Barlon one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Barlon here.

The initial footpath leaving Barton was blocked by works at the time, but I have walked it before and I quickly got back on track by going through the churchyard. The route was pretty muddy, although there had been several storms recently. I doubt that it is usually this bad though. The footbridge over the M6, with a stile at each end, will make this route impractical for some people, as will later features of the walk.
The paths along field edges from Benson’s House to Goosnargh contain an inordinate number of narrow bridges, but they are all in a good state of repair, as are most of the plentiful stiles. Mostly the fields seemed to be used for sheep, so they were not muddy. Generally the waymarking is good, with blue Whittingham Walks signs as well as the standard yellow ones. The footpaths mostly looked used.
Goosnargh is a nice village with a couple of pubs and a chippy, and a village green with benches. There are interesting buildings on the way through too.
I didn’t find any problems navigating the section to and through Fell Foot Farm/Staveley’s Eggs, although I was forewarned to take care with navigation by Burnroyd’s photo survey. I used the ditch-crossing bridge of his photo, but it seemed the obvious way to go. I could then see the long low buildings of the farm, headed towards them, then kept to the south of them, where the footpath signs showed. The gate to the north east (see Burnroyd’s photo) is intimidating to vehicle traffic, but there is a permanent opening for walkers. It would be helpful if the farm put up more signage for walker though. My inclination is always to stick to the right of way to help keep it accessible, so I wouldn’t use the road alternative Burnroyd suggests… especially as the rest of the route is all roads!
The roads to Oaklands Farm had no pavements but were very quiet. There were also good views across to the Bowland Fells. The road into Longridge was relatively busy, but had a pavement. The route ends at a nicely maintained former railway station which is now a café.

This is a pleasant enough flat walk through an agricultural landscape, along field edges, footpaths and quiet lanes. There is little of particular interest along the walk, but Goosnargh is a nice place for a rest, with a number of options for refreshments. There are a number of potential obstacles, including steps, stiles, gates, narrow bridges and associated short rough sections, which may make the route unsuitable for those with limited mobility. There are a couple of very short sections where it may be necessary to adapt the route due to access issues (described in a route survey) but these are fairly straightforward.

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