Cumbria Ways Day 11 - Silloth to Bowness-on-Solway

Distance: 20 miles
Total distance: 202 miles
Ascent: 120m
Weather: warm and sunny

Views: Skiddaw, big aerials 
Reed bunting, grey heron, hare, deer

In wet conditions, I would strongly recommend staying on the roads for this journey.

We left Silloth, via the co-op for supplies, passing the North Cote lighthouse, which used to be one of two lighthouses here that moved along on a track, because of the shifting sand channels.

At Skinburness, we decided to use the footpath that crosses the saltmarsh rather than walk around the road.  The grass was dry and the channels dried mud, mostly easily managed. The path on the ground vs the path on map are quite different, the sign posted path was fine, despite the first footbridge being broken, up until the point, about half way, when we reached a creek which had been made recently dug out, leaving a steep banked channel with deep muddy water that was too wide to jump. We walked up and down the meandering trench a fair ways and attempted a crossing at one point, but the mud failed the foot integrity test.

The path on the map led to a little stone bridge, obstructed by a barbed wire fence with no stile, but given there was no other option,  we climbed over.

The sign posted path was a long way out from the mapped route, heading out around a rough gorse patch. We followed this hoping there'd be no more obstacles. We headed towards what we thought was a post but it turned out to be an old fence post, actually right on the paper map route. We followed that for a while, through reedy, cow-y, grass with some bridges following a field boundary with gorse. We approached a herd of cows, who entertained us with a display of jumping - some more successful than others. Leaving the saltmarsh at Rabycote Marsh, we followed the path along to Winding Banks, shallow and still today, but the banks along some of the river, and half of Rumbling Bridge, had been washed away during the winter.

For a few hours after this we were road walking and it was hot, with a wide blue sky with little fluffy clouds. We stopped for lunch in field gateway, with buzzards circling directly overhead.

Beyond Newton Arlosh we turned up to an overgrown footpath to skirt around some fields into Kirkbride. Unexpectedly, the footpath goes through Monks Dyke woods and reedbeds rather than along the dismantled railway line. We passed a couple of massive aircraft hangars, with orchids in front.

Ice-creams were had in Kirkbride, and we headed north through Angerton and out into the South Solway Mosses National Nature Reserve. The information board showed the access points into the open access land, while warning to beware of bog, adders and ticks. Out in the reserve we saw a deer and low flying curlew. Even though the ground was dry, it was still very spongy underfoot.

Emerging into farmlands, we crossed some fields being harvested for haylage with a forage harvester and relay team of tractors pulling trailers.

We are now at dinner at the King's Arms in Bowness on Solway,  and have discovered there's nothing quite as funny as Dutch people repeatedly trying to say the word rhubarb.

Cumbria Ways Day 10 - Maryport to Silloth

Distance: 20.2 miles
Ascent: 50m
Weather: warm and sunny, stiff breeze
People flying kites 2
Metal detectorists 2
Enigmatic things sitting on groynes: 2 (1 man in black with a book, 1 seagull)

We left Maryport along the promenade, debating whether there was a bracing wind or a stiff breeze. At the end of the promenade, the England Coastal Path is diverted again on to the Hadrian's Cycle Way because of storm damage. There is definitely a theme here. I do wonder how much of the less organised, not-National-Trail Cumbria Coastal Way that we've been through in the last week would have been diverted due to one thing or another. I suspect quite a lot.

At a random point just before Roman Fortlet 21 we crossed the road and went out on to the sands of Allonby Bay.

The tide was going out and the beach seemed miles wide. We walked in long straight lines until we encountered one of the streams that cross the sands to the sea, when we'd wander out along it looking for a suitable crossing spot. There were a few wet foot incidents.

We had elevenses at Allonby, where we didn't dare have fish and chips (due to previous experience) and didn't use the PCs (due to miscalculation.)

Then it was back to more zigzag sandy beach walking with the occasional wet foot. We had lunch on a rock near the shoreline and then went back onto the smooth sand. There were plenty of families and dog walkers out enjoying the bank holiday sun. Near to Beckfoot there are submerged prehistoric forests out off shore that you can see at exceptionally low tides, unfortunately now is not an exceptional low tide, and I suspect they're over a mile out from where we were. The sand was filled with shiny blue and white mussel shells.

