Day 48 of the End to End the target is Wigan Pier. I was doing my O levels when I read George Orwell ‘s book, which he had written in 1936 after travelling to Wigan. However today, 80 years later, the best road to Wigan Pier is a canal and first I had to get onto it.
\nThe Vulcan Village where I started was, as Bob mentioned on his blog yesterday, the place where Vulcan engines were made, not a place related to a well know TV sci-fi franchise.
\nI walked into Wargrave. The Emmanuel church as open for visitors. In the corner of the churchyard is the CWGC headstone remembering a young man of just 19 who died as a result of wounds received at the Battle of Loos in 1915.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/dsc_7994-1092527421-169x300.jpg\")
\nThe next landmark was the Harrow Inn, marking the beginning of mile 473, one of my sponsored miles. We had a small picnic and then Bob came with me on the next bit as the path was not very clearly marked. It went across a common which was covered in wildflowers. On the other side of the railway it went through a small wood.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC_8011-300x169.jpg\")
\nThe Leeds and Liverpool Canal came up and the path along the canal was as usual very good. It was covered in fluff, seeds from the goat willow and dandelions that were flowering. In some places it formed a deep blanket. The route was through the Wigan Flashes, a series of large areas of open water that now form a nature reserve.
\nUnfortunately just before the disused railway bridge the path was closed and I had to retrace my steps to the last footbridge and take the path on the other bank of the canal. This allowed me to see Scotsman’s Flash close up (and provided me the opportunity to write about it here).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC_8025-300x169.jpg\")
\nBob had met me on the path and as we walked up towards Wigan Pier we stopped at a pub for a cold drink.
\nWigan Pier is a now restored coal wharf on the canal. Nearby there are other buildings from Wigan’s industrial past and new retail areas. Local news confirms that while time passes, child poverty rates in some Wards in Wigan affect more than a quarter of children. I wonder what Orwell would make of that?<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC_8046-300x169.jpg\")
\nIt all seems a far cry from the Wigan Flashes. We returned to Delamere Forest campsite for double Snugburys on a hot afternoon.<\/p>\n
From Psalm 137 The exiles are expected to sing happy songs in the place of their captivity. They remember the songs but don’t have the heart for them. JAL 23.05.2019 Day 48 of the End to End the target is Wigan Pier. I was doing my O levels when I read George Orwell ‘s book, which he had written in 1936 after travelling to Wigan. However today, 80 years later, the best road to Wigan Pier is a canal and first I had to get … Continue reading “The road to Wigan appears”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foowr.org.uk\/lejogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBy the rivers of Babylon\u00a0we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.<\/em>
\nThere on the poplars we hung our harps,<\/em>
\nfor there our captors\u00a0asked us for songs,<\/em>
\nour tormentors demanded\u00a0songs of joy;<\/em>
\nthey said, \u201cSing us one of the songs of Zion!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWe do not always feel like singing happy songs.
\nAs the years go by the divisions in our society seem to be as deep as ever:
\nChildren grow up in poverty,
\nMore families rely on foodbanks.
\nI cannot sing happy songs about these things.
\nLord have Mercy.<\/strong>
\nGrant us justice for all and a quiet night and a peaceful end.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDay 48 of the End to End from Vulcan Village to Wigan Pier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"