Grange Over Sands & Levens

I always knew there were Bowling Greens to the front of Grange Over Sands.... They were far distant memories from 55 years ago when I last trod this very path of the Grange "esplanade". Until today I had forgot about the Tea Rooms, The "Open Air Swimming Baths" (now sadly bordered up and out of bounds for the past 15-20 years), the Tennis Courts, a well stocked Children's play area. And more recently they have added a skateboard facility...

It would have been so easy to have come to Grange and missed this "little gem" quietly tucked away on the town's West side. Dropping down and crossing over the railway track, which leads trains anywhere between Preston in the South and Barrow in the North, this track runs almost parallel to the esplanade and sandwidged between, is bordered with trees, shrubs and many varieties of flowers. Even today there was the vivid blue coloured Iris species.

The Tea Rooms -see photo (now closed for Winter). I was intrigued to read the plaque on these tea rooms - see photo of plaque, stating that the Tea Rooms and Bandstand had been given to the town of Grange by a Helmshore businessman named Harold Porritt J.P. who had fallen in love with the place..

There are many beautiful buildings within Grange, but probably most striking is the Netherwood Hotel which is seen to the right, immediately on entering Grange. Another superb place is the rich ornamental Park which lies next to the Grange Railway Station. Here is a duckpond with all sorts of beautiful ornamental duck and geese species some of which included: Several Red Crested Pochard, Red Breasted Goose, Pochard and many others, see photo here of Hawaiian Goose or Ne Ne

On the way back from Grange, we parked up at Levens Bridge and did the circular walk going up one side of the River Kent and coming back down the other side. On the way passing the Force Falls Fish Pass (see photo) and also following the footpath through Levens and keeping within the boundaries of the canopied Avenue of Ancient Oaks. Soon we came upon the large party of dark phased Fallow Deer which reside in the park. Also further down the way we came across the herd of Wild Goats.