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...

Morecambe Bay

This is part of the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay, a huge area of intertidal mudflats and sand, formed by the estuaries of several rivers that flow into it. On the northwest coast of England, just south of the Lake District, it is an important wildlife site with abundant bird life. Traditionally the bay is also harvested for cockles (shellfish). Being so flat, the tide goes out a long way and then rushes in unpredictably (as fast as a horse can gallop, they say). The bay is also full of quicksands and can be a very dangerous place. In 2004, a group of illegal Chinese immigrants, harvesting cockles for a pittance, were cut off by the incoming tide and at least 21 men, women and children drowned. It was a terrible tragedy, very sad. It seemed they didn't understand the dangers and had misjudged the tides.

There has been an official post of 'Queen's Guide to the Sands' for centuries, since the lack of transport and the inaccessibility of the surrounding area meant people used to need to walk across the bay. They had to be guided by someone with intimate local knowledge. Nowadays the guides accompany people walking the bay to raise money for charity.

My photo is taken from the north shore looking southeast. Through the haze you can just see the village of Arnside (see here) across the bay (below the flying geese).