Glasson Dock

Someone needed to escape from exam papers for a while and I wanted to find a Smokehouse that I came across with a stand at the Food Show last week. So off we set for Glasson Dock, near Lancaster.

I'm surprised we have never been before. It's a fascinating place. A dock was built here in the 1780s to make it easier for larger vessels, that were finding it difficult to navigate the Lune to get to Lancaster Quays, to unload their cargoes. A small community grew up around the dock. Then the Glasson Arm of the Lancaster Canal was opened in 1826. And the railway arrived in 1883. So it became a quite busy little spot. Some shipbuilding took place here and some ship repairing.

It is still a working port, handling cargo to the Isle of Man and the Western Isles. Some of the cargoes brought in here are fertilizer, sulpher and animal foodstuffs. But Glasson has also a busy marina and there is quite a bit of traffic on the canal, as it is here that the Lancaster Canal meets the sea. I've located it quite accurately on the map for anyone interested.

This picture, with the old capstan in the foreground, is taken from the point at which the canal meets the dock. You can see a mixture of boats, sheds where cargo is stored and cranes for loading and unloading.

A beautiful day, a nice lunch out, a quantity of smoked fish bought . . . and back to the marking!