Promenades and soft sand … an interesting combination

March 19, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Monday 17th March 2025

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Not a lot of evidence of the occasion on the path today apart from some Pogues music blaring out from a seafront bar in Ingoldmells and a rather tiddly lady wearing a green felt hat on the bus.

Today we drove to Mablethorpe to start our walk to Skegness, knowing we could get the bus back. Back in the land of public transport! The drive takes us 1 hour 20mins from our accommodation in Hull and along some winding country lanes with deep eaus (colloquial name for ditches) either side, so luckily today completes this section. Again, we parked up in the Seal Sanctuary car park.

And what an absolute joy, after one mile’s walk along the road into the seafront of Mablethorpe, we had miles of easy and pleasurable promenade strolling. It’s marvellous to be able to look around and take in the views of the sea and golden sands without having to watch your every footstep as we do on most of the other coastal path terrains … keeping a lookout for trip hazards, coastal erosion … or snakes!!

Occasionally we hit a few yards of soft sand where the wind had blown it over onto the path and this seemed to get worse and worse. Then we spotted a digger ahed, clearing the sand from the path – what a hero. As we neared, we paused behind waiting for him to stop and wave us through. After a good 10 minutes he was still clearing away so we carefully sidled our way past, only to be subjected to a torrent of abuse from an old chap with no teeth but a fine set of shiny earings – the digger driver – “You could have warned me. Are you stupid?” Our heckles rose but we bit our tongues and without making eye contact kept walking forward.

We’d walked 6 miles by now and there were absolutely no public toilets open – they don’t open till Good Friday! So we were thankful to come across ‘The Vista at the Boatshed’ cafe, where we could both relieve and refresh ourselves. We were sat enjoying a cappuccino in the sun when who parks up and comes marching in but the digger driver …. we thought he had chased us down. Luckily he completely ignored us and left with his takeout coffee in hand.

After a little farmland walking we were taken on to sand dunes and today they were pretty much soft sand the whole way, which is tough especially on already tired legs. We soldiered on, stopping at 9 miles for our picnic lunch to re-energise. From there it was more soft sand dunes until we eventually reached promenade once again and that we relished. There was a 400 yard interlude of more soft sand as the sea defence path had been reclaimed by the golf course – we did divert to the beach but saw a way back onto the path – didn’t realise we were being naughty till we reached the end!!

*By the time we realised it was too late!*

When we passed Butlins we felt sure we were near but the views of the pier kept stretching ahead. Then finally, after 5 hours 16 minutes of walking and having burnt 1,688 calories, we arrived at Skegness Pier, having achieved 16.37 miles.

*Looking windswept and exhausted at the end of 16+ miles …*

Probably about 2/3 promenade to 1/3 soft sand I’d say – a fabulous walk all the same … just a tad too long!!

We get by with a little help from our friends ….

March 18, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 15th March 2025

…. and this sunny weekend it was the lovely David Jockel (DJ) that came to our aid. Without a second car, this section would have been so difficult to complete – or would have involved SO many extra (non-coastal path) miles to get to start and finish points. David drove from his Lincoln home on Saturday to meet us in Cleethorpes, joining us for the parkrun and then stayed with us all day to walk a section of the path, enabling us to have a car at each end. Sadly Ros couldn’t join us due to car troubles – we missed you so much Ros and I particularly missed our ‘walk and talk’ and being told off for being too slow!! The boys were so good though, they kept pace with me most of the way.

*The three amigos setting off from sunny Cleethorpes*

We filled up with breakfast in a seafront cafe before leaving Cleethorpes. It was an easy promenade walk to get us started and, being a bright weekend morning, it was fabulous to see so many people about – families, dog walkers … even folk without dogs! We walked on a path alongside the mud flats for a while until we spotted that things were beginning to get a bit marshy. So, with some jumping and getting feet a little wet and muddy, we picked our way back to a more solid path.

A definite lack of coastal path signage today meant that there were several decisions to be made – some of these turned out well, others didn’t. Where we gained mileage by finding unexpected bridges in places, and choosing sand dunes over inland paths, we lost out again later when walking down an embankment wall that led to nowhere! Don’t you just love a U-turn!

Apart from being 4 miles longer than originally planned it was a great day of walking, it’s so flat in this area. And as a reward, David treated us to a stunningly delicious ice-cream from ‘Applebys Ice-Cream Parlour’ in Conisholme, on our way back to fetch our car. All was well in our world … or was it!!?

Just as we reached our car in Cleethorpes, Steve made the discovery that he had left his camera with zoom lens in the car park at Donna Nook, where he’d sat for a few minutes to recover and record his day’s activity on Strava. We were convinced it would be gone but made the hour’s drive back to look anyway, we had to. We were flabbergasted and so grateful to find it was there – some wonderful person had even tucked it in against the post to obscure it a little. Prayers answered and all was well again!

12 miles of walking plus 3 miles running at Parkrun.

*Getting ready for the Cleethorpes Parkrun*

Sunday 16th March 2025

We met up with David in Mablethorpe, at the Seal Sanctuary car park. Bonus – it was free as out of season! David then drove us to where we finished off yesterday in Donna Nook, leaving Steve and I to tackle the coastal path as two, once again.

