We found out about the Dinckley Wood several years ago and make a point to visit the place when it’s sunny and has not been raining recently.
It’s a great place to run our dog Shadow but can get muddy if you visit at the wrong time.
May is probably too early to visit but as the weather was unseasonably warm we gave it a go.
Set against the River Ribble this badly documented place still gets a lot of hikers out for a jaunt when the sun is shining thought we didn't have any problems parking this day.
The woodland path meanders close to the riverside with plenty of opportunities for Shadow to descend to the river en-route.
He doesn’t tend to fare with swinging stiles though age has increased his wisdom a little. I still have to haul him over them occasionally when his doggy brain simply doesn’t get it.
It can be as dry as a bone but there’s always a patch of mud somewhere and he always makes a beeline for it if we don’t distract him with something or other.
This isn’t exactly a beach, more a stony shore but attracts people nevertheless.
Visits into the water are common but he will not go out of his depth, nor will he retrieve things. Aren’t retrievers supposed to do that?
Dinckley Ferry was a rowing boat which crossed the river connecting the village to Hurst Green. The ferry was replaced by a suspension bridge in the 1950s
The quote is NOT making reference to the bridge you see but the old one. The Suspension Bridge was washed away with heavy floods in 2015 and has only just been replaced with this one.
The original ‘Suspension Bridge‘ was more like a bridge made of string, with wooden slats, some with holes. Don’t think of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge or the Golden Gate.
Taking Shadow across that old one was challenging!
I haven’t visited Dinckley since the new replacement came long relatively recently. It’s a lot sturdier than the original.
The original plaque is still in place. 1951 it says, but that one is now history.
If you cross, the village of Hurst Green is approximately one-mile walking and all uphill. We didn't fancy that and backtracked the way we came.
Dinckley Wood is really off the beaten path and somewhat of a local secret. It doesn’t appear to be advertised whatsoever and you simply have to know it is there. The word seems to be getting around.
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