parkrun Tourism: Fleetwood Promenade #17: 12/2/2022

It has been too long since I updated my blog so I am catching up! Back on the 12th of February I had an early start on a cold, wet day to get to Fleetwood Promenade parkrun. I wasn't sure I had found it at first as I was quite early and not many folks were around!

The course runs along the sea front and is there and back again along the path. As I was there on a wet day I didn't manage to take pics and my video ended up being rubbish... I may have to go back one sunny day!

With having only just got out of my ankle brace I was pleased with the time:

Fleetwood Promenade parkrun

12/02/2022

20

60

34:55

48.59%

The run was my NENDY and filled out that annoying gap on my parkrun map!

#CountryKids at #IronKids Bolton

When the entries opened for IronKids at Bolton this year Pippa at Red Rose Mummy suggested that I sign my kids up as she knows we love to run. It takes place before the full Iron Man triathlon when over 2,000 athletes from 38 countries around the globe will compete in the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. The first male Pro athlete is expected to achieve this in just over 8.5 hours! We travelled to Bolton last night to collect their race packs and meet Fred Dibnah:

After not much sleep in our hotel we were at the start line about 7:45 when the cobbles were wet and the streets were still quite quiet:

My daughter was in the second band of runners from years 7 and 8 who set off in waves on their 1.5 km run. She doesn't run as much as the rest of us and was full of cold but she looked amazing as she floated past us:

#CountryKids A stroll along the Leeds-Liverpool canal by Botany Bay

We had to make a trip to Manchester today (second one in a week!) and on the way back decided to break the journey at Botany Bay off the M61 as its somewhere we have never been:

Not much of a country kids type place you would say... but when we drove into the car park we discovered that this old mill is (and its quite logical really) alongside the Leeds and Liverpool canal:

#CountryKids a day on the Blackpool beach and promenade

One thing we have all missed after moving from Hastings to Kendal 4 years ago is the sea. So it was great to head to the most famous seaside resort in the North West - Blackpool. Its just over an hour away from us which isn't far for a day trip. I obtained parking tips from Twitter (on street near the airport), packed our swimming kit and off we went. It's all so well signposted even without a navigator.

As advised we took a tram as we were almost at the far end of the promenade. It was a reasonable £4.50 for the 3 of us to go all the way to Central Pier. This was my children's first tram ride and it was a nice way to arrive. The children's priority was the beach so we set up base on the steps next to the pier:

As it was mid week the beach was pretty quiet even though it was boiling hot! The tide was on the ebb so there was plenty of sand:

#CountryKids on the Prom at Morecambe

Its been a busy few days sorting out the house after our holiday but we have managed to get out and about a little bit. Yesterday my son was on his first ever outdoor education day so my daughter and I headed to Morecambe. We had won 2 free games at the 10 pin bowling centre so had to go when it was just 2 of us! I also stuck my daughter's bike on the back of the car and donned my running gear so that afterwards we could head to the prom.

Proms are great places for safe cycling and this one is well maintained as part of the national cycle network:

I hadn't run for nearly 3 weeks so it was good to be able to get out with my daughter so she could have fun on her bicycle too:

They are really encouraging people to be out and active there and have put up plenty of signs telling you where you can get to:

On the route we spotted many fabulous things to go back to for a fuller more organised day at the seaside. There are several play areas, a sandy beach and this man made rock pool for crabbing:

There are also plenty of seating areas for when legs get tired from all that cycling!

We ended our round trip on the Stone Jetty which goes a long way out into the bay. It is full of interesting sculptures and games to keep you occupied and intrigued:

Hopscotch

And importantly there is a cafe at the end! All in all a great place for the whole family. The town in a real mix of closed shops and fun activities. I really hope it gets a new lease of life with more people choosing to holiday in the UK.

#CountryKids RSPB Leighton Moss

Today our family drop in group had a mini day out to the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss this is only 30 minutes south of us but we hadn't yet been there as a visit. It's pleasing to know its an affordable day out with adults £5 and children £1 (with 2 adults the children are free!).

We started by watching the birds at the plentiful feeders near the visitor centre. These were birds that between us we could easily recognise: sparrows, blue tits, great tits, pheasants, mallards, chaffinches, bullfinches, robin... There were also quite a few rats enjoying the leftovers!

Then we took a short walk to the first hide. It took the children a bit of getting used to being quiet but they were pretty good (not all other bird watchers appreciated hordes of kids around though!). It was fun for them to pop open the windows to look out and then try and spot birds. Another mum had brought a spy type listening device that was fabulous for picking up bird calls too:

After a while we had to move on as the children had had enough so we headed to the next hide which wasn't too far away. It was interesting walking through the reed beds and seeing things like the bearded tit reed wigwams:

The next hide opened onto a wider stretch of water and a helpful gentleman told us the names of some of the birds we were looking at including Shovelers and Gadwall ducks:

There were plenty of useful pictures and information boards in the hides to help you work out what it was you had seen:

After lunch the rest of the group went home in the minibus but we stayed on for another few hours which enabled us to see the rest of the nature reserve. It was worth walking a couple of miles on a round trip to see the other 2 hides. We also found that people were more laid back about 2 "well behaved" children than hordes of slightly noisy ones:

The path from one side of the moss to the other is hard standing and its a straight forward walk. Its only getting to the Lower Hide that took you onto narrower dirt tracks:

On the way we caught glimpses of the famous Marsh Harriers but nothing I could photograph! This last hide turned out to be the best of the bunch though as we saw species we hadn't seen before such as a Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe as well as the Marsh Harrier plus a herd of red deer. The 3 gentleman in the hide were all very kind in letting the children look through telescopes and telling us where to look. They were of the mind that children had to learn somehow!