We arrived in Silloth at about 4pm and it is not at all what we expected. There are cobbled streets and a little fair on the large park, which has tall trees sheltering the streets from the front.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and went out to walk five miles in order to save two tomorrow.

We walked up to Grune Point, buying an ice cream to share on the way, as it was all we could afford with the change Rob had in his pocket. Grune Point is a nature reserve, a grassy flat with sheep and birds amongst the gorse. We returned by the path on the other side of the village,  passing the old Skinburness Hotel, which is an impressive building but is closed down; there's a website where you can see pictures of the inside, it's a right mess.

We are now at the Golf Hotel, enjoying a couple of pints of Hobgoblin ale and some big dinners.

Cumbria Ways Day 9 - Patton to Maryport

Distance: 14 miles
Ascent: 180m
Weather: warm and sunny
Ailments: bad back, sore toe, prickly heat / grass allergy
Happy cows, kerry sheep, stonechat, grey herons, posh pigeons
People doing cold sea paddling dance 2
People doing actual proper swimming 3

I want to live at Moresby Hall. The building is old, beautiful and tasteful, and our rooms were large and comfortable, with a very fancy shower with about seventeen different heads and functions. We also have a new contender for best packed lunch of the holiday.

The England Coastal Path takes a new footpath over the headland at Lowca. Out of curiosity, I pressed audio button at the information board and then regretted it. After a couple of minutes we were unable to make it stop, so walked away leaving the chap talking to himself.

The new footpath is not completed yet, and we had to follow a bridleway, which is also new and only the very latest OS map, not the one that we downloaded a few weeks ago. Still, even the diversion was much better than the old CCW which just went along the road.

There are lots of wind turbines dotted about the hills here and many large factories, but the sea was a vivid blue and we had fine views of the hills with their cloud topping on the Scotland side of the Solway Firth.

A rather depressing narrow, fenced in gravel footpath led through a new housing estate and then a huge wasteland of derelict and demolished industrial workings on the south side of Workington. It was a relief to get up by the quarry at The Howe and walk on some grass. At the highest point there was a big cross with Jesus looking over the town, where we sat and had elevenses. People have attached symbolic padlocks around it, and written remembrances on the post. There were some RIPs to a Nana, a Grandad, an Uncle, Brother, Son and a rather more prosaic We heart Taylor Swift.

We visited the promontory at the mouth of the river, admiring the views across to Scotland and then walked inland along the River Derwent, seeing a grey heron in the water and passing a couple of fishermen with big buckets of fish, to cross the Northside Bridge, which was reopened in 2012 after being destroyed by the 2009 floods, and which has a plaque to PC Barker who died.

There was a sign on one of the finger posts announcing that the path is diverted due to storm damage to the railway line, and a map. We followed the diversion a while,  which shares its route with the Hadrian's Cycle Way. The HCW is surprisingly bendy for a path named after a Roman.

A later diversion sign announced that access was closed while they did repairs, but there was no digging or construction being done today so we walked on along the path through the dunes and shoreline.

A handy bench appeared as if by magic a mile or so out of Maryport, so we had afternoon tea.

Arrived in town late afternoon and it seems that much of the town is out enjoying the sunshine. There's going to be a few sore heads in the morning.

Cumbria Ways Day 8 - Seascale to Parton

Distance: 20 miles
Ascent: 420m
Weather: warm and sunny
Stonechat, oyster catchers, skylarks, gulls, fish in the harbour.

We left Seascale under blue skies. A heron was paddling in one of the rock pools and the tide was out, with a few dog walkers out on the sands.
We walked along the higher gravel path above the beach to get some miles under our belts. The grassy banks to the sides filled with wild roses, cranesbill, yellow gorse, daisies, dog rose, broom, foxgloves and yellow poppies, with small blue butterflies and skylarks overhead.

At Calder Viaduct we crossed the water outlet in front of Sellafield and walked along a massive barbed wire fence to the station. We arrived just as a train pulled in, and saw a couple of families getting off and walking towards the beach. There were lots of policemen about.

The CCW is diverted around the site and there was a sign with a map showing the new route. I meant to take a picture of it but forgot because I was distracted by the matt black armoured police car and men with guns.

