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GLW1804
: A Bevy of Buildings
Saturday
4th August 2018
I
don't know what the collective noun is for interesting
buildings but you can have a bevy of birds so why not?
Illiteration is amportant!
Had
I realised this was going to turn into a Great Little
Walk, I'd have taken my camera. Instead, I had
to use my phone. I just thought we were going
to the Beach
Hut Gallery
at Kents Bank railway station. Which we did. Very
interesting, in contrast to their website which is totally
uninspiring.
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There
were a lot of visitors but mostly people
coming in after completing a Cross Bay Walk.
They
didn't want to look at the exhibits, let
alone buy even a post card. They just
either wanted to use the loo or beg some
water. The gallery had neither but the lady
did tell them about the hotel up the road.
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We
did invest in a card then thought we would visit the
hotel up the road. We had passed it before on
the Cumbria Coastal Way but never paid it much attention.
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It
was quite a surprise.
Abbot
Hall,
a large, old-fashioned hotel with nice (and
today, sunny) grounds.
It
turned out to have been a Christian Holiday
sort of hotel but has recently been purchased
by a private secular group who have big
plans to turn it into something exclusive.
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They
have a big task on their hands. It seemed
very much stuck in the 1960s. There was a huge dining
room that had a stage at one end. Hi-di-hi!
There
were more Cross Bay Walkers to be found there, this
time happy to pay for refreshment but one in particular
was very unhappy with Northern Rail who had cancelled
yet another train. Where is that petition?
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Humphrey
Head now started calling us so we drove
on to Allithwaite and set off down paths
and road, passing a three interesting buildings
on the way.
The
first was intriguing called The Hunger House
and it had a tower. I was not sure
if it was a tower with a house extension
or the other way round. It made Margaret
return to the possibility of building a
tower extension to our cottage.
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The
next also was a tower but much larger; a rather fine
and totally untypical Pele tower attached to a farmhouse.
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It
is marked on the OS map in Gothic writing
so we presumed it was old but thought the
pitched roof did look rather strange.
Matthew
Pemmot gives
an interesting account of the history
of the tower. It dates from the 15th
Century but the pitched roof is a modern
addition. It does look anachronistic
but no doubt helps preserve the building.
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The
third was at Wraysholme railway level crossing.
Presumably
once the gatekeeper's house it has been
modernised and is currently for sale by
Poole
Townsend
for £350,000.
Given
the state of Northern Rail, residents are
not going to be disturbed too often by trains!
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As
we walked along the lane, we could see on the hill to
our left a tower in Kirhkhead Wood. I had thought
that was private, No Access land but Uncle Google has
told me of a way to visit it and a nearby cave. One
day!
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The
lane led us to the field across which lies the summit
of Humphrey Head- an unusual and striking viewpoint-
you can see most of Morecambe Bay- particular the Kent
and Duddon estuaries and behind you are the Lakeland
hills.
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We
returned along the Coastal Way. Fortunately, as
it had been very dry of late, the boggy bits weren't
too bad but the Japanese Knott Weed got thicker and
thicker until we were able to escape at Wyke farm.
From
there it was a short walk back to the car, being passed
en-route by a train heading south. Maybe Northern
Rail has got the message at last? We live in hope!
Don,
Saturday 6th August 2018
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