Welcome to St Laurence Church, Appleton with Besselsleigh
A welcoming and inclusive church serving the whole community
St Laurence church is in the middle of Appleton village, down at the bottom of Church Lane, past the school.
Church Lane turns off Eaton Rd, on the right on the way in from the A420, after the road bends round the Manor.
Mute Swan on the Lancaster Canal
by Wealands Bell
Eyes front, head straight; just like a horse in yoke
and blinkers for a day of gruelling toil.
But this swan sails due north, its orange beak
set like the needle on a compass dial.
It pulls no heavy barges filled with coal;
it does not sell the fish with which it swims;
it judges nothing by its weight in gold;
it toils not, neither does it spin.
But, silent as its name, it powers on,
ploughs through the algae, parts its thick green crust,
and leaves only an emptiness, a line
drawn in the water by its feathered breast.
Propelled by peace more than by paddling feet,
to be and not to do is its heart’s beat.
Crooklands, Kendal, 24 July 2026