Just passed the station we were stopped by a patrol car and had a chat with a couple of officers who had noticed us walking up the road but hadn't seen us get off the train. We exchanged pleasantries and carried on.

After a bit of road walking and confusion, we saw a footpath sign that went towards and through a pretty grass meadow and across a railway bridge to reach the beach. It was leg achingly slow going over the shingle. We found some good walking sand, but not for long, then it was back to shingle.  We made a detour up and around Nethertown, stopping at new bench for toe repairs.

Back on the shoreline, it was pebbly with red, lumpy sandstone that when dry was good and when wet was slippy and bad. At the first opportunity we took a beach side lane with lots beachhouses, and people doing what normal people do on bank holiday weekends, sitting in deckchairs sunbathing and reading the paper, washing their cars, drinking and painting walls. Some of the beachhouses were small and ratty looking, some very new and fancy looking. When the lane ended we were back on the shingly pebbles. It was hard work, and my attention was drawn to all the flotsam and jetsam washed up. There were hundreds of plastic bottles, buckets and food containers, including a nearly full looking carex bottle, many of those little yakult bottles, bits of children's toys, plastic gloves,  shoes (mostly trainers) and string and ropes.

At the sea defences, there was an aborted attempt to climb the concrete wall thing, resulting in a grazed knee, and we dropped down onto gravelly sand. Approaching St Bees, we encountered a closed footpath sign at the end of a damaged bridge. The sign explaining that the path was closed was at the end of the bridge, so we'd already crossed it. Rather than endangering our health and safety by walking back over it, the simplest course of action seemed to be to get off the bridge and carry on along the beach. So we did.

We had lunch at a picnic table at St Bees, which was heaving, and then set off up over the cliffs. The route is shared with the Coast to Coast for a few miles, I think most people assumed we were doing that.

We stopped at one of the RSPB spots to watch the nesting birds (gulimots and puffins were mentioned on a sign, need to check pics) on the precipitous cliffs, then saw some people with a bouldering mat on wrong side of fence. God knows what they were thinking.

Coming down to Whitehaven we passed a plaque commemorating its opening in 1985.

We followed the Whitehaven industrial heritage trail and round the quayside, before getting a bit lost in Tesco carpark. The lane leading out had a sign post for the English Coastal Path national trail, and then lots and lots of signs. It's very well marked. At Parton we left the Path, heading up passed the Roman Fort to Moresby Hall, where we're staying tonight. It is a Grade I listed building (1620) and very, very grand.

Cumbria Ways - Day 7 Silecroft to Seascale

Distance: 23 miles
Ascent: 200m
Weather: warm and sunny

After a very pleasant stay at the Miner's Arms we were fed, packed up and off by 9am. We headed back to the sandy beach, where there were a couple of dog walkers and some people with a tractor putting a small fishing boat to sea. From then on, we had the beach to ourselves. The tide was out and we had sunshine, looking in rock pools for star fish, crabs and razor clams, with common gulls, little ringed plover, oyster catchers for company.

We left the beach at Bog Hole, up a steep pebbly track, with sand martens flocking around their holes in the low sandy cliffs. On the cliff tops we crossed a stile and walked around the tops through fields that clearly don't get many visitors. There were cows and sheep and arable fields, and we had a skylark soundtrack and saw stonechats in the gorse bushes, and a buzzard nearby. A refurbished bridge led  into Hyton Marsh nature reserve, which is a breeding ground for natterjack toads, although there didn't seem to be many tadpoles.

We followed the riverbank, the path getting steeper and less distinct and then were met with a corner of barbed wire fences. Checking the map, it seems that the permissive path to the gate went up much earlier. Faced with the prospect of scrambling back down or climbing over a barbed wire fence, we carefully chose the latter.

From Selker, we went along the pebbly beach up to Marshside, where we had lunch watching the tide coming in.

The next few miles were on lanes, around the MOD Eskmeals Range, where apparently they test weapons, although we didn't see any activity. There were some Jacobs sheep and a girl in a Citroen 2CV.

The road was long and straight, passing the entrance where a sign was  proudly displaying 1200odd days since the last day was lost to accident. They didn't mention anything about lost appendages, eyes, etc.

