B5246
| B5246 | ||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||
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| From: | Parbold (SD496107) | |||||||||
| To: | Mere Brow (SD414188) | |||||||||
| Via: | Rufford | |||||||||
| Distance: | 8.5 miles (13.7 km) | |||||||||
| Meets: | A5209, A59, A565 | |||||||||
| Former Number(s): | A565 | |||||||||
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| Traditional Counties | ||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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The B5246 is a rural B-road in south Lancashire.
The road starts on the A5209 in Parbold and heads north through the village. In Hill Dale, on the northern edge of Parbold, the road TOTSOs left and eventually reaches open country. The road then zigzags vaguely northwestwards across the fields and Black Moor (more of a marsh than a moor).
Presently the edge of Rufford is reached, where the road bends sharply left to cross the River Douglas at a narrow arched bridge. It then crosses the Preston to Ormskirk railway line at a level crossing adjacent to Rufford station and after that the Leeds & Liverpool Canal before reaching a T-junction on the A59.
There is a short multiplex south along the A59 before the B5246 turns right to regain its number. This is actually the original southern end of the road although it was extended to Parbold within ten years of classification.
After passing the lodges of Rufford Hall (not to be confused with the National Trust's Rufford Old Hall, which is adjacent to the A59 on the northern edge of the village) the road enters open country, although the hall grounds remain on the right for a few hundred yards. After passing a turn to the Mere Sands Wood nature reserve the road reaches the village of Holmeswood. It bends sharply right and then becomes very winding through the village.
The road then skirts Holmes Wood (literally a wood) whilst heading north into Mere Brow. There is a sharp left bend in the centre of the village which marks the original northern end of the B5246, where it ended on the A565. That road now bypasses the village, so the B5246 has been extended along the pre-bypass route. It heads west through the village centre before ending on a roundabout on the current route of the A565.