Burscough Village

Plans changed again, and we end up in Burscough, so we never got to Parbold!

As I was getting to the end of last week’s post, it was becoming unclear if we would end up at Parbold as planned. As it happens, we didn’t. We stopped at Burscough and stayed there for the week. Why? Well, with Paul still needing to get to a walk-in-clinic, and my trip to London on Wednesday seemed a better option. Parbold was not much further, but did involve locks and with train cancellations left, right, and centre was becoming challenging.

What’s in Burscough?

Burscough is a bigger village than Parbold, even has two train stations to choose from! This was always going to be a quick stop to fill up with water, empty rubbish, and stock up at the Tesco. It is however, a really nice place to stay for a few days.

We were moored just down from the water point, ///charging.avacado.infringe where we got great solar and excellent internet of 23mb download and 19mb upload.

Burscough Wharf

Burscough Wharf is a small square right on the canalside. It houses a few cafes, bars, eateries, and an ice cream parlour. Live music played at the weekends and generally the place where the locals go to. There is also a Thai spa called Bodhi Thai Spa, that I can highly recommend. The Sinner’s Club is worth a visit too, an American Dive Bar in this small village. Traditional burgers, American beer with a true Red Neck interior design. Not really one for a gluten intolerant pescatarian it has to be said. Nachos were good though lol. Shame they don’t sell root beer too, though they did have the very Scottish Irn Bru lol.

Living and working on a narrowboat

I mentioned above that I recommend the Bodhi Thai Spa. I booked in online for a traditional Thai massage and have to say that Jenny was excellent. The one thing I do find living and working in such a small space is I can’t stretch as much. I cannot really do yoga as much as not enough space. The bed is decent, but not a king size like at home. I work at a bureau which is great, but no real space. At home I have desk that can be used to sit or stand at. To have someone stretch and firmly massage my upper back and neck and iron out some creaks was a great relief.

Burscough at Sunset

A few photos from the narrowboat looking up and down the canal at Burscough.

Travelling from Burscough to anywhere else

As I mentioned at the start there are two train stations in Burscough. We used both! On Thursday I had to go to London for work. To say this was a faff and not a great day would be an understatement. To be fair, less about being in a village on the canal network and more about the wonderful (not) Northern Rail and Avanti services. In theory, if the trains actually ran it would not have been bad at all. Set off at 6.30am and got back at 9.30pm!

The train from Burscough to Wigan cancelled on the day, thankfully that was one to get me to Wigan with time for a coffee. The next one 45 minutes later was on time and got me to Wigan with 10 minutes to spare. The Wigan to London train was on time, but they ditched the reserve seating as other trains cancelled so it became a free for all. Arrived 30 minutes late though!

The return journey was horrendous. Avanti cancelled my train but didn’t say and didn’t update their own App. Was told to get another one 10 minutes later but it stopped everywhere, turning a 2-hour journey to one just over 3 hours! Get to Wigan and no way now of getting back to Burscough by train as they were cancelled aghhh. A taxi and best part of £30 get back home at 9.30pm.

Summary: Working and living on a narrowboat is fine for most of the time, but when you need to commute it becomes a real hassle.

Trip to Ormskirk

Ormskirk is 6 minutes by train in the other direction. Friday night we decided to visit and go out for some food. We used to be based at Scarsbrick Marina not far from Ormskirk. The short train ran on time both directions. Ormskirk is a pretty town, with quite a few shops and a Lounge – Nordico Lounge. Excellent for me as they have a wide gluten free menu, and the food is always excellent. It is a chain but feels independent and local. There was a street event on with some live music and food and drink stalls.

Rufford and Tarleton

Yesterday we moved and went through the 7 locks on the Rufford branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. We spent the night in Rufford, ///sailed.cheaply.artichoke with internet of 12mb download and 9mb upload. Not as fast as we are used to but as the weekend not working. Netflix was fine 🙂

There are a couple of Marinas in Rufford both with cafes. It would have been rude not to visit one. We opted for Tastebuds at the Wharf, it was an excellent choice. This is a pretty cafe a couple of minutes’ walk and they offer a wide range of food and drinks. We went for coffee and cake. Although only one gluten free cake, it was an amazing homemade Coffee and Walnut cake. It was so very good and huge. Paul opted for the Coffee Renoir. I also got a Dandelion and Burdock ice-cream soda, old school. With Pauls’ special hot chocolate, it did come to just over £17 so not cheap. I was so full though never bothered with dinner.

Paul is off to Ormskirk again today to the walk-in-clinic. No trains run from Burscough on a Sunday, so the bus route calculated. A 10-minute walk and a 30 minute journey.

Once back, we move through a few swing bridges and off to Tarleton to spend the night. Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday, and we are crossing the River Ribble to get back to the Lancaster Canal. At least I don’t have to work this time.

We read that yesterday 4 out of 5 boats crossing were too slow and did not get to Savick Brook in time, and as such got diverted to Preston. One thing Paul is good at is flooring it on the river, just hope we don’t get stuck behind anyone. I don’t fancy a night in Preston Marina.