Hello everyone, it’s Friday again - hurrah! What have you got planned this weekend?
For us it’s another trip to the woods at Styal Woods at Quarry Bank Mill, the place I wrote about last week. If you’re new here, and didn’t see that post, then welcome! It’s lovely to have you on board, and you can catch up with all the previous editions of Bolton and Beyond here.
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The weather has been shocking hasn’t it? Cool, cloudy and wet. Hopefully a respite from the rain is on the way, but I always find a trip to the coast, even in the drizzle, will lift my spirits.
It’s been at least three years since we went to Crosby beach in Liverpool, but in need of the sea we borrowed Domino (my mum’s Labradoodle, who you’ll sometimes spot in the pictures on this newsletter), arranged to meet my sister-in-law and off we went.
Crosby beach is about a 45 min drive from Bolton, and home to the stunning sculpture installation Another Place, by Anthony Gormley.
In case you’re not familiar, this consists of 100 cast iron, lifesize sculptures which Gormley cast from his own body, meaning there are dozens of naked men looking out to sea along the shore.
Gormley said the scupltures ‘expose to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body’.
This intention wasn’t lost on my 7yo, who yelled “mummy, I can see that man’s bum!” as she spotted her first sculpture. Her eyes went even wider when she went around the front.
But, as kids do with most things, the girls quickly became quite nonplussed being surrounded by naked iron men, and busied themselves running around with the dog, flying their kite and eating snacks.
The sculptures really give this walk on the beach a focus and an intention. They stretch out along 3km of the shore and 1km into the sea, and lend a perspective to the seemingly endless horizon.
Some are adorned with football shirts that fans have sewn them into, others have tributes to loved ones at their feet or flower garlands around their neck. Most are just there, immovable, battered by the tides, solid and grounding.
As for the practicalities. This is a sandy beach so buckets and spades are good, and we enjoyed flying our kite too. We parked at Crosby leisure centre, but that does fill up quickly on a sunny day.
There are temporary portaloos there which are not horrendous (hand sanitiser at the ready!) but bring a picnic and snacks - there’s just a solitary, very expensive ice cream van parked at the entrace to the beach which eschews the normal tunes and blasts out dance music instead.
This was a really successful visit, we had a lovely time with the dog, the girls always adore it when they see their auntie, and with museums and galleries having been closed for so long, seeing art and sculpture outdoors felt welcome, new and different.
Small biz shout out
We’ve had a milk delivery from Smithills Farm in Bolton for almost two years now. I wanted to cut down on the amount of plastic we were using, and also to buy more local produce, so decided to switch to a milk round.
Having a milkman seems like an old fashioned idea, but it’s actually something that thousands of us are now doing, especially with the supermarkets having become quite stressful places to visit during the various lockdowns.
In February Smithills took on their 5000th milk delivery customer and have 19 rounds. They started in January 2019 with 0. What an incredible, local success story.
As well as milk they also deliver butter, eggs, ice cream, yogurts, juice, milkshakes and more. And their farm is one of the best days out in Bolton - more on that another time though.
And finally
I posted this video on Instagram this week and I wanted to share it here too, as it’s just so joyous.
I love how the lamb at the back leaps into the air and clicks his trotters together, like some kind of sheep version of Fred Astaire.
I saw this pair on my evening stroll and have watched the video about 10 times since then. It makes me happy.
So, that’s it for this week. Hope you have a lovely weekend wherever you’re going. And if you’re also in Bolton then keep your chin up, we’ve got through it before and we’ll get through it again.
One final request: If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter please do share it, forward it to a friend or comment or like the post. And thanks once again for allowing me into your inbox!
I've never tried Crosy beach but it's on my list to give it a go this year. As for Smithills Farm, I'm a delivery customer and am really happy with their service, it's been a huge help during lockdown and I've, like many other people have, decided to continue with it. X