We turned off the lane and under a wet railway bridge, then passed some farm buildings and down a track which had a sign saying it was prone to flooding at high tides above 7.2m. There was a tide table to check; last year's. We carried on, crossing low fields with lots of sheep and lambs, them through woodland with duck boards.

We followed the local footpaths along the flood plain of the River Esk, making our own way through the rough grasses rewarded by ending up at a yellow footpath sign just where we'd hoped, and crossing at Muncaster Bridge. By now the clouds had burned off and it was hot and sunny, and a cuckoo was calling from the woods nearby.

The CCW follows a permissive path through the grounds of Muncaster Castle,  the route having been changed recently but there are plenty of welcoming signs pointing the way. We had good view of the castle and parkland, the rodedendrons in bloom. By now the tide was coming in up the river estuary.

We passed the remains of the Roman bath house and into Ravenglass, stopping at the shop for ice-creams.

The path led over the railway bridge, with pedestrian bit on the side, passing a place called Rabbit Cat How. Which raised questions.

We followed dry but deeply rutted footpaths and lanes through farmland up to Drigg, and then the Shore Road to the sea around what's marked on the map as a Storage Facility, apparently used to store low level radioactive waste. We kept a wide berth.

At the beach we saw hazy views of the Isle of Man and walked north up to Seascale, alternating between dunes and beach, with varying degrees of hobbling.

Cumbria Ways Day 6 - Broughton to Silecroft

Distance: 17 miles
Ascent: 200m
Weather: overcast
Pied wagtail, goldfinches, swallows, skylarks, little egret.

Broughton in Furness is a really nice village,  we bought lunch from a bakery with an amazing selection of cakes and pies, and some fruit from the grocers next door. No fancy jam though. 

We left town up the street passing the High Cross Inn and after crossing the busy road, walked through some sheep fields to reach the river, which we crossed at Duddon Bridge. Thankfully there's traffic lights.

The route of the Cumbria Coastal Way disappears here, reappearing a couple of miles south. Even in our guide book, which is old and has been out of print for years, the route here isn't described. The CCW isn't shown at all on the latest OS maps now, possibly in preparation for the planned British Coastal Path which is supposed to be completed by 2020. Some sections have been done, we'll be using it in a few days, and apparently there are currently negotiations for new access and infrastructure around here.

Using footpaths, we headed up into Furness Wood, passing by Duddon Furness, which is actually a furness.  Or at least it was. It's now a ruin. The woods led up a steep hillside, all oak trees with ferns, bluebells and stitchwort growing. It had a lovely atmosphere, very old and peaceful.

Coming around Mount Wood we stopped to look at the standing stones, then continued down passed High Boghouse,  passing near Elf Hall, but sadly not close enough to see it.

Navigation through fields and farms was managed, Rob was greeted like an old friend by a tiny lamb, we were barked at by a very barky dog and then went through a field with cows and a watchful bull. Once down on the flats, we made the embankment and followed that for a couple of miles, seeing sheep, grey herons and honky geese.

There are quite a few bridleways that go straight out directly over the estuary, and we wondered how much they are used.  Sign posts point out the way, with warnings of danger,  hazards and shifting quick sand.

Farther along the embankment,  after lunch, we passed a couple of stinky farm bench sitters. It may have just been a freak gust of wind, but it was rank.

Millom has the Slaggy nature reserve where you can see bee orchids. We saw a bunny and some aerial combat chaffinches. This is what used to be the ironworks,  closed since 1968, and nature is (very) slowly reclaiming the industrial past.

At Crab Marsh we crossed the dunes and were out onto the sands, reaching nice solid sand surprisingly quickly and it was easy going. We noticed the rain clouds coming in from the north and east at about 3pm, at Hodbarrow Point near to an old tumbledown windmill.

The Point is the start of Hodbarrow RSPB  nature reserve where we had a sit in their hide and, while drinking tea, eating cakes and keeping an eye on the rain clouds, we saw...

Eider ducks, swift, tufted duck, little terns, little ringed plovers, mute swan, shelducks, grey heron, great black backed gull, greylag geese, mallards, common gull, black headed gulls, oyster catchers, lapwing, cormorant, goosander and whitethroat.

