This
was an unexpected walk! I had battled my
way up to the factory at Grimsby to meet a colleague to discuss a piece
of work I was doing only to find he was
off with flu. The weather had been bad
and there was snow on the road for much of my journey – it took three and a
half-hours instead of the usual two and a half.
I was
on my way back to Coventry when I suddenly remembered that I had my walking
boots in the boot of the car so turned back and went through Grimsby to
Cleethorpes and parked up in a side street near the leisure centre. I walked up
the promenade to where I had stopped walking last time and then about
turned back to the leisure centre again.
There was still snow on the ground making it difficult to walk on at
times. Once I reached the leisure centre
I took to the beach that was nice and firm, only going up onto the promenade
again near the pier.
Beyond the pier,
Cleethorpes looked sorry for itself – lots of boarded up amusement arcades
closed till the next season – only the odd one or two trying to eke out a
living in the depths of winter. When to
road ran out a path at the top of the beach took over. From here on I was unsure how far I would be
able to walk because I was aware that I would likely get hemmed in first by the
railway track and then by the docks.
After a while I asked a man out walking his dog what chances I had if I
kept going of making it up into the docks and out again. He appeared uncertain so I kept going anyway.
It was
with much relief that once I got to the entrance of the fish docks, the lock
was closed and I was able to walk over the lock gates onto the other side. I realised that I was now unlikely to get
sent back so I waved to the lock keeper and kept going even though there were a
few private signs around. I was soon out
onto the public road and heading up towards the town. The official walk stopped once I reached the
main road, near the Grimsby Evening Telegraph offices.
I
turned and headed back along the main road this time towards Cleethorpes
keeping an eye over my shoulder for a bus but not too worried that one failed
to appear as it was still light and I was still enjoying it. I stopped in McDonalds about half way back
for lunch and then returned to the car and drove back to Coventry.
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