The walk begins on the seafront from the seafront parking places at the end of the B5282 just across from the Albion public house. Arnside itself has been designated an area of outstanding beauty, with other walks available such as those up to Arnside Knott.
Walk to the end of the road and follow the green footpath sign for New Barns Bay. The concrete path initially stays a few feet above the shoreline and curves round the headland. The tide here comes in and out very quickly, and if you venture out onto the sand, great care must be exercised not to be overtaken by the quickly advancing tide. Walks are undertaken on certain days of the year across the sands to Grange Over Sands on the other side of the Kent Estuary.
The Queens Guide of the Sands, Cedric Robinson, leads these walks as he has done now for numerous years, and details of when these take place can be ascertained from Arnside Tourist Information Office. Cedric now has become so much of a celebrity that he has published two books on the walk across, ‘Sand Walker’ and ‘Sand Pilot of Morecambe Bay’.
Cedric though was not the first to walk these sands. The followers of Robert the Bruce made their way across the Bay whilst invading Lancashire in 1322.
Arnside to New Barns Bay
All the way along the front there are views across to Grange Over Sands, the Lakeland hills and back to the railway viaduct across the estuary. The railway continues across the estuary from here to Grange, Ulverston and Barrow, whilst a few miles in the other direction it reaches Carnforth station (of Brief Encounter fame).
After about five minutes, the lifeboat’s hut is reached. After a while the concrete path disappears and the walk continues over the sand and the pebbles at the side of the estuary. A few minutes further walk brings the path to a wooden jetty that crosses the path. The wooden jetty takes the boats from the boatyard on the left down to the water.
Continue ahead for the red lifebuoy on the headland ahead. The path swings around to the left into New Barns Bay. There are excellent views from here across to Grange Over Sands. The path keeps close to the rock face on the left-hand side and then continues ahead on the grass heading for the telegraph pole. At the end of the grassy path there is a red bar across the walkway. The path here meets a road. Turn left onto the road and head away from the water.
The road initially swings around to the right, then back to the left and starts to slowly climb. After a few yards up this road there is a footpath sign off to the right, signed Silverdale and Arnside Knott. Arnside Knott is visible on the skyline to the right. Ignore this sign and continue ahead on the road. A few hundred yards further, just through a metal gate, a crossroads is reached where the walk continues straight ahead, now passing a few houses. Along large stretches of this road, excellent views can be glimpsed through the houses to the left out across the estuary. Continue along this road for about ½ mile until a T-junction is reached.
Turn left at this T-junction and follow the road back down the hill. Turn left at the Albion public house, along the promenade back to the parking places.
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