Leaving the reserve,  we headed back out on the sands,  where a dalmatian dog sneezed sandy snot all over my trousers.

Below is my Spot the Panda Plover picture.

Cumbria Ways - Day 5 Barrow to Broughton in Furness

Distance: 17 miles
Ascent: 150m
Weather: cloudy

Wet muddy feet 1
Shopping trolleys in mud 3
Pill boxes, most of them sideways
Collared doves, foxes, reed bunting, skylarks, lapwing, jay, crabs (various sizes, all of them dead)
Natterjack toad tadpoles, ringed plovers, curlews, sand martens
Trolls 0 Lambs 2
Cuckoo, deer, warbler (tbc cetti?)

Today the time issue was not tide related but weather.  The forecast said there'd be a bank of rain crossing the country from the east, due to reach the western coast by about five o'clock.

We were at breakfast at 7am and out the door, after some confusion with last night's dinner bill, at about 8.20. We left Barrow town centre near the dock museum and walked along the estuary bankside path, with views over the muddy waterless riverbed to Walney Island.

At Ormsgill we dropped down to the shoreline and skirted around the bottom of the cliffs of the gravel pits,  venturing briefly out onto the sand, which turned out to be slippy claggy mud, which turned up in my shoe. We went back to the shingle.

Farther on, the path gradually became more grassy, we saw foxes, and crossed the sand dunes at Lowsy Point. There was an eclectic mix of cabins at the south of the point, and then we were out onto the vast expanse of Duddon Sands. The tide was out and the sands looked to stretch for miles. Far out on the horizon, under grey skies, the West Duddon Sands wind farm was visible, the turbines not turning today. To the north there were clear views over to the Lakeland Fells. At the north point of Sandscale Rabbit Warren (we didn't see any) there are pools where Natterjack toads breed and we saw lots of wriggly tadpoles.

We stopped for some tea and flapjacks (the last of Sunday's packed lunch) on a sheltered spot under Roanhead Crag, before continuing on over the sands.

After Dunnerholme golf course we headed inland onto a grassy sheepy meadow marsh, pausing by a stile to shake the sand out of our shoes. The grassy sheepy meadow marsh narrowed, until we were alongside the railway line, forced to clamber over the large rocks placed to defend against the sea. By now the tide was coming in fast, covering the low lying areas, and the sheep were making their way up to higher ground. We did some herding of a mother and lamb who'd got stuck between the fences of the field and the railway line back to the rest of the flock. They were pretty ungrateful.

When the grassy sheepy meadow marsh ran out, we crossed the railway line and followed country lanes into Kirkby in Furness. The lane had road closed signs up along it so after a late lunch on a quiet bench, we made a detour up and around on footpaths. This turned out to be unnecessary as the lane wasn't completely closed after all, but we did see a massive wall. We went through the Duddon Mosses nature reserve, where I saw a deer, and crossed some nice cut fields with pretty views, that ended in a marshy wet cow field. It was dried out thanks to the dry weather we've had lately,  but I did have flashbacks back to the Pennine Way.

We arrived in Broughton in Furness (fancy jam shop!) at 4.40 but the Old King's Head, where we are staying tonight, doesn't open until 5pm so we are sitting on a bench outside and it's started spitting.

Cumbria Ways - Day 4 Ulverston to Barrow in Furness

Distance: 17 miles
Ascent: mostly on the stairs to the 4th floor of the hotel
Weather: hot and sunny in morning, cloudier later
Bunnies, eider ducks, ringed plovers, oyster catchers, sedge warbler, shore crab

High tide today was at 2pm and we needed to be away in good time to be able to use the footpath along the shoreline and not have to walk up the road.

We left Ulverston by the Ropeway path, which is a long straight footpath where they used to make ropes, unsurprisingly.

The morning was sunny without a cloud in the sky, and it was quite hot and hard going walking along the shingle. There were areas of reedbeds, containing noisy elusive birds. Eventually we managed to get a picture of one, and think it was a sedge warbler.

It was a bit of a relief after a couple of miles when we reached Ulverston Sands, the tide was well out and the walking on the sandy beach easier on the feet and far more pleasant than crunching along pebbles. 

