As I sat eating my breakfast just after 8am this morning the rain came down in swirling curtains. With my faith in the forecast I delayed setting out until just after 10, by which time only a few spots of wetness remained.
The route plan to Lancaster was simple - I would follow the road all the way, over the Forest of Bowland, about 40 minutes by car and just over six hours on foot. The road would be a great scenic drive, but much more is seen and gained by walking it.
In a couple of miles I reached Dunsop Bridge, with its decorous little church, like many in this area a Roman Catholic place of worship.
Lancashire has long been a stronghold of English Catholicism, second only to Liverpool and for much the same reasons.
The sun came out as I followed the narrowing road to Sykes, where the grind to the top of the Trough of Bowland begins. It's a steep and twisting climb to just over 1,000 feet, made more interesting today by a cold and fierce headwind.
From the milestone at the top the road drops quite rapidly, passing a long copse threaded by a stream, which today was pretty in the sunshine.
The road continues to the hamlet of Marshaw, then wriggles up and down for a couple of miles to Lower Lee.
Here begins another climb, a couple of miles long, up over open moorland and into the teeth of that wind, to the Jubilee Tower, erected in 1887 by one James Harrison to mark Victoria's golden jubilee.
It stands at about 930 feet and offers stupendous views, not just back to the Bowland hills but west to Morecambe Bay, and the sweep of sand north of Blackpool. No doubt sometimes it's possible to see the tower!
There are steps to climb the four metres to the top, rather unwise in today's wind.
The descent from the tower is gradual at first, before taking a very straight dive towards the village of Quernmore.
Here I passed the most perfectly manicured chapel and graveyard I think I've ever seen, again a Roman Catholic place of worship.
And if I thought I was done with steep climbs, the zigzag rise to Conderdell had other ideas, but it did offer a last glimpse of Bowland.
The road descended from there to pass under the M6 motorway before reaching the edge of Lancaster. On the way in I passed Lancaster cathedral, once more Roman Catholic, built in the 19th century and almost impossible to photograph. It sits next to a tree-lined road and has a 270ft spire. But here I had joined two cathedrals together, Lichfield and Lancaster, mission accomplished.
Lancaster is a city of grey stone, with all the usual shops available, quite an attractive place, if tonight very busy with traffic.
This is journey's end, I'm guessing about 157-158 miles, much to work out when I return home - which is due to happen with a morning train to London tomorrow, back to Euston where the adventure began.
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