Langar one

Verified Slow Way

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This pleasant walk was completed from Lancaster southwards and follows the canal towpath for much of the way. After leaving the station, one soon leaves the streets and walks past Fairfield nature reserve with its community orchard and white park cattle. . The path continues to the Lancaster canal towpath and can be quite narrow in places, especially with the summer growth of plants. The towpath is generally quiet compared to the section further north apart from the slight rumble from the M6 and A6 in the distance. The canal has its usual crop of mallard, swans, moorhens etc and numerous small fish. We passed 2 fields of alpacas numbering around forty which was pleasing. The route is easy to follow with several benches and regular milestones. Eventually one reached the outskirts of Garstang with its marinas and a short walk on the streets led to the finish.

I walked this pleasant canal towpath route in a northerly direction from Garstang to Lancaster. After half a mile of pavements at Garstang there is a single track road bridge with no pavement, which needs to be negotiated in order to access the steps down to the canal. The bulk of the walk is along the canal and is very straightforward. It is mostly grass worn down to soil which could be muddy during wet weather, although some sections have gravel on them.
Just north of the halfway point is the village of Galgate, accessible by crossing the canal at the marina. There are shops and a pub within easy reach. Lancaster is approached through a shady cutting, and in winter this section can be particularly muddy as water runs down to bank onto the towpath in places. The final section into Lancaster proceeds along a well maintained footpath alongside Fairfield Nature Reserve before reaching the roads to the station.
Overall, this is a very pleasant walk with a wealth of wildflowers in summer (which make the towpath quite narrow in places), and a range of wildlife. I saw quite a few fish, a heron, moorhens, buzzards, and even a tern catching a fish. The only downside is the distant hum of the M6 for quite a while.

A very pleasant easy walk, following the Lancaster canal. Almost immediately the walk takes you away from the city and along the towpath where you will see a great variety of birds, swans, heron and farmland as well as canal barges
Flat easy walking surface but can be very muddy if wet near to Lancaster.

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