Round the Tolkien Train at Stonyhurst

It was a bright early (or even premature) spring afternoon, and the first thing to greet our eyes on the Tolkien Trail was a wonderful, old bridge:

 

 

Have just read that the above is known as Cromwell Bridge (or Old Lower Hodder Bridge), as in 1648, Oliver Cromwell brought his Parliamentary Army and held a war council at the place, on the way to the Battle of Preston.

The late February weather was blowing both hot and cold throughout the walk, wonderful English weather.

The convergence of two rivers, the Hodder with the Ribble, I think (but could be wrong):

 And the river became magically wider:

 Not far off the end of the Trail, we came upon another wonderful bridge:

It was clear that Tolkien had a lot to feast his imagination on during his stays at Stonyhurst during the 1940s.

Setting off on the Tolkien Trail at Stonyhurst

 After looking at St. Peter's church:

It was time to set off on the Tolkien Trail at Stonyhurst:

A stone throw away from both St. Peter's and the Stonyhurst entrance above, stood a group of houses hidden by trees:

 My travelling companion told me that New Lodge, where Tolkien stayed three times during the 1940s, stood somewhere amongst the group of houses:

 I did have a short look around:

But refrained from fully entering the grounds.

A nice stretch of water near the group of cottages, St. Peter's church, and the Stonyhurst College entrance:

What a beautiful early Saturday afternoon, it was turning out to be.
 

Stonyhurst: St. Peter's Church Revisited

After breakfast at Bolton Wetherspoons, a train journey to Clitheroe, and bus ride to Hurst Green, we reached Stonyhurst College, being nicely greeted by St. Peter's church.

Have just read that St. Peter's church was built between 1832 and 1835, being designed by the distinguished Catholic architect, Joseph John Scholes, in a Gothic Revival style, and founded and served by the Jesuits.

Visited Stonyhurst and St. Peter's on a rain-soaked trip a couple of years ago, and second time round, the church still gave me a sense of awe, especially inside:

I couldn't take my eyes off the wonderful statues dotted around the church:

 

Have just read that during the Protestant Reformation, Stonyhurst Eastate was owned by the Shireburn Catholic baron family, and that in 1794, during the ongoing French Revolution, the Jesuit College of St. Omer had to flee France, being invited to reside at Stonyhurst by Thomas Weld (1750-1810).

Pride of place in any Catholic church, of course, the High Altar:

 

 

Finally Seeing April Wine (Manchester Bridgewater Hall 25-02-25)

 It's finally happened, I got to see April Wine last week:

 Massively foolishly, I passed up the chance to see April Wine at Manchester Apollo twice in the early 1980s, around the time of the Harder Faster and Nature of the Beast albums, in the band's heyday.

But you know, better late than never, I caught the band alongside Uriah Heep and Tyketto at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester last week:

Really enjoyed the April Wine set that included All Over Town; Before the Dawn; Just Between You and Me; Big City Girls; Sign of the Gypsy Queen etc., loved every single minute of it.

Massive thanks to Uriah Heep too, of course, for inviting April Wine to be their special guests:

 Have seen Uriah Heep a few times over the years and have always enjoyed them, Sweet Lorraine and Stealin' were the two standout tunes for me last week.

Also really happy we got to the Bridgewater Hall in time to catch Tyketto:

 Loved the last two tunes, Standing Alone and, of course, Forever Young.

Bolton: Passing the Fred Dibnah Statue

While walking round the streets of Bolton town centre, early morning, it was an honour to pass the statue of the late great, Fred Dibnah, who was an amazing steeplejack and wonderful TV personality, of course.

Can still remember Fred Dibnah working on Bury Parish church many years ago, with people saying that they chatted with him in the Two Tubs during his lunchtime.

Overall, Bolton looked pretty interesting as the last remnants of darkness started to give way to daylight:

 With church buildings starting to pop up:

 Unfortunately, the one below is no longer in use as a church:

 The tops of other buildings also looked quite ornate:

 And an indoor market entrance too:

 Sadly, another church building no longer being used as a church:

 Yeah, daybreak in Bolton town centre turned out to be a worthwhile experience.

Bolton Town Centre: Somebody Sleeping Rough

Somewhere near Bolton Town Hall, early morning, I came across somebody sleeping rough in a doorway:

 Sadly, this is a regular occurrence all over Britain and a stain on the country:

Let's hope the person gets a roof over their head soon.

Bolton Town Centre: Early Saturday Morning

Got into Bolton an hour early Saturday morning so I had time to have a look round the town centre. 

 

Not far from the recently built bus station, I came across St. Patrick's church:

 

St. Patrick's is a post-Vatican II Catholic Church but to its credit offers Benediction and my friend, Michael, says that the Novus Ordo Mass is said in a kind of respectable way.

 

 

Right in the centre of Bolton, I saw the War Memorial:

It was good to see the War Memorial still in good condition, well taken care of:

Of course, facing the War Memorial, I saw the Town Hall, the epicentre of Bolton:

Have always viewed Bolton Town Hall as a really grand building, with its lions at the front, and monuments to influential industrialists nearby:

 

Without any hordes of people around, my early morning wander round Bolton town centre was proving to be surprisingly enjoyable.

Arrival in Bury

Arrival at the Premier Inn, from my recent trip to my home town, Bury (Lancashire).

Bury may be my home town but I now feel like a stranger in a strange land there. 

The Premier Inn room was nice and comfortable, though.

Some Good Mid-Winter Food

Some good, mid-winter food I've been having recently, starting with courgette-filled tomato sauce and pasta, topped with black lentils:

Top marks for my wife for that as it was delicious.

Below, my conventional vegetarian sausage and vegetable meal, topped with red chilli, pizza sauce:

 And finally, a similar conventional meal, topped with tofu and French soft cheese, this time:

 Of course, always nice to wash any of these meals down with a decent (pear) cider:

 Below, Kotek is getting excited, rolling about with a black olive on the floor:

 Cats love olives, of course, but only 1-2 a week is healthy, so an olive is always a treat for Kotek.