" I always try and see Brief Encounter on my birthday" says Luke, the protagonist of Geoff Dyers' great book, Paris Trance. David Lean's seminal 1945 film is the only thing that seems to ground the character. It's a constant, in an otherwise mad journey through the summer of the lives and loves of four friends in the French capital.
I understand why he did that. The film always feels to me like it belongs on BBC2 on a wet Saturday afternoon. There's something which is very safe and quintessentially British about the picture. It feels like Britain, or a version of which we are comfortable with at least. For those unaware of it's charms here's a synopsis.
The story is of a married woman (Laura, Celia Johnson) who meets by chance a doctor (Alec, Trevor Howard) at a train station, who comes to her aid when she has some grit in her eye. What follows is a study in friendship, desire, guilt, thwarted passion and finally duty. Many of the scenes are played out on location at Canforth Station, Lancashire.
So after my brief Manchester visit, I took a rather more leisurely walk from Lancaster to Carnforth, to pay homage to a cult classic. My good friend Dr Alex, had some great guides produced by Lancaster council with detailed walks around the historic city. I decided to take the 8.7 mile (14km) walk to Carnforth, via the Lune river, Lancaster canal and the stunning but fatal Morecambe Bay.
It's a fun walk which takes in a lot of wildlife as it heads north from Lancaster. The castle looms in the background. I popped in to the castle for a quick tour the day before to see if my family shield was displayed next to the Queen's.
My guide was at first really positive: "I think I've heard of it!"
I thought "Brilliant, I have standing and nobility in my ancestry!"
After searching the walls, and then the official ledger he came back with "No sorry, I must have been thinking of a prisoner!"
Lancaster Castle, is of course a fully operational prison...
The walk takes you down the river where kingfishers hunt by the weir. The path then across the impressive Lune Aqueduct to join the canal. It meanders past people's backyards and workplaces, before opening up into rolling countryside and bored looking cows standing in fields.
About halfway along the walk is a great lunch stop, The Hesk Bank Hotel. A restorative pint of Black Sheep beer and a ploughman's, sets you up for walking across Morecambe Bay. It is a beautiful spot, but tainted in recent memory by the Chinese cockle picker tragedy.
Onwards on the canal and Carnforth appears. The station is well set up for catering for visitors. The main one being there aren't that many trains to get in your way, as it now languishes being a small branch station. The famous 'refreshment rooms' and platform have been lovingly restored by a team of passionate volunteers. There is also a dedicated room for fans to watch the film on constant DVD re-runs and a gift shop to buy your own copy.
My own impressions were, in keeping with the film all too brief. I just had time to gulp down a milky coffee before being bundled out of the door. "I've got to turn this place around to be a bar for tonight's jazz evening" says the manager by way of explanation. But I still had time to admire the platform clock and the place where the Laura and Alec said there farewells.
It's a subtly complex film which even one of the stars didn't quite understand. Trevor Howard allegedly turned to David Lean during the filming and said "But why doesn't Alec just f*** her??" The beauty in understanding the film and also the place, is knowing the answer to that question.
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