One hot Tuesday afternoon…

Tuesday 16th August 2016. It was a hot, sunny day and we don’t get many of these in the north. I finished work a bit early and met my husband in his hometown of Garstang. There was another reason why this day was a special one… it was my father-in-laws birthday. It would have been his 79th birthday and there was no other way to celebrate his birthday then trekking his beloved Nicky Nook in his memory. He loved this route and I can always remember he treated it more like an evening stroll rather then a sweaty 10km trek up and down the 215 metre high hill.

And we are off…

 

We set off from my husband’s family house so we did not follow the recommended route at his stage. The walk was going to take around 2hrs 40min so we packed plenty of water and some snacks. We pressed “go” on our Fitbits and off we went… It was the first time I had done this walk with my husband and it was like going down a memory lane for him. He obviously walked this route with his dad a few times but he also spent his childhood playing round the river and Scorton area. So there was a lot of “this is where I broke my arm while swinging across the river”, “this was where my geography teacher lived”, *this house was the last one on my milk round…”

The walk

It started very steady. The route we took takes you along the river and some corn fields and is well signposted. When we crossed the motorway, we followed a shaded track along another stream that takes you up to the Grizedale Reservoir. Well, this was where the fun began and where the steps and the incline started.

The ascend up Nicky Nook takes around 10-15 min but this is mainly because you keep turning round to look at the beautiful views over the reservoir and further afield. The steps take you past vibrantly purple heather and some grazing rams staring at you as you go past.

The summit gives you amazing views of Bolton to the left,  Preston, Blackpool with its Tower and Morecambe Bay to the right. We were lucky as the visibility was great on the day of our walk.

What goes up must come down

The route back takes you down to Scorton where you can have a well deserved lunch or icecream either in The Barn or The Priory. This is where the walk usually ends but we had another 2 miles to walk back to Garstang. We followed the Millennium Way footpath that links Scorton with Garstang and takes you along the river where you can even spot herons.

This was a great walk, not too strenuous and one that the whole family can do together. For us it was a walk to celebrate father in law’s birthday, a walk down memory lane for my husband, a great workout for both of us and another trek training session for me.

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