Cumbria Ways - Day 2 Gilpin to Flookburgh

Distance: 21 miles
Ascent: 230m
Weather: warm and sunny
Detours: 2, one of them intentional.
Godwits possibly (tbc - think they were whimbrels), oyster catchers, meadow pippets,  jackdaws and rooks, common gulls, little egret, swan, swallows, sand martens, buzzard and a peacock enjoying the jetwash at the service station.

Laden down with food,  we left the Gilpin Inn at about half past nine. We crossed the main road without too much trouble and then took a lane off towards the estuary. As we turned off into a field at Foulshaw Bridge, we saw a big old vintage car coming along the lane, which wasn't especially bumpy, but just looking at the suspension was enough to make you seasick.

From the field, we went along a track with an embankment on one side and a hawthorn hedge with sparrows and butterflies on the other. The tractor lines led off into a field leaving the track obviously long unused and very grassy. With damp feet, we made it to the steps that led up on to the embankment,  and walked along with the sheep and the meadow pippets, with views looking across Milnthorpe Sands towards Arnside. We heard the sirens warning of the incoming tide, we were well inland.

We eventually returned to the lane, which led through Meathop village and woods, stopping for a rest at a rocky outcrop, before heading into Grange-Over-Sands.

Grange lived up to expectations, with a busy promenade complete with pretty herbaceous border. We stopped at as sheltered a bench as we could find and made some inroads into our  enormous packed lunch. South of the town we followed a pavement near to the railway line that followed the shore, until Kirkhead, which is a wooded hill with a folly on it, but privately owned so we skirted around the back along streets with nice houses (one them with the rather unfortunate name of Thistle-do) and farmland and grazed marshland.

We decided to visit Humphrey Head (SSSI) a detour of a couple of miles, but worth it. The buttercup covered headland is limestone, with a cave and natural arch that I couldn't quite see from the cliff top. There were lots of crows enjoying the updrafts and lots of bunnies enjoying the sunshine. We stopped for some tea and some more lunch here.

The route goes around the edge of the peninsula, passing not far from where we're staying tonight, and as today is Sunday and we weren't sure what time the pub stopped serving food, so we called in to check and drop off our bags. Dinner organised, we headed back out down a long straight road that led to the south shore.

We had a fine late afternoon walk along Old Embankment and the marshes at Leninbrick. The tide was out now and it looked very sandy out on the bay. We had clear views over to Ingleborough, Heysham power station and Barrow in Furness. A couple of chaps in a very old tractor passed us and then we saw them trundling out onto the sands.

We returned to the Hope and Anchor in Flookburgh, the landlord told me that I looked like a movie star in my sunglasses,  but to be fair, there's a good chance he'd been drinking all afternoon.

We've had a fine dinner and a few glasses of Wizard ale. And we still have enough left from today's packed lunch to do us tomorrow.