Our favourite bird at this hide was the heron who kept posing away and got in close enough for me to take far too many photographs before he flew away:

On our way back my son came running up to me saying he had seen an osprey. Having glimpsed one whilst driving to Whinlatter on Tuesday I was really keen to see one when I could take photographs. Of course birds don't appear to order and with my not super zoom it took a few practice shots to get a final cracker:

We were also lucky to hear the sound of the male bittern calling in the reeds. Such a wonderful place we will have to go back and see what little ones we can spot after all the flirting we saw going on today!

#SurnameSaturday: Spencer

The Spencer surname entered our family with my ancestor with the best name Hannah Honorah Audrey Spencer. She was born in Newton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire in 1886. Her parents were Edward and Martha (nee Barnes).

At the time of her birth her father was in the police force (he would later be sacked for embezzlement - a story I haven't explored yet). Initially he had been a woollen cloth weaver in Guiseley, Yorkshire. He married Martha in Stanningley, Yorkshire in 1871. They moved to Lancashire after the birth of their eldest son Albert Edward in 1873 as all their remaining children were born in Lancashire. It must have been a big decision to move so far away from all their family in Yorkshire but a career in the police force must have been a dream job.

Edward was born in Beggars Bush Barracks, Dublin in 1850. His father Edward was a private in the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot and his mother Catherine Dunne was the daughter of a leather worker Timothy Dunne. They were married in 1848 at St Bridget's Church, Dublin.

Edward senior had been born in Guiseley in 1820 and worked as a woollen cloth weaver in the mills after leaving the army. His was the son of Dennis and Hannah (nee Whittam). Dennis was recorded as being a clothier in 1841.

Dennis had been born in Calverley, Yorkshire in 1794. His parents were Joshua and Hannah (nee Hainsworth). Joshua was born in Calverley in 1762 and married Hannah there in 1783. His father Edward had married Elizabeth Yeward in Calverly in 1762. Edward was another clothier and had been born at Tong, Yorkshire in 1731. He was the son of Jeremy and Sarah (nee Maylor). Their marriage took place in Tong in 1721 and he was another clothier.

So my Spencer connection is firmly rooted in Yorkshire for at least 100 years. The family were heavily involved in the woollen cloth trade and it's only the 2 Edwards in the mid 1800s who broke the mould with careers in the army and police force. The addition of Irish ancestry through Catherine Dunne adds an intriguing twist to the family. After the move to Lancashire the next 2 generations of my family were born there and it was my father who moved away in the 1960s.

#SilentSunday 4th March 2012

#TheGallery: An Inspirational Person

Tara has been inspired by hearing about inspirational mums to ask us who has inspired us. I haven't had a chance to really trawl through the family archives for this one but I'd like to show you all my 2x great grandmother Jane Kellett (nee Dewsbery):

Born in 1861 she was the youngest daughter of Theophilus Dewsbery who ran the Railway Hotel in Skelmersdale, Lancashire. She married at the age of 17 to Mark Kellett in 1879 (possibly due to the fact they had a child on the way!). He was an engine fitter in 1881 but at some point after her father's death in 1880 Jane and Mark took over the Railway Hotel.

In total they had 6 daughters and 1 son. Tragically their only son Mark died in an accident at home at the age of 10. Shortly after this Mark senior died at only 46 leaving Jane with 5 daughters still at home and a hotel to run. This was still an age when women's lib was a long way away and there was no state support.

The bar of the hotel was frequented by miners working in the coal mines nearby. Jane was very strict and would only let them buy a beer if they came in with clean hands and faces. This wasn't a hygiene issue but more a case of making sure they'd been home for a wash first and given their wives some of their pay!

Jane died in 1945 when my dad was too young to remember her. All I have is the memories of my Granny who told me the stories I have put in here. She sounds like an incredible woman doing well against the odds and was truly an inspiration. 

Guest poster required!

In line with the launch of the Facebook group Kendal is in Cumbria, not Lancashire I am looking for someone to write a post about the geographical history of Westmorland, Cumbria and Lancashire! I vaguely know about it all but not enough to write a good post in short time...


So if you are an expert in this area and would like to write a nice simple explanation of how the boundaries have shifted then please drop comment on here so I can arrange for you to do it! Or leave a message on the group wall (you will need to like it first).


Thank you in advance!