Tuesday 29th September 2026

Wow, wow, wow … what a spectacular day of walking. Steve came up trumps again, picking out a safe walk between Arnside and Grange Over Sands, as there is still no sign of the official Coastal Path. He knew that walking close to the estuary waterside might be dangerous so he had mapped out the nearest inland route and it proved to be amazing.

We started off by catching the train to Arnside which very scenically runs along the waters edge. The first station after Lancaster is Carnforth (incidentally pronounced Carn fth and not Carn 4th as we’ve been saying)! Much to my delight, this station was used as the filming location for the 1945 romantic classic ‘Brief Encounter’ – such a favourite of mine. The platform bistro and bar are styled to mirror the iconic film set. I hope to pay it a visit before we leave.

We walked along a pleasant embankment wall leaving Arnside and, ironically, we were sheltered from some extremely blustery winds, as there were tall trees running alongside. This path took us to the edge of town, with just one teeny stretch of very wet slippery sand that without my walking pole I would not have stayed upright. We then had a short stretch of busy, no pavement road before we turned off down a country lane … and from thereon in we were just in splendid countryside the whole day.

And the paths, though not coastal, were all so manageable – either country lanes, villages or farm fields. A fair bit of it was cycle path and extremely popular with our speedy lycra clad chums. Apart from cyclists, we spent hours in the company of sheep, cows, pheasants and partridges. We had 360 degree views of the lushest green countryside I have seen in some time, with hills and rivers, long stone walls and magnificent properties that you would see in Period Dramas. We feel so grateful that we have the opportunity to experience this – everybody should come to Cumbria.

We reached the village of Levens at 7 miles and it was a great spot to enjoy our lunch. I had to make a decision to either end my walk here (as it was the last place I could connect to public transport) or … to walk on another 9 miles. A tricky decision. But, I decided I had it in me and I’m delighted I did. It was tough I’m not denying it but it was gorgeous and worth every step of the way.

The weather was kind to us all day – there were frequent grey clouds and the cows were laying down but the rain stayed away. Plenty of sunshine too which made everything seem even greener. Can’t believe our luck.

Towards the end there was a fair amount of uphill walking before we started our descent into Grange Over Sands, finishing off with a promenade walk. We clocked up 16 miles today and were very proud of ourselves – a good day’s work. We caught the train back from here and were amused at the fact that what had taken 6 hours to walk, took 8 minutes by train. Food for thought!!