Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy - this week at Knott End

I LOVE waks which are full of history, industrial archaeology and natural history.

When the walk is circular and a free leaflet can be obtained from the local authority, then I am in heaven.

Wyre Borough Council has produced a circular walk around Knott End and is around four miles in total. Autumn migration was in full swing and oyster catchers were present in huge numbers but there were also plenty of ringed plover, dunlin and a good number of curlews.

Close to the golf links I found Hackensall Hall, which is surely the most underrated hall in the whole of Lancashire. The building is privately owned so walkers should always ensure that they respect the privacy of the owner. There are, however, splendid views of the hall from the well-marked footpath.

There has been an occupied site around the hall from at least Roman times and in Victorian times a huge hoard of Roman coins was found.

It is said that there was once an important Roman port at Knott End, which was marked on a famous map drawn by the historian Ptolemy.

The Vikings also made good use of the Wyre estuary and it is said by many historians that the name Hackensall comes from the Scandinavian name of Hakon.

By the 11th century the Anglo-Saxon lords of Preesall built a fortified dwelling to keep out other Vikings but the present hall dates to the 17th century.

There is evidence, however, of some earlier dwelling, perhaps even dating back to Norman times, and a very ancient chapel was found in the grounds.

On the opposite side of the path to the hall is a delightful pond and the reflections in the water looked marvellous in the watery sunlight of the morning.

Here I found moorhen, coot, mallard and tufted duck, which I would have expected, but the most unexpected sighting was of a splendid little grebe. Beneath a stand of trees I found six owl pellets, which proves that tawny owls are common in this woodland.

From Hackensall a signpost indicates the way to Barnaby Sands and Burrows Marsh, both of which are attractive and important to the fauna and flora.

This is shown by the fact that the area has been designated an SSSI (site of special scientific interest).

Here I saw weasel on the prowl but the birds were always wary. My list included redshank, shelduck, greenfinch and lapwings by the hundred. Birds of prey were also present and I watched a hunting short-eared owl almost hovering over the marshes.

I did expect to find lots of birds but I did not expect to find the Pilling Pig. Actually, this was not an animal but a railway. The Pig was so named because the locals compared the sound of the first railway engines with that of a screaming pig.

The railway opened in 1870 to provide the local population with a link between Garstang and Knott End. It was never actually very profitable and the line eventually fell victim to the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

Part of the old line now follows the footpath and leads back alongside the Knott End Golf Club.

This is a bracing walk and on Sundays there is often a market at Knott End. There are also a number of hotels and cafes.

From Knott End I looked out over the estuary towards Fleetwood on the opposite bank and as the tide came in large numbers of yachts with colourful sails could be seen, their crews enjoying the crisp breeze.

They are always a hardy lot these sailors and so are the birds which were massing on the mud flats.

As the daylight began to fade I explored the strand line and made a collection of shells and other evidence of the wildlife of the Wyre estuary.

I found lots of egg cases produced by whelks which looked just like a bath sponge.

There is good parking close to the old railway station of the Pilling Pig, providing an ideal focus for this magnificent circular walk.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.