Borwick Lane And Warton Crag

A Memory of Warton.

I lived in Warton - on Borwick Lane for the first 18 years of my life. In 1963, I was ten years old and Warton was a lovely little village. Borwick Lane was very much a quiet back road - not the busy commuter route it is today. Borwick Lane only had a row of houses from Borwick Avenue up to number 39 (Aunty Beryl's!). The next property down the lane was the Methodist Chapel. In fact we used to have Warton Sports in fields where there are now lots of houses. I loved the excitement of Sports Day, competing enthusiastically in the egg and spoon races and the sack races.
I spent much of my childhood playing up Warton Crag, exploring the caves, building dens and climbing rock faces (I was a bit of a tom boy!). I used to know every tree, every cave and every limestone pavement. The crag is 'managed' now - with more footpaths, signs and styles but it still retains a lot of its charm. Sunsets from the top are just as magnificent as they've always been - across Morecambe Bay and up to the Lakeland Fells.
Warton was a great place for a child in the 1950s and 1960s. There was a good Girl Guide Group there, led by a wonderful leader, Mrs Hayhurst. We used to go camping in the Lakes, canoeing on Windermere and got together with the Scout Troop to sit round camp fires telling jokes and singing. What very happy memories!
There was a great youth club in Warton too, though I can't remember what we actually did except go for a bag of 'scraps' at the fish and chip shop after meetings!
I still visit Warton four or five times a year. It's a friendly wee place, as they say here in Scotland.

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