Day #66 Preston to Southport, Lancs.

    

           Hit the road at 7.00am and once again into a very cold crisp temperature….certainly scarf and gloves for the first couple of hours. The day started with frustration in that my desired route south bound, out of the city appeared on the map to be straight-forward. I have learned now that the major road signage is for the benefit of motorists, people actually walking between towns are rare commodities and going the way of the dinosaurs. A routing across town designed for automobiles, can be highly circuitous through one way systems etc., whereas a quick pedestrian short-cut through a park, or a housing development can save miles. Trick of course, is to know about these short cuts as a visitor to a city. Preston was no exception and I seemed to be walking for a couple of hours before I could drag myself clear of the city and make real forward progress back to the coast at Southport.

        My route today was through a series of closely linked small towns and villages. This proximity seems to me to make progress feel faster, as I can frequently ‘tick- off’ another point of progress.

       Arrived in Southport about 2.30pm to find a sea-side resort that actually looks prosperous. The main drag, Lord Street, was constructed a block back and parallel to the sea front, effectively protecting it from cold sea winds. As a result, the pavement restaurants were full of people sitting enjoying the sunshine. Notable is the fact that the shops on the main street all have attractive Victorian style glass verandas to protect pedestrians, a nice touch that adds ambience to the street scene.

       Located without difficulty an adequate bed & breakfast in the central district. Will see what the other half of Southport looks like early tomorrow morning as I head at least part way to Liverpool.

       Just a quick up-date on feet---mine. So far, after about a thousand miles of walking, I can state that I have not suffered yet from any type of blisters. I wear double (two pairs) wool walking socks and have thick gel pads inside my walking boots. This combination seems to be performing well. The shin splints I suffered from for a couple of weeks early in the walk, seem to have cured themselves. I do notice that the heel of my right boot is significantly more worn down than the left. This is maybe a result of a spinal disc degeneration problem from which I have suffered over the years, resulting in a slight posture misalignment.

  

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25.2 kms. walked today per pedometer. Cumulative Kms. covered: 1593.9
Hours of walking today including rest stops: 8.0
Type of accommodation: Bed & breakfast.
Cost of bed & breakfast: pounds. 25.00, no breakfast.
 Please go to Flickr.com (traveller6666) to view pics of the walk.