Friday 3rd, to Sunday 5th November 2023
Southport
Although Southport is quite close to home, we joined a meet of the North Lancashire District Association of the Camping and Caravanning Club, for their Guy Fawkes fireworks and supper night. Our thanks to the stewards, Peter and Helen who put a great deal of effort into the successful organisation.
We stayed at Waterside Lodge which is the Sefton North District Scout Headquarters and Activity Centre. It also has a small caravan site owned and run by them.
Southport is surprisingly close to Blackpool, which can be seen over the River Ribble estuary. By road, it is 35 miles and takes nearly an hour.
Southport is a large town whose heyday was in Victorian times. It was where the wealthy business folk of Liverpool settled, well away from the dirt and grime which was the source of their money. The town has therefore many large ornate and beautiful buildings from that era. Sadly many of them are now in a state of chronic underuse and decline.
Lord Street (below), is famous for its Victorian shop frontage with its canopies. There are still many jewellers shops but, in common with many other town centres, there are also many empty properties and charity shops.
One of the gems of the town, is the Wayfarers Arcade which opened in 1898 and is a listed building. In its prime, it was a place where the most up-market shops were to be found. Sadly it is mostly empty now, but it retains its grandeur.
Victorian Style is present everywhere. Although we did not visit on this trip, there are also impressive botanic gardens.
Whilst we were there, the Southport Pleasureland put on an impressive display of fireworks on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights:
Southport’s pier is the second longest in Britain (the tide goes out a long way here). It actually starts on the town side of the Marine Lake. It opened in 1860 and is 3,600 feet long. Unfortunately it is currently closed for repairs, but when open, there is a small train to carry visitors to the pavilion at the end.
There are also some interesting modern sculptures, most of which appear to be on big sticks:
We visited what used to be the market hall and found it had been converted into a fast food emporium with many and varied vendors competing to supply an amazing range of different meals:
We enjoyed a tasty lunch from a stall called “Down and Oot”.
Rufford Old Hall
As usual, we looked for somewhere to visit on our way home and decided to return to the Tudor, Rufford Old Hall, in Rufford, West Lancashire.
It was built around 1530 by Sir Robert Hesketh, a wealthy, well-connected nobleman with extensive estates. Some of the timbers used in construction were recycled from other halls in their possession. The family lived there until 1760, when they built and moved to Rufford New Hall.
After the National Trust took over the ownership and management of the house in 1936, it was initially became a Museum of Folk Culture under the curation of Philip Ashcroft, who collected a great collection of objects that were no longer in use and in danger of being lost or forgotten. Many of the 4,000 exhibits he acquired are still at Rufford Old Hall:
The Main Hall is the only area in which the National Trust allows photography. It is spectacular with its ornate oak carved beams and figures.
One of the most ornate, is the free-standing oak screen, which sits near the entrance to the hall.
The end wall of the hall has a “porthole”, which is accessible from the upstairs salon. It allows the viewer to eavesdrop on whatever is happening in the hall.
The Heskeths also built the local parish church in 1739, which is just a short walk away. The church they built was replaced by a larger building in 1873. It is a grade II listed building.
There are a couple of Hesketh family tombs in the church. The nearer one has a dog resting on it, which is thought to represent faithfulness.
Visiting with a Motorhome
Southport: The town is very motorhome friendly with easy access. Many parking venues allow overnight parking and we saw a number of motorhomes just parked up apparently overnight.
Rufford Old Hall: A different story here. The Hall has a reasonable car park, but it is overhung with trees and the spaces are small. There is no parking on the main A59 and the side roads are not easy with a larger vehicle.
"See-u-Later" 