Walk 129

Lancaster to Cairnforth 18miles

Heysham NPS

It's a few weeks since I had abandon my last walking holiday so I was hopeful that the weather would be a little better by now, but I was wrong!

As I stepped from the train in Lancaster the rain was pouring down, I tried to follow the map and failed so I did the sensible thing and looked for the river I had to cross, eventually I found the river and made my way upstream. The map showed a bridge almost in the town centre but what it didn't show was there is also a pedestrian bridge that runs next to the railway line so that was a added bonus to a soggy start. Once across the river I headed upstream and this took me through Salt Ayre which has a large gym and recreational area this all looked very new, and so was the path along the river as it wasn't marked on my map. Just after Salt Ayre I picked up the road that took me into Middleton and onto Heysham. Heysham is a lovely village but unfortunate it lies in the shadow of a nuclear power station, its such a shame and a real blot on the landscape . After Heysham the rain stopped and I picked up a promenade walk which took me all the way to Morecambe, this route takes in Sandylands which is a sad run down seaside resort desperate for investment, such a shame as the view across the bay is fantastic. I stopped in Morecambe for a sandwich and to have my photo taken with the statue of Eric Morecambe who is still a hero of mine.

Once the promenade runs out you have to head across marsh land, I had to play hopscotch with many a pot hole, its quite fun and a pleasant change from walking along roads. The tide was a long way out when I walked this section so I wouldn't know how to proceed if it was high tide, the route takes you through Hest Bank and Bolton le Sands and finally onto Cairnforth.