I have to say that overall it was a pleasant day of walking. We didn’t see much of the sea apart from in the distance and a short glimpse at the end. The path took us along the edge of mud flats but incredibly today we had some perfect signage that guided us in and out of some unusual areas – we might have doubted ourselves if the ‘King Charles III Coastal Path’ signs hadn’t been there. We were in good hands. We were steered inland at times and walked through some interesting villages. Finding ourselves on a section of road with no pavement, we took a gamble in heading back down towards the coast, along a farm track and along the edge of a few planted fields. Our gamble luckily paid off and we made our way onto a sea defence wall.

*The farm where we turned off – the farmer is clearly a collector of helicopters!*

After a while this changed into an area of sand dunes, not our favourite as often soft underfoot but these were great as firm and grassy … although lined with sea-buckthorn which is extremely spiky. The dunes also provided us with some undulation – we like a bit of variety, this coastline has been very flat. We were joined in the dunes by highland ponies that are obviously being rehoused in these Lincolnshire lowlands. They didn’t seem at all phased by our presence.

*Wild* *Highland ponies on the Lincolnshire Lowlands*

Another diversion inland took us through the pretty village of Saltfleet. On a bridge, a fellow walker summoned us to see the Kingfisher … but of course it flew off just before we got there! I’ve always wanted to see a Kingfisher – thwarted again. We did see a redshank there though.

Then we were back to country lanes and grassy sand dunes – it was more like a countryside walk than coastal, but not complaining, we were protected from the wind. Unfortunately, in the last section of sand dunes, we lost all signage – although we seemed to be following a path of some sort, it just went on and on like a maze, we felt like we were going round in circles. We were LOST IN THE SAND DUNES!!! I began to envisage it getting dark and us being here all night … my anxiety makes me so dramatic at times – it was only 2.30pm!! Finally we got a view of some caravans and found a way out … and best of all, it was 100 yards from our car.

*The only glimpse of the sea we saw all day.*

So a panicky end to a gorgeous day and … almost 13 more miles in the bag.

Thanks to DJ once again. Forever indebted to you for making this weekend’s 25 mile section doable for two old pensioners!!

Humber estuary finished … I see the sea!

March 16, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Friday 14th March 2025

Another absolute corker of a day. Intermittent showers but largely sunshine. Another easygoing path and …. after 8 days of walking we have finally completed both sides of the Humber Estuary!!

We parked the car up in the village of Welwick and walked a mile down a country road to reach the official Coastal Path. Lo and behold there was actual signage, beautiful new wooden ‘King Charles III Coastal Path’ signs – looked like we were going to be spoilt today. The path was wide and easy underfoot, we even had occasional stretches of newly laid tarmac in the areas where they had erected new bird hides – they must love those twitchers. Or maybe Charles and Camilla had been to visit – it was like red carpet in comparison to the usual terrain! There’d clearly been some titivation going on along these parts, all very smart.

*Sparkling new bird hides with newly laid tarmac!*

All ran smoothly until we reached the dreaded ‘no entry gate’ at Skeffling. We were obviously being diverted off but there was no hints as to which way we should go. We sort of guessed our way round and could see some construction going on. Spotting a ‘pedestrians’ sign we followed the roped off path and then saw a muddy hill taking us back up to the sea defence wall. There were lots of bright yellow diggers and men in high viz … we tried to slip by inconspicuously. We heard some shouting and beeping of horns and presumed they were just noisy builders communicating with each other. Before we reached the top, one high viz and helmeted man came running towards us saying “you can’t go that way.” Well, poor chap received the full brunt of our frustration at the lack of coastal path diversion signs – he was lovely though and listened to our woes and even showed interest in our walking project – we had such a friendly chat as he escorted us off site and directed us to where we could pick up the path. He even agreed to a selfie!

We stopped for our picnic lunch just past Kilnsea and re-energised ourselves for the rest of the walk.

At Spurn we decided to stick to the country path rather than risk the soft sands but a mile or so later we opted for beach walking (1) because the other option was to go quite some way inland and (2) we were so excited to see the sea and hear the waves. The two miles of beach walking was actually OK, not too soft and it was just amazing to be back at the real coast as opposed to the estuary mud flats. Back to my happy place.

And from there it was an easy wander into the village of Easington – another pretty East Riding village with a spectacular church. The size of churches in these Yorkshire villages is just mind blowing! This was our destination for today after 9.25 miles of walking. On discovering we had 50 minutes to wait for the bus we took the opportunity to have a rewarding drink in the ‘Marquis of Granby’ … and why not!

And for the rest of our time here now we’ll be at the seaside – lets get the buckets and spades out!

An easygoing 6 miles on the path today …

March 13, 2025March 16, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Thursday 13th March 2025

It took two buses to get us to our start point today but the connections went like clockwork. We picked up the sea defence wall where Steve left off yesterday, near the village of Paull. The terrain immediately seemed to be improvement from the previous day so that was a bonus. In fact the whole day was relatively comfortable underfoot.

