Catterall |
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The Brock Aqueduct is the first major river crossing since leaving Preston and is worth closer examination. Due to the nature of the topography, the canal builders were forced to lower the level of the river in order to build the aqueduct of sufficient strength, and to construct a weir on the upstream side. At this point, there is an uninterrupted view of the Bowland Fells, Parlick and Fairsnape, whilst a little further south lies the lower tree-clad summit of Beacon Fell, now a country park.
Brock Aqueduct  |
Looking over Brock Aqueduct at the weir  |
From Beacon Fell on a clear day one can view the whole of the Fylde plain and the coast. From Brock Aqueduct, the canal turns east for a short distance and then runs close to the M6 and the railway. There is a garage on the A6 by bridge 49. Claughton Park is the estate of the brockholes family whose residence Claughton Hall lies a mile to the east. When the railway was being built, the then encumbant of the Hall insisted the Railway Company built a decorative bridge. Though much altered as a result of electrification, the badger emblem of the family may still be seen.
On the approach to Catterall, the canal passes through a pleasant wooded stretch. The house on the left just before bridge 51 has been converted from a former stable for the horses and attendants for the passenger boat service, horses being changed every four miles. Bridge 52 is the Calder Aqueduct, another example of a river having been lowered to accommodate the canal and just beyond Bridge 53 one may discern the feeder entering the canal from the River Calder at the basin. It is difficult to imagine that this was an important little industrial area but nothing remains to testify to it's past.
The remains of Garstang and Catterall station on the main line, once the junction of the branch line through Garstang to Pilling and Knott End on the coast, is passed by Bridge 54. Unfortunately both branch line and station closed many years ago and there is very little left to see. About 2 miles along the lane east at Bridge 54 lies the sleepy village of Caldervale nestling in the valley of the River Calder.
The western flank of the Pennines is now visible to the east. Bridge 57 is the place from which to inspect the remains of Greenhalgh Castle, built by the Earl of Derby in 1490. During The Civil War, the castle was held for the King and was almost the last place to hold out against the parliamentary forces.