Caton and Halton

This was a great walk between two small towns on the River Lune, just a few miles east of Lancaster. We started from across the river from Halton; there is a free car park near the old station.

Th station is very well preserved. There is a sign on it for Lancaster University, and I assume it belongs to them, possibly as a boat house.


Behind the station is the River Lune, and a bridge to the town of Halton. Back when the railway was built in 1849, this probably seemed a marvel - a railway just a bridge away! A century later, not so much.


The railway was built by the North Western Railway, on its line from Skipton to Lancaster, which, together with the Morecambe Harbour and Railway Company, provided a link from Yorkshire to the port in the new town of Morecambe.

The line closed in 1966, and is now a cycle path, which provides a nice walk. A gentle slope but surprisingly steep for a railway.


The path runs along the river, and an old mill can be seen on the other side.


At the top, something odd happens and the path seems to deviate from the railway, though there is no sign of where the railway actually went. It certainly did not go under this bridge!


The Crook of Lune is a horseshoe bend in the river. The railway was forced to bridge the river twice within about 200 m to negotiate the bend. This is the view up river from the first one.


Between the two, a road crossed the railway on another bridge.


From the second bridge there is a great view of yet another bridge where the road crosses the river.


This is the view the other way.


It is a short walk from there to where Caton station used to be. There is no sign I could see of the station.

There is this pretty cottage very close to where the station stood.


Turning right, Station Road brings us to the centre of Caton, full name Caton-with-Littledale. Across the road is the Station Hotel, which has some odd bits of railway memorabilia inside..


To the right is the war memorial.


And behind that is the Victoria Institute, a village hall, built 1887.

Opposite is the Station Hotel is the old post office. The bit on the left side used to be a branch of Martin's Bank.


We headed west, along the A683, in the direction on Lancaster, past the Ship, which dates from 1610.


The road passes Quernmore Park. The house is over a mile to the southwest.


The back entrance is a bit further along.


About half a mile from the Station Hotel there is a right turn, Low Road, which takes us back to the river. This is the road bridge we saw before.


And from the road bridge we can see the old railway bridge - the second one!


The road rises to cross the railway - we saw that bridge before too. There is a car park here, but you have to pay for this one. A path leads from here, but we missed it and walked along the road, but that did give us a view of the other railway bridge.


About a quarter mile from the car park there is a footpath on the left. The footpath is narrow, with a steep drop on the left; I was glad no one was coming the other way.


The river...



There is a weir, with an old mill, at the bottom of some rather uneven steps...


The mill itself.


The river again.


This brings us to Halton, the town that was served by the station we started at. The pub, the Greyhound.


Just up the road is the social club, which I suspect was a tollbooth, given the octagonal bit on the corner.


The road beside the Greyhound leads down to the bridge. We end with the view from the bridge looking downriver, towards Lancaster.










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