Walking Miles to School
 

I was having one of those 'we had it tough, when we were young' conversations the other day and the subject of walking to school came up. Early 70's, I used to walk from Laburnum Drive in Ossy to Spring Hill School in Accy, either over Fern Gore or via Hawthorn Avenue. Never did work out which was the quickest. It seemed a long way but I never really knew how far it was. Could someone give me a fairly accurate guesstimate - it would help settle a bet.

Also, what was the original use for the tower, next to the old playground, in Rhyddings park? Would be something to do with Rhyddings Hall but what was it's purpose


Ahh! Rhyddings Park - the happy memories come flooding back.:)

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

A very short distance for long legs really, but, for short legged school kids especially when they are looking back over many, many, years, Oh, I'm sure it went on forever!

:D

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

0.8 mile going Hawthorne Av way.
Prob only 0.4 or 0.5 going over the field and along Richmond Rd

Google Map

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

I used to do 1 mile when I needed the bus fare for other things :D
Seemed to take for ever and all up hill, could make some good speed up running home though - all down hill :eek:

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

It's 4 miles to get my nine-year-old to school in the morning, with no direct bus route, so I take him in the car. School lane is always jammed with cars, though, so I park two streets away and walk the rest. There's someone two doors away from the house where I park who drives in from there! :eek:

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

The 'tower' in Rhyddings park was actually built as a folly, when the old house was built.

I think there's a thread about it.

I'll have a search.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

There's a thread here which has some interesting facts re: Rhyddings park.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...tory-5521.html

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Yesterday I had to be at the doctor's at 8.50 a.m.

It's next door to St. Paul's School on Union Road.

It was absolute chaos, with cars double parked, and parked on the pavement.

All dropping their little dears off at school.

In all my time at Moor End Junior School, walking all the way up Stanhill Lane, were we ever driven. It kept us fit and healthy, and also gave us plenty of adventures, and quality time with our mum, when we were younger.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

I always walked to school when i was at primary school but once i hit the high school had to catch the bus seeing as it was in hassy and then broadway.......

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

I am sure they must have moved the school or Ossy since then, it did seem a lot further.

We couldn't get across the clough as we would have had to run the risk of being caught by Mr. Vandome who guarded his precious playing field like a rottweiller. We saw no harm in playing football on a football pitch but the school had other ideas.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Must admit that it surprised me when I found out my trek was only one mile

So who won the bet?

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Of course, all those years ago (talking personally of course :D) you had no option but to walk to school. I walked to Peel Park (only ballpark 400 yards) on my own from being 4 1/2 years (brother escorted me on first day).

Then in secondary, had to walk the mile from Penny House Lane to the Accy High School, now Moorhead (prox. 1 mile) .. Can't tell you how many games I got up to counting trees, jumping on flag stones, rehearsing times tables, etc., to alleviate the boredom .. seemed to go on forever.

The return journey was quite different, as used to come back with my school chums weaving in and out of the area to get home; even going to town first and walking up Burnley Road. Twice the distance, but having companions appeared to shorten the journey somehow.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

many times i walked from dowry street accy to accy tech up union rd, the bus fare going on woodbines.:D

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Always had to walk, it was easy when we lived at Church, just popped out of one door and in the other, about 30 yards in all. That all changed when we moved up Fern Gore, That bloody hill up to Green Haworth was a pain for a kid with little legs, it got worse when I went to Rhyddings, Miller fold to Rhyddings twice a day played havoc with the legs, at least we got long pants.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Park Farm over Church Kirk Bridge to Rhyddings was a fair trek....Choice of canal tow path or down Church Kirk Lane....got a bike when I was thirteen....luxury.
Got done five day's later...5 bob for giving my mate a lift home by the ugliest policeman I think I ever met....or I still think he was.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Bradshaw St, Church To Accy High School (Cromwell) regularly to save busfare and top up my spending money! :)

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

From age 5, I went from West End to St Mary's School, on Moscow Mill St, then later to Paddock House. It was either the Blackburn bus (46) to Church Commercial, then leg it up Union Rd., or the (267) Ribble bus from Spread Eagle St. to the Palladium. Coming home in Summer I would walk up to Ash St. then across the fields to the Swanee on Thwaites Rd. There was a lovely sewer pipe across Tinker Brook that just begged to be walked/balanced across and the rest of the way was just a cinder track. :)

My dad got his first post-war car when I was 10. He never, ever gave me a lift to school - good grief, I had legs! :D

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

A friend takes her son (12) to school in the car, a distance of almost a mile!
I said I used to walk further than that to Junior School and he didn't believe me. Not really a bet but I will show him this thread and that should convince him.

St. Mary's school on Moscow Mill Street, I remember playing in there when it was being demolished. The 'Dangerous Building Keep Out' signs didn't really put us off. We were living on a building site then so construction sites were our playgrounds. Never did us any harm although we never did any vandalism apart from crashing one of the dumpers into a hole in the ground.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Me and my son walk everyday to school, from near ossy mills all the way to moorend, it only takes us 15 minutes:D
I know some parents who only live around the corner from the school and use their car!!:eek:.....bloody lazy buggers!!

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

It can take that long in a car with the traffic.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Walked all the way from Fielding Lane to St Pauls in Ossy almost every day for 3 or 4 years and loved it.
First of there was the natural beauty and stillness of the park, especially early morning and then delight of delights fully formed adventure playground in the shape of Bush Meadow Street which at that time was derelict and awaiting demolition.
These empty properties were our early morning playground, no floor boards, free ranging rats the size of cats, broken glass and the odd tramp, such fun.
Of course school and parents always lectured us about not going near the old houses but we ignored them.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Always walked to school, first from Monarch Street down Union Road on moscow Mill St to St Mary's. Then of to the Holy Family ( Mt. Carmel) when it opened, used to come home for dinner as well, but always walked, well run really at lunch time, was into cross country in a big way in those days, there was a school bus morning and night which picked up at the Palladim in the morning and dropped you there at night, but rarely bothered with it, except sometimes in winter when it was lagging it down, never liked sittin in the class room all morning in wet clothes

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

I used "Google Earth" to measure how far I used to walk to/from school. It was ½ mile each way. It seemed like ten times as far, back then.

It's 50% further to walk from home to the studio, and even though I'm now four times older, I think nothing of walking just because I can't be dealing with the stress of incompetent drivers, although these days the dog cr*p I have to avoid while walking more than makes up for the stress saved by leaving the car at home. I used to walk 1½ miles each way in London to avoid the tube.

Re: Walking Miles to School
 

Just worked mine out on google too :D

9 miles a week!, 36 miles a month!!, thats not including me walking back and forth picking him up.....:D