On the beach, we passed lots of Scars: Cowp, Mill, Sea Wood, Bean Well, Maskel, Church, Aldingham, Moat, Newbiggin, Leonard, Point of Comfort and Cunninger.

A long sit down, and lunch, was had on a handy bench just above Back House Close Scar, and then we walked over the causeway over to Roa Island for views over to Piel Island and ice creams. At about this time, the sun went in and dark clouds began to gather.

Turning around the headland at Beacon Hill, we saw the gas terminals and flare stacks and industry of Barrow. There were a couple of seagulls flocking around the flames, it wasn't entirely clear what they were doing.

We walked into town around Cavendish Dock, which was once used for making airships, and is now a popular fishing spot.

Cumbria Ways - Day 3 Flookburgh to Ulverston

Distance: 15 miles
Ascent: 380m
Weather: warm and sunny

We rejoined the Cumbria Coastal Way this morning in Cark and, opposite the tradesman's entrance to Holker Hall, turned up a lane towards Hole of Ellel, where a sign informed us that the guide book was wrong. At the end of the lane, on the gate onto a "public way" there was another sign, this one warning us to beware of adders. We didn't see any.

The path led through grassy fields with sheep and cows and lots of poo. There were many different styles of gate among the drystone walls, one particularly confusing. The fields opened up into moorland and we heard a cuckoo.

There were far fewer people out today than over the weekend,  but we did see a(n odd) well dressed couple out walking their dog, a mysterious kilted figure in distance and a horde of walkers sitting by Biglands Tarn just where we'd planned to sit for lunch.

We continued on down a damp rocky path through lush woodland carpetted with ferns, primrose, bluebells, red campion and wild garlic.

Crossing the road, there was a pretty bridge being painted by an art group. Well, some were painting,  some seemed to be content sitting in deck chairs on the path drinking tea out of thermos flasks.

We found a quiet spot a little further on on the riverbank and ate our lunch amongst a herd of sheep and lambs, watching the house martens circling around and a mother duck with her baby ducklings paddling along. Also by the river were dragonflies and a massive scary flying insect, some wiggly tadpoles and a grey heron.

Leaving the peace of the riverbank behind, we crossed the bridge over the River Leven at Greenodd and followed the path by the side of the A590. To begin with it was quite nice, down an embankment with trees on one side and the water the other, with wildflowers and orchids. After Barrow End Rocks however it got less pleasant, the CCW goes along the verge of the dual carriage way for 2 miles. We avoided doing that by crossing the road (carefully) and heading up a footpath on the hillside above. We did this twice.  The first time the kissing gate was old and reluctant to move, but the path was clear. The second time had a fine well made stile,  but the path was a dried up cow trod,  which led up to the side of a garden that was very pretty.

A lane led back down the hillside to the main road, passing a house called Race Horse, where we crossed again and 200 yards later turned up a country lane.  Along here Rob nearly had a collision with a fast cyclist. Get a bell!

Emerging onto the shoreline,  the tide was going out and we walked along to Canal Foot, passing some fishermen and then having a rest on a bench looking across the bay towards where we walked last night and saw the tractor.

While we sat the tide went out noticeably, and we saw oyster catchers, shelducks and a flock of Eider ducks swimming by. The Eider ducks breed out on Chapel Island out in the bay and it was a real treat to see them. They are the best ducks.

We are staying in Ulverston tonight so we walked into town along the canal, which is owned and maintained by GSK, who have a massive factory on the other side,  and they obviously take pride in looking after it.  We saw moorhens,  swans and ducks, flowering lilypads and yellow flag irises.

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.

Cumbria Ways - Day 1 Silverdale to Gilpin Bridge

Distance: 16.3 miles
Ascent: 200m
Weather: wet start, bright and sunny later
Detours: 1
Wedged in shoes: 1
Times licked by cow: 1
Oyster catchers,  lapwing, shelducks, mute swan,  grey heron, egret, pied wagtail, goldfinches, swallows and sand martens, greylag geese, black headed gulls. Goats, llama llama, bunnies, unidentified mouse vole thing and one grey squirrel.

At 11:30, an hour later than planned thanks to a points failure near Blackpool,  we were deposited at Silverdale station in the rain and set off walking towards the shore and the Lancashire Coastal Path.

