Sunday 29th December 2016 - Thornton, Merseyside

The Christmas walk this year is in the local area starting at the stocks and sundial on Green Lane in Thornton.  There is no transport provided so please make your own way to the Grapes Pub at Thornton.  This year we are not pre-booking a meal but food will be available at the Grapes pub if people feel like it after the walk.  To give the leaders an idea about how many people to expect please will you email me at margaretepegg@btinternet.com if you plan to go on the walk. In the event of any last minute queries please contact Liz Bellman

Club Weekend 1st – 4th June 2017 The Club Weekend will be based at the Best Western Beaumont Hotel in Hexham.  Accomodation in Hexham is limited but rooms are definitely available at the moment at the hotel and the 3 guest houses listed on the attached sheet. Please email me at margaretpegg@btinternet.com to let me know if you plan to come on the weekend and then book your room direct with the hotel or one of the guest houses. When booking please let them know you are with the Range Walking Club.

‘A’ Walk Distance: 6.5 miles Ascent: Flat Leaders: Liz Bellman Louise Pimm Gill Hickmott

This beautiful walk starts at the Grapes Pub which is at 22 Green Lane Thornton L23 1TJ. If parking isn’t available there, there is also The Nags Head which has lots more space.. Please note that there are no toilet facilities at the beginning of the walk as the pubs aren’t open until 12 o’clock. We will meet at the stocks and sundial which are opposite the Nags Head (at the top of Green Lane and Water Street) and start the walk at 10.00am The walk is about 6.5. miles long and is flat, very flat! It should take us about 3 – 4 hours to complete, including a coffee break. The walk takes in all the historical aspects of Thornton, Homer Green, Holgate, Lunt, Great and Little Crosby so be prepared for an education!!!.     There have been two pubs on this site since 1629 and they were situated either side of a village green.  The sundial is Jacobean and was erected before 1720 and is one of the oldest in South West Lancashire. The stocks date from 1725 and were used for punishment for people from the parish of Sefton. We walk along Virgins Lane to a kissing gate, there are a few kissing gates on the walk but no stiles. We then walk across field’s, over the A565 to Park Wall Lane and into the picturesque village of Little Crosby. We also pass through Lunt Meadows so please bring your binoculars and we’ll have a competition to see how many wild birds we can see. We will also see the remains of a Mesolithic settlement dating from 8,000 years ago. There are a number of wayside crosses that we will notice on our route most notably the Brooms Cross at the end of the walk.