Post:     You just wonder about Charlie’s lack of names for his riding companions, could it be that he doesn’t know their surnames and is too shy to ask?  It could just be a simple thing like that.  Anyway, he has been to Parker’s Tunnel before, I think, but cannot be sure, it runs under the railway, but in any event it is reputedly difficult to find !

Saturday, August 29                              Parker’s Tunnel

Ben and Joe came up this afternoon, and the three of us started together against a howling wind up Chorley New Road to Horwich, where we turned into Lever Park, and ran through to Rivington Village.  The uphill route to the fork-roads was taken now, where we branched left, through many lanes to the edge of the big Upper Anglezarke Reservoir, which is at present empty.  Turning through a gateway, we climbed uphill on a rough track and then down – and up – to a lane that was chock full of long grass and rushes to a ruined farmhouse, through several gates, and then joined the road from Anglezarke, plunging down to the far end of that beautiful sheet of water.  Up again, then right, and down to White Coppice and Heapey Station.  Many various lanes led us to Whittle and Clayton Green, and the Brindle road from the Lord Nelson, uphill.  First left, and with a series of long downhill swoops through pretty country, we came to the Chorley-Preston road at the far end of Bamber Bridge.  A few more yards brought us then to the Unicorn Hotel at Walton le Dale for tea.

Here we were delighted to find J.E. and his fiancée (tandem partners), J and T Pearson, and another with whom we had tea.  An hour was spent in yarning and joking, then we made it up to have a peep at Parker’s Tunnel, so at 7pm, eight of us left.

At the end of Bamber Bridge, we joined Wigan road for a short distance to the narrow, twisty entrance.  We had very little trouble this time getting the tandem through, but at the tunnel it was rather shiny, and bicycles were best carried through the dark tunnel.  I personally carried the tandem, finding it very light.  Then we sped down to Wigan road again, turning along Leyland lane to Chorley, from where we ‘blinded’ home.  The brothers Pearson and Joe promised to accompany me on tomorrows run, and John P asked me if I wanted to go by tandem.  I jumped at it.  We shall see how a tandem turns out – with me at any rate, for it was over two years since I was the crew of a ‘twicer’ – and then only for a few miles.                                50 miles