Wide open spaces

At the end of March, I enjoyed a weekend away at an hotel near Grange over Sands. It is on the coast immediately south of the Lake District, on the northern edge of Morecambe Bay. Morecambe Bay is a vast expanse (120 square miles) of salt marshes and shallow mudflats, sometimes covered by the tide and sometimes exposed. It attracts many wading birds and is an important wildlife habitat. It holds rich cockle beds too, which have been fished by locals for generations. It's a very dangerous area to explore on foot. The incoming tide rushes in unpredictably and alarmingly fast; for centuries the area has had royally appointed local guides to assist people to cross. Nowadays they conduct guided walks, often to raise money for charity.

The photo above is looking east across to the area called Arnside and Silverdale. The prominent hill to the right is Arnside Knott. The picture below is looking in a more south-easterly direction and you can just see Ingleborough, one of Yorkshire's famous 'three peaks' in the distance. There is also a hot air balloon soaring over the scene. It was a beautiful day with no wind so it would have been ideal for a balloon ride. These wide open spaces are a real tonic for this valley-dwelling girl; my spirit seems to breathe and expand!

Water everywhere but nowhere to swim

Grange over Sands has a very long and flat promenade stretching for a good distance along the edge of Morecambe Bay. Made attractive by the spring planting in public gardens and flowerbeds along its length, it's a perfect place to stroll, cycle, scoot, rollerskate, toddle or be pushed in your wheelchair/baby buggy, depending on your age and fitness. There are plenty of seats and walls on which to rest a while, too. At one time the sweep of the bay used to be sand (or mud and quicksand) but changes to the course of the rivers flowing into the bay have caused a build-up of salt marsh. This now means that just over the sea wall there are wild birds feeding: geese, ducks, waders and gulls. It's quite odd. In most other seaside towns in England you'd find families shivering on a strip of beach, watching kids building sandcastles. Here there are blokes with telescopes scanning the marsh!

If you're desperate to get your swimming costume on in Grange, you're in trouble really. There was an open-air lido from the 1930s to the 1990s. This closed and is now gently decaying, though it is listed and there have been contested plans to redevelop it. A modern swimming pool (which won a design award!) was opened in 2003 and closed in 2006 due to high running costs and structural problems. Oops. That lay derelict too. Sad. I wouldn't recommend a swim in nearby Windermere either...

Grange over Sands

Grange over Sands is a small, quiet and quaintly 'retro' seaside resort on the north coast of Morecambe Bay. A fishing village until Victorian times, it grew with the coming of the railway, when many of the towns on the north-west coast became get-away places for factory and mill workers in the fast-expanding northern cities. In Edwardian times, wealthy businessmen built fine houses, hotels and gardens here. These days it's a popular place to retire to and also a centre for those exploring the nearby Southern Lake District. This is its main street, although it's a sprawling ribbon of a place with public gardens and promenades along the edge of the bay. I really liked it, it's 'different'. I am mildly amused that the local tourist info site displays a photo of the railway station. (Clearly it thinks it's the most attractive feature!)