Thursday 10th June Scarisbrick - Br.23
The Ormskirk bus passes over the bridge at Scarisbrick; we caught the bus there to have a look around the market. We passed an interesting terrace next to the railway line. It was a proper wedge shape and very narrow at the town end.
The market was a good one and was almost as big as Bakewell; well worth the visit. Just to keep Barry Clark happy, Myra bought two pies, one pork and one Aberdeen Angus steak. They were both delicious, as was the cheese from the next stall.
There was a Town Crier wandering about and occasionally crying; I know how he feels.
It transpired that he was not any old Town Crier, but a Queens Town Crier no less!
Donald Evans has been duly appointed and vetted by the Queen: lets face it, not many people can claim that now can they? He is the West Lancashire Town Crier and explained that he has official functions, where his expenses are paid and his own private ones where he is paid a small sum (in case there are any Tax men reading this) to cry for any event at shops being held that day.
It was fascinating listening to him; thank you Donald for the brief history.
We fortunate to have a look around the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, as it is open only on Thursdays. It is an unusual church, as it is one of only three in England with both a tower and a spire. The steeple dates back to the 15th century, with the massive tower added on a century later. Fragments of Saxon and Celtic masonry can be found in the east wall, the church features a 12th century Norman window in the north chancel wall.
Returning to Martlet, we moved a couple of miles along after waiting for a wide beam boat to fill his tank with water; the 60 minutes that it took seemed more like an hour. We only wanted diesel, but the nozzle would not reach across a wide boat.
