


May brings full Spring growth in Avenham and Penwortham, its full glory reflected in the waters of high tide: the macrocosmic view...

...and the microcosmic...

Bluebells in riverside woodlands in Penwortham...


Ribwort Plantain on the riverbanks...


White Clover...

and Red...


plus...

Forget-me-nots on the Penwortham riverbank...


Red Campion nearby...


...and a Speckled Wood butterfly on an Oak sapling.


The May Blossom on the Hawthorn is as thick as snow...


...and Birds-Foot Trefoil shines out in the meadows.



The lush greenery of the riverside trees is reflected in the still waters of high tide whether near...


...or afar.

Low tide looks equally glorious...


...the light and the Ribble's waters ever-changing...



...showing beauty wherever you look, whether from Penwortham towards the Tram Bridge and Avenham at low tide...



...or from Avenham and Miller Parks towards the Penwortham riverbank as high tide recedes...



...and on the river itself, low tide brings a wealth of wildlife...



...eager to feed in the Ribble's rich mudflats...



...and the evening light reflected in the Ribble's waters has its own beauty - but it's a pity the newly-returned screaming Swifts are way too fast for my camera as they swoop low over the water catching their tiny-winged supper -

- and the returning House Martins scoop beakfuls of riverbed mud at low tide to reconstruct their nests for this Spring's broods under our eaves.



Spring has returned to the Ribble.

And all the while, through all seasons, all weathers, and all tides, an ancient face winks from the Ribble riverbed beneath Penwortham Old Bridge...



Contact savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk