Waiting for the final train connection at Lancaster, the tannoy system announces all the stops to Carlisle that will mark my route for the next nine days, as I complete the West Coast of England, linking up with the Scottish section of my coastal walk. It’s grey and damp, with a chill in the air. The scene is set.
Arriving at Barrow-in-Furness around 1 pm, there’s not enough time for a complete circuit of Walney Island, so is it to be an 11-mile loop round the north or the south? I prefer to look at what lies ahead, and the north section should also give me a fine view of the Lake District mountains.
There’s a good path through the North Walney nature reserve, circling the quiet airport.
As hoped, the Lake District rises above the dunes. Is that the Old Man of Coniston to the right?
Rather than return via the bridge, the OS map shows a path across Walney Channel, the ominously named Widows Crossing. I’d read somewhere that it can be crossed at low tide, which is still two hours away, so it does not look promising.
Picking my way down to the water’s edge, there’s a faint outline of a path beneath the water. The tide runs fast. I’m in no hurry.
The crossing is soon revealed, and I tentatively make my way across. It’s never that simple. There’s a gap, not too wide, but I’m carrying a full backpack, and the stones are wet and slippery with seaweed. The water pours through the breach — not a great place to fall in. Checking the water depth with my poles, it’s waist-deep with a solid floor. There are reassuring stony shallows a little further downstream.
A small leap and I’m safely over. It’s a shortcut to my Travelodge, home for the next two nights.
Next day
As the days shorten, an early start means a return to hiking in the dark, although I don’t feel I’m missing any views on the industrial road out of town.
At Sowerby Wood, I turn into the Sandscale Haws nature reserve, as the sun rises for a beautiful dawn. Shorter days do have some benefits.
A small off-grid community of wooden huts perches on Lowsy Point.
Who lives here? Unfortunately, given the early hour, there’s no one around to talk to. Not even a dog to bark at my passing.
The place reminds me of Dungeness. It seems so fragile, as though a strong gale could sweep the flags, small boats and huts into the sea.
It’s turning into a perfect Autumn day for hiking — clear, dry and cool. The northern dunes of Walney Island, where I hiked yesterday, lie across the still water.
There are several tracks through the dunes. I try to follow one within sight of the sea but soon lose my bearings, pushing my way through long, wet grass, trousers soaked.
I finally resort to my iPhone OS app, which shows how far I’ve strayed. I started off on the black trail — master navigator.
Emerging from the dunes, I follow the shoreline round to Askam-in-Furness, enjoying a beautiful view from the pier, unusually made of slag from the old ironworks.
The path to Kirkby-in-Furness is challenging as the high tide forces me off the beach. The OS map shows the path turning inland, crossing the rail tracks, which conflicts with yellow marker posts along the marsh. I follow the OS map, which is a big mistake. The fields are sodden, water flowing over the top of my boots, and I can’t find any way through Guards Farm, forced back into the fields, before crossing the rail tracks once more and rejoining the coast. Playful dogs seem a lot happier with wet feet.
From Kirkby-in-Furness, I choose a series of minor roads to Foxfield to avoid the busy A595, before turning inland to Broughton-in-Furness.
The Manor Arms is a welcoming place to take a break, with decent beer and friendly dogs roaming. I probably should have skipped the large bag of mini-cheddars. They always seem wonderful at the start. I’ve still a long way to go and it’s already 3 pm.
A footpath allows me to avoid the heavy traffic on the A595 until crossing Duddon Bridge. The OS map shows another path up the hillside, but I’m reluctant to extend a 25-mile day and risk the road, avoiding speeding lorries and slightly slower farm vehicles, before passing the resting place of fallen fellow hikers.
It’s a relief to reach the turn-off for Lady Hall, leading to an embankment walk into Millom.
I’m weary and the cold night is falling, so the last thing I want to see is train cancellations, meaning at least a two-hour wait. Will the later train run? There is no bus service back to Barrow-in-Furness. This is not good.
A young man appears. He’s a sound and lighting technician for the nearby theatre and says this is a regular occurrence. It’s nice to have some company. I’ve never been so happy to see a replacement bus turn up. We have the bus to ourselves and the driver kindly drops me off outside my Travelodge, where a welcome hot shower waits.
Walk distance: 36 miles.
Total distance: 3,358 miles.
Glad to see you included Walney Island, but I certainly didn’t include the crossing you used! Looks quite fund though if you are careful.
Hope you didn’t upset the Submarine people around threre, they don’t like you taking photos! You have captured the variety well with your photos. The coast of Cumbria was not quite what I had expected and parts of it did feel quite neglected but as you probably know by now you will be seeing quite a few more little shacks like that along the coast.
Shame about the trains though, the rail service seems to have been pretty hopeless since Covid (not that it was that great beforehand), but I don’t recally frequently seeing multiple trains in a row cancelled, which seems to be unfortunately common now.
I had read about your (and others) encounters with the BAE security chaps. I did not take any photos of the buildings so I guess they were not interested in me.
The old industrial towns in Cumbria did feel run down, but that’s the same all over the country where shipbuilding, coal and steel used to thrive.
I don’t normally like relying on public transport for the return leg but the logistics defeated me that day. One of the benefits of camping is that you avoid all this.
Ah, I would have enjoyed that submerged concrete path across the straits, but I didn’t bother with Walney Island. Those huts at Lowsy Point are quite weird aren’t they? There’s more weird huts further up the coast (can’t remember where now) in Cumbria, and on Glen Isle and the Torr Peninsula in Dumfries & Galloway, I wonder if they’re in similar cloudy legal situations.
You were probably wise to avoid the off-road path around Duddon Bridge too, it was a pain in the a*se!
Yes, I know you are keen on wading across channels and estuaries 😉
I love all those isolated collections of wooden huts. Must be freezing in winter though. Some of them looked to have permanent residents rather than just seasonal.
I once got the train from Carlisle to Foxfield , a request stop, if I remember rightly. That was followed by a late breakfast in Broughton before heading up the Duddon Valley – a great way to enter the Lake District!
It is a request stop. The walk inland to Broughton was beautiful. I chose it to avoid the A595 but it is worth a detour just for the views.