Hiking in Lancashire

Uruguayan visitors and local Methodists hiking above Longridge Fell

With Pauline Kirkham on a damp but bracing morning (above)

Wall hangings by Juliet Hemingrey at Poulton-le-Fylde (above)

Before Morning Worship at Nelson Methodist-Roman Catholic Church (below)

Whilst the President was down south he ensured that I was given an action-packed tour of his District!

It began at Scorton chapel where the members had provided an excellent dinner for twenty or so people involved in different businesses around Lancahire - from banking to farming. We had a good discussion over the dinner-table and each learnt more about the pressures and opportunities others were facing.

saturday morning saw us walking up Longridge fell above Clitheroe in company with a group of Methodist special needs teachers who were visting from Uruguay. There was much conversation and laughter along the way and I was pleased to meet up with Pauline Kirkham, a fellow student fom Sheffield.

After an afternoon presentation in the Clitheroe Churcg I was whisked off to the beautifully refurbished church in Poulton (where one of my great-grandfathers had been the local joiner and undertaker!) for another feast and a meeting with the District local preachers.

Sunday morning was spent in Nelson - a unique place of worship shared between Methodists and Romans Catholics, where I was able to bring greetings at the end of their Mass.

Then on to Blackburn and Wesley Hall where I was impressed by the pioneering work being done among asylum seekers there - and was reminded of the diversity of this part of the country.