A pretty wooded path with ivy covered stone walls and ramsones in flower led to the shoreline, where the tide was definitely in. We just about made our way over the rocky shoreline, I nearly lost my shoe in a cleft and had to prise it out and then we had to retrace our steps as the sea was too high and the low path was covered.

The alternative high tide route was a nice grassy path, through a meadow with flowers, which led us through the first of many caravan parks, and out on to a narrow path around the low cliffs of Arnside Park. Around here we crossed into Cumbria, it stopped raining and the sun came out, but the paths were still quite wet with sticky mud.

Lunch was had on Arnside Pier, which is made of stone and very short, then we crossed the railway bridge and followed the raised bank of a disused railway around a salt marsh.

For the rest of the day, after Milnthorpe Bridge we were on lanes. Lanes that were long and straight with sharp corners, leading to more long and straight lane.

We spent much of the way wondering if there was a nicer path over by the estuary embankment,  as we saw a few dog walkers out there but there was no indication on the map of a right of way there or a way to get through to it, the gate we passed was locked and signed private land.

The longness and straightness was broken up by seeing a buzzard, bunnies and meeting some friendly cows.

We arrived in good time at the Gilpin Inn and are now watching the end of the cup final.

Marsden Weekend - Day 2

Distance: 13.5 miles
Ascent: 580m
Weather: warm and sunny
Ducks, sandpiper, pied wagtail, kestrel, buzzard, pippets and skylarks, pheasant, tufted duck, possible sparrowhawk

Lumpy mattresses aside, we had been well looked after and had had a pleasant stay at The New Inn in Marsden, including a fine breakfast this morning, before setting off at about ten o'clock.  The haze was starting to lift and it was bright and warm. They are rebuilding the slipway along the dam at Butterley Reservoir, so we took a detour up the lane and crossed at the dam wall. A sign on the other side informed us that the footpath is only closed during on weekdays.  Ah well.

Reaching the track above the cottages,  we were accompanied by a lot of cheery mountain bikers until we reached the road, where they turned back to town and we headed over the moors on the Standedge Trail to join the Pennine Way.

No ice-creams were to be had, but we did have a bit of a sit, then followed the escarpment along Standedge Edge to the Oldham Way. Here we noted how eroded the path has become over the last couple of years due to motor and mountain bikes.

We had lunch at probably the windiest spot of the whole day above Readycon Reservoir,  then followed the Pennine Bridleway and paths over open access to Rooden Reservoir.

We returned home over the fields to avoid Angry Dog Farm, then around Brushes Clough and along the track. It was really quite warm by now. We did some litter picking,  unfortunately my carrier bag wasn't quite big enough so had to stop before we'd got back.

Marsden Weekend - Day 1

Distance: 10 miles
Ascent: 500m
Weather: hazy, windy

Shallows, skylarks, ducks in a dirty puddle, curlew, buzzard and crow, jackdaws, grouse, pheasant, grey wagtail, chiff chaff or warbler, house martens, bunnies, bees

After a lie in and a plentiful breakfast, we eventually set off at 10:30. It was bright and sunny, but considerably windier than we had expected.

The paths were mostly dry as we headed up the Rochdale Way up on to the moors and the Pennine Bridleway. As if it wasn't windy enough, we decided to take the path over Windy Hill.

From there we went over White Hill, where we had a chat with a couple who are on Day 3 of the Pennine Way, and then took the packhorse route into Marsden. Along here we stopped for lunch, and watched buzzards and crows playing.

As we walked along the canal into Marsden,  we realised we'd timed things badly and ended up in a crowd of people in comedy hats getting off the ale trail train.

Marsden Weekend - Day 0

Distance: 4 miles
Ascent:
Weather: warm and dry
Fieldfares, bunny, blackbirds, goldfinches.

We've done very little training for this year's big walk, due to Rob's ankle flaring up and family commitments.

So this weekend is our last opportunity before we set off to do a bit of walking and test things out.

We set off at 5:50pm and walked along the track to Pingot Quarry and along the footpath via Giddy Cow Field, which was bereft of cows, giddy or otherwise. We did meet a herd of dogs however.

We're now in Newhay at the Premier Inn, sitting outside with a couple of Hobgoblins. It's not as warm as it was earlier.