2nd July 2026
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Our adventure this week was nearly cancelled before it had even started. The previous adventure I had problems yet again with my brakes so on Tuesday evening I decided to bleed them and give them a little bit of attention. On inspection it became apparent that one of the seals on the front caliper was leaking . I bled both the front and rear brakes, and all was good that was until on Thursday morning I went to check on them. The back brake was completely useless. I messaged Graham :
I arrived at the old Jag garage well ahead of Graham , when Graham arrived, he asked me “do you remember last week when I said about my shorts having too many pockets and being uncomfortable, well Val bought me some new ones”. Graham got off his bike and asked “what do you think Pal” ?, “ They’re nice shorts pal” I replied. Graham said he thought they looked a little bit baggy though as he flapped them in the breeze. Just then as we were getting ready to get on our bikes Graham paused , then he let out a very loud trump , he apologised and give a little giggle with a silly smile.
As we set off from the old Jaguar garage, Graham spotted a sign across the road about the work on the cycle lane through Farnworth , Phase 2 to begin June 2025 Graham noted that’s over 12 months ago now. I had planned a little adventure to go and look at the cycle lanes and the centre of Farnworth in general and then head down towards Clifton Marina.
No sooner had we set off we came to the first road closure caused by the new cycle lane construction. It looks like they’re spending a lot of money on something that’s not really required. A little further along Market Street the actual cycle lane started but its nowhere near completion and even if it were , we would be unable to use it as it was blocked by parked cars which obviously was dangerous for cyclists. This was a theme that was to continue.
There’s a cycle lane on both sides of the road which now means Market Street is very narrow. Graham pointed out that because of this we would have to be extra vigilant even as Extreme Bikers. As we rode along the cycle path cars were constantly peeping their horns due to traffic congestion . Graham turned to me and said “ it’s my shorts pal , they’re peeping their horns at me , top draw shorts these are pal “ he chuckled away to himself as I just smiled. We managed to ride on some of the cycle path but this turned out to be even more dangerous. As it crossed the side streets cars didn’t stop and just pulled out right in front of us. The cycle path ended outside the Blackhorse pub but instead of it filtering gently back into the road it joins at a very sharp angle . This angered Graham and myself as obviously little thought had gone into the safety of the cyclist.
It was here I noticed a shop across the road that used to be a bakers shop but sadly now is just another foreign convenience store. I said to Graham “ that shop used to be a really good bakers shop” . Graham looked puzzled “ a what ?“ he asked,” a bakers shop” , “ Oh I thought you said BACON not BAKERS , thought that was a bit odd a BACON shop” , not the only thing that’s odd if you ask me , ha ha ha
As we approached the Kearsley roundabout Graham suggested we should take a look at the bench on the roundabout that we had seen in a previous adventure to see if it was still there or if had been vandalised. I’d actually completely forgotten about it to be honest . To our surprise it was still there looking pretty good apart from a small bit of graffiti. I checked my photos just to see when we’d last been there, 10th July 2025 “ oh my god “ I said as I showed Graham my phone “ blinking eck pal ,it’s almost to the day “ Graham exclaimed . We were both taken aback.
From here we decided to take the right hand side pathway through the subway up onto Park View. Here we spotted a dirt path to our right, hoping it could lead us down the old railway line down to Stoneclough. Unfortunately at this time of year it was impassable with large patches of stinging nettles and thorny bushes blocking our route, so we’d no choice but to turn around and take the route along the road.
Towards the bottom of Stoneclough Road we came across a little area of grass on the left hand side set back from the road. There was a sign above a bench THE SQUARE. As we looked around we spotted numerous things as well as the bench, there were decorations hung from the trees, bugs houses as well as a table with chairs. We took the opportunity to have a little rest here and enjoy the lovely little area that is obviously maintained by the local community.
Once we’d taken our obligatory selfie we set off under the railway bridge as we did Graham asked if we could take a quick ride around the industrial estate. “What’s the chances of that “I exclaimed,” that’s actually where we’re heading for.“
As we rode around the estate just being curious Graham spotted a unit with a large number of solar panels on its roof. They were laid out in such a way that they looked like they could actually be letters . We both sat there looking at them trying to make words out of them like a couple of children. Sadly we didn’t manage to form any words, maybe it was all just in our heads.
I found a path off the estate that we had never seen before , so off we went to explore where it wen. The path was full of broken bricks and rubble. We imagined where they had all come from , possibly some old buildings that were there many years before. The path meandered through the trees until it brought us out onto Hulme Road. We crossed the road and continued along the path passing Kearsley Electricity Sub Station as we did Graham asked, looking at the pylons “ can you hear them humming ?” I replied “Yes “, “ do you know why “ he asked. I didn’t “ it’s because they don’t know the words !” Graham answered chuckling away to himself.
After negotiating a number of kissing gates and passing through private land we found ourselves at Clifton Marina. A place we have visited many times and observed youngsters playing in the river at the place locally known as The Beach. It’s at a treacherous bend in the river and there are numerous signs warning of the dangers but sadly a young man recently lost his life whilst swimming there.
We made our way along the path towards the Marina itself, as we did we crossed over a bridge with wooden boards that made the bikes vibrate making and make a funny noise . What a good opportunity to make one of Graham’s silly videos for his granddaughter as well as a couple of children like us we thought , so that’s exactly what we did.
We continued our adventure, taking the more dangerous path along the river bank. This route is rutted ,covered by tree roots and overgrown foliage which makes it difficult to negotiate, we certainly had to be in Extreme Biker mode.
After we’d safely negotiated the path we took the easier gravel path back around to the marina. Here we decided to take our break and have our usual catch up. The main topic was the engagement of my son to his lovely Colombian girlfriend, Graham was made up for them and wished them all the best and enquired if the wedding would be in Columbia. At the moment I don’t think those plans have been made.
We observed a family of swans on the water while chatting on the jetty, which led to an unexpected conversation about their cute little wings.
I said to Graham” well they don’t need them , Swans don’t fly do they? “ Graham looked at me shocked “ I can’t believe you’ve just said that , you’re 60 odd years old and an intelligent man , and didn’t know that they flew, that’s amazing , of course swans can fly, how do you think they got here”
I explained that I’d never seen them fly and therefore presumed that they didn’t. Graham went on to say that they are fabulous to watch when they take flight, similar to a large aircraft slowly gathering speed before climbing into the sky. I thanked him for this information and pointed out to him “ everyone has gaps in their knowledge, even me at my age” , hopefully deflecting the stupidity I felt.
By now the time was getting on and we decided to head back home. As we rounded the corner on Red Rock Lane Graham spotted a hedge across the way . “ wow look at that hedge , how straight is that it’s awesome “ he shouted out. It certainly was an impressive hedge . “ wonder how he gets it so straight” I enquired . Graham’s reply was pure Graham “ bet he’s gotten a straight edge for his hedge “ , on that note we set off taking the route through Stoneclough via Market Street towards the canal, which we joined at the bridge at Prestolee Road and on over the viaduct to the basin at Nob End. It was here we parted company. As we said our goodbyes I mentioned to Graham that I’d turn on the power on my bike now as I made my way home, he just looked up at the steep hill he had to climb and said “ I’ll just put myself into turbo mode to get up that“ as I rode off I heard him call out “ message when you’re home “ I replied simply “ditto” like a line from the film Ghost.
