Foulridge

We'd stayed our permitted two nights at Salterforth visitor moorings so took the dogs for a walk and set off.

We moored up just before the 1500m (aprox) long Foulridge tunnel, planning to tackle it on the next leg of the journey. There were noticeably more pedestrians along the towpath than we'd been used to. Leo and Tiger loved all the doggy smells in the grass border!

The Wharf café, a tall sandstone building, stood just a few hundred yards away so we strolled along at noon the following day for lunch. A number of customers were already seated, but it was a large building so it wasn't over busy. We waited to be seen to while 3 staff hung around and chatted behind the bar. Finally we were directed towards the menu stand, but found only breakfast menus. A waiter sullenly flicked though them, picking out a few turned over at the very back and passing them to us without a word. Vicky's laminated sheet had fallen apart and despite having the VE symbol in the key, no vegan dishes were listed. A new waitress suggested some amendments to vegetarian dishes but by this time we weren't in the mood to eat there and decided to leave.

Walking up the hill through a district of light industry and houses, we found the highstreet and were welcomed into the New Inn by a friendly young black and white dog. The barman followed shortly afterwards, their arms laden with packets of nuts and crisps. Unfortunately this was the extent of the food served here, but they said the Hare and Hounds, just 200m away did lunch. Third time lucky we finally relaxed with a pie and veggie burger.Read more