Other Pictures - 24/02/11

24th February 2011

After a few days of being stuck indoors where we were both suffering from colds we couldn't resist having a bit of a drive out today when the weather also took a turn for the better. We set off first for Fleetwood but as we crossed the River Wyre at Shard Bridge a place that I had not visited for around 45 years caught my eye so we popped in there first. It was then onto Fleetwood for a short walk along the promenade before returning home via Glasson Dock. Below are a few pictures from our day and where necessary a bit of boring text.

1st stop......Skippool

We had set off from home with the intention of going straight to Fleetwood but as we crossed the Shard Bridge across the River Wyre I could see the boats on the down-river side of the bridge at Skippool Creek. It is about 45 years ago that I last visited the creek when I came out of the Merchant Navy and was looking for a Morecambe Bay Nobby to fish for shrimps with at Morecambe. Someone had told be that they had seen one here but for the life of me I couldn't find one. I did eventually find one, the "Seven Sisters" which was originally a Morecambe boat but had ended up at Maryport on the Cumbrian coast. I bought it and sailed it back to Morecambe one choppy Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

The creek itself doesn't seem to have altered. There is a far greater prevalence of plastic or GRP boats nowadays though, sadly.

Yes, it's a muddy mess, looks a tip but as they say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", or summat like that!

Having only got trainers on we couldn't venture too far.

You can just see the piers of the Shard Bridge which carries the A588 across the river. The bridge used to be a tool bridge owned and run by the Shard Bridge Company but it was taken over and replaced by the Lancashire County Council in the early 1990's.

2nd stop......Fleetwood

From Skippool it was only a few minutes drive into Fleetwood where we parked up at the Freeport. However we weren't on a shopping trip it just seemed a handy (and free) place to park given that I wanted to see the marina and then walk to the promenade. I must admit to having a bit of a soft spot for Fleetwood. I stayed in digs here as a 16 year old when I spent a year at the Fleetwood Nautical College. The college today bears no resemblance to the one I attended though. Todays is a big newish building with I assume state of the art equipment, whereas the college in my time shared a building with the dole office at the start of the Dock road and frequently invaded my drunken deep-sea fishermen coming to find their mates who were on courses there. Great and amusing days.

Fleetwood Marina.....the buildings to the left are part of the Freeport complex. When I was stayed at Fleetwood I used to visit this dock most days. It would then be filled with a mixture of fishing vessels taking on board ice and stores before sailing to Iceland and other fishing grounds. Behind me, but fenced off is another dock where what remains of the fishing fleet unload there catches. Fleetwood was once part of the "big three" the others being Hull and Grimsby of the English fishing industry. However here, like other ports things have changed. For those wanting to know a little more of the ports history I recommend a look HERE

In this picture you can just see the dock gates. The dock leads out into the tidal River Wyre and the gates are only opened for a short time around high tide. I used to watch the vessels returning from a 21 day trip off Iceland returning and can recall seeing on a number of occasions crew members jumping from the trawler onto the quayside in their haste to get home or more than likely the pub. These were hard, tough men who having faced winter seas off Iceland would only have at best 60 hours at home before sailing again.

This vessel caught my eye. The rest did nowt! After calling in the cafe which can just be seen we decided to walk to the promenade. It would be far to boring for you dear reader if I listed the changes to the Dock Road over 40 + years but suffice it to say they are numerous.

The RNLI Station at Fleetwood.

Training is given for the Offshore Industry.

" The real price of fish is the lives of men"

"Welcome Home"......The Welcome Home statue celebrates ‘the heroic lives of Fleetwood’s fishermen and their families’.

The bronze life-size statues of a mother her children and their dog are the work of the sculptor Anita Lafford. Sponsorship was provided by Fisherman’s Friend and Wyre Borough Council. It is situated on the spot where wives and families would wave to there loved ones as they set off or returned from there trips.

A look across the River Wyre to Knott End.

Unfortunately there was an haze which excluded views to Lakeland. However readers with a keen eye will notice a wee spot of white to the left of the red fairway bouy. A big zoom reveals......

.....what appears to be the cable layer "Stemet Spirit" which regular readers may recall we saw in Half Moon Bay at Heysham on the 28th January 2011 So by my reckoning it as taken around 4 weeks to get this far, a distance of around 7 or 8 miles. I believe, after speaking to a friend that they have had a few problems.

3rd stop.......Conder Green

It was such a lovely early afternoon as we returned that as we approached Conder Green I asked Edith if she fancied pulling in at the picnic site and walking to Glasson Dock. The answer being in the affirmative, I made my way there and was surprised to find the car park full with it being half-term. I abandoned rather than parked the car up a banking and we made our way along the familiar route towards Glasson.