Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude and your mood!
At the start of the week the country effectively got put on lock down where we got told to STAY AT HOME unless absolutely necessary but to the terrible covid-19 virus that is currently plaguing the world. With my boy been off school and stuck in all week as his dad is currently working from home and so not really been out out other than the garden.
The sun was shining and it was my first day off in what felt like an age (been a key worker in the food chain), I decided to take up on the government advice that "you can also go for a walk outdoors if you stay more than 2 meters from others". I was also in desperate need of some vitamin D. So I decided to take 2 of my babies out for our daily walk.
We decided to walk down to the canal in Mill Hill and walk along it until feniscowles Bridge and then back along Livesey Branch Road back home.
The canal is the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which offers 127 miles of walking, boating & wildlife-watching. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is the longest canal in Britain built as a single waterway. Leaving Liverpool, the canal passes through East Lancashire and then crosses Pennine countryside and picturesque villages on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales before reaching Leeds.
From the Visit Blackburn website it tells us that the canal was constructed between 1770 and 1816 it rapidly became one of the most prosperous canals in the country and played a major part in the bringing industry to the towns through which it past. It goes on to say "In 1810 the first barges to arrive in Blackburn brought yarn, tallow, molasses, oil, lead, timber, malt, and 380tons of coal. The canal brought agricultural produce and raw cotton and coal to Blackburn and took away the processed cotton cloth. The price of cotton fell and production increased. The size of the mills grew and because of their need for water and coal they were built along the canal. There were 39 mills by the canal, which was used for day trips for mill workers".
We got on the canal at the Kings Bridge in Mill Hill, just up from the spar. I wasn't expecting to meet that many people but there were a fair few people about. This bridge has Blackburns coat of arms on it.
The Cotton Town website states that it was only after the First World War that traffic on the canal declined. Road transport was developing, and mills were changing from steam to electric power, so they no longer need the canal. In the 1960s, the canal was almost closed because of the cost of maintenance. It survived, and Barbara Castle's Transport Act of 1973 ensured its survival by encouraging the leisure use of canals. Today boats cruise through Blackburn, and the towpath is a pleasant place for a stroll where many reminders of the town's industrial past can still be found.
The canal was expensive to build, and only the sections from Leeds to Gargrave and from Liverpool to Wigan were opened by 1777 when money ran out. Because of the American War of Independence, it was another thirteen years before money for further work could be raised. By that time the canal company had discovered that coal had become a more important cargo than lime. The builders of the canal now wanted to serve the growing industrial towns of East Lancashire and the local coalfield, so the route of the canal was altered to pass through Burnley and Blackburn. The canal reached Burnley in 1796 and was extended to Enfield Wharf, near Accrington, in 1801, some 31 years after construction of the canal had been begun.
It was a very much needed breath of fresh air. Isaac was very keen to keep the distance that was recommended by the government and would alway stop and move to one side so people could pass and as you can see from the photos he kept well away from me. Walking is simple, free and is one of the easiest ways to get active and is also very good for our mental health. Studies show that even a 10 minute walk boosts brain chemistry to increase happiness Movement it is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional and mental states. Staying at home for a prolonged periods can be difficult and so use your exercise time wisely and keep following the government's advice. We have to look after ourselves both physically and mentally during the unprecedented time.
As always, Thank you for reading.
Stay safe, be kind
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