There was something for everyone – some road walking, sea defence walls, farmland paths, a stroll through the pretty village of Paull, more sea defence walls, industrial backdrops and a housing estate, before an easy pavement brought us back to the main road to catch the bus back into the city. There was just about a mile of a narrow, muddy and slippery path towards the end – but with a slow pace and full concentration I managed to stay fairly upright – regretted not having my walking pole once again!

I’m so in awe of Steve and how he manages to plan these routes – I just always feel I’m in the middle of nowhere and then suddenly it all seems to piece together. It all worked like a dream today, even the buses.

Being a shorter walk, we decided to stop off in the city for a while. I deposited Steve in a Quayside Bar and went for a little cultural stroll around the Old Town and Marina. You can really see the effort they put in to earn their “City of Culture” status in recent years. As well as grabbing the opportunity to enjoy the marvellous architecture, I paid a visit to Ferens Art Gallery – not huge but some wonderful art. And of course I then joined Steve to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine to round off the afternoon.

And now to continue with the ‘easygoing’ theme of the day … it’s dinner, feet up and early to bed. We are so rock and roll.

An ‘industrial’ two days of Coastal Walking

March 11, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Monday 10th March 2025 – New Holland to Immingham…… 12.5 miles

Tuesday 11th March 2025 – Immingham to Cleethorpes ……. 11 miles

When you think of coastal walking you imagine skipping along the shore on golden sands, clifftop paths with stunning views, buzzing promenades, the odd sea defence wall to divert you from the mud flats or even an occasional woodland. No-one imagines dual carriageways and miles of heavy industry. Unfortunately that has been our experience for the last two days and, although interesting for us Southerners who rarely see it on this scale, it has not exactly been the most inspiring. However, if we’re going to join up all the dots of this UK coastal path, it just has to be done.

On Monday particularly we got up close and personal with it. At one point during the day we found ourselves walking through an oil and gas plant with its gigantic tanks, pipes, smoking chimneys and rigging. It was a public footpath! Later we reached a locked gate and had to be escorted by a security officer through an incredibly busy freight terminal – it was a public footpath! And later still there was a designated walking area through a working timber yard with mountains of stock and moving vehicles. Again, it was the public footpath! Oh we do love to be beside the seaside!!!!

*The locked gate – security escort across freight terminal*

A fair amount of road walking too, including a two mile stretch along a dual carriageway, leading out of Immingham on Monday. We tried everything to find an alternative but there was nothing … I would recommend a taxi for anyone else embarking on this route. Said dual carriageway had no pavement so we scrambled along a grass verge which was OK until it became a mass of brambles. I nearly came a cropper right at the very end – I jumped onto the road and my foot caught in the bramble … I just managed to save myself from face-planting the A160!! I shall be writing to King Charles about this – he needs to know that this path named after him is at times ‘dangerous!’ It left me quite shaky and anxious about a lot of that day’s walk as nothing seemed straightforward.

The road walking we did on Tuesday was not glamorous but at least there were pavements … and for that we were grateful.

*A beautiful ‘Tommy’ remembrance in Immingham*

The majority of the walk however was on a wide concrete sea defence wall alongside the Humber Estuary. On Monday the foghorns were sounding consistently and we presumed it was because it was foggy and this estuary is such a busy shipping lane. We found it to be a real nuisance! It was only later in the day that we heard that two hours earlier a US flagged oil tanker had collided with a ship containing highly toxic chemicals and burst into flames. We saw nothing, such a tragic incident.

We were greatly surprised when we saw a car coming towards us on the sea defence wall – that had never happened before. Then others followed, it seemed that this was a popular area for birdwatching and also for fishing – cars were permitted for those who were unable or unwilling to put in the miles on foot! In fact, come to think of it, we were the only walkers we saw all day! We were able to appreciate the birdlife though – quite the ornithological feast … terns, oystercatchers, curlews and ducks, ducks and more ducks. Couldn’t help but think what a great life they have.

The coastal path on Tuesday continued to come with stark industrial views – more oil, gas, chemical plants and a power station. It was made worse as we were diverted off the sea wall due to repairs. So we not only had the gas and smoke smells but we also passed an outrageously stinking waste disposal/recycling site and then hit the pungent fish smells of Grimsby. It was quite a day.

*Vehicles galore – waiting for new owners*

Walking through Grimbsy was quite an eye opener although we saw signs that said it was a great place to live, work and play – maybe we were just in the wrong neighbourhood. And just as Grimsby emerged into Cleethorpes, we took a turn which brought us back onto the sea defence wall. We were able to enjoy the estuary and sea views as we entered this popular seaside resort. We had a race off with a couple in mobility scooters as we hit the promenade and made our way along the amusement lined path to Cleethorpes pier – our planned destination.

We’ve walked a total of 23.5 miles in the last two days with not one Coastal Path sign in sight. Maybe we went the wrong way!! Although it is said that the UK Coastal Path is complete – is it really!? Well, we’re still ploughing on, we’re still talking, we’re still walking … and hopefully our next two weeks here will get a little less industrious!

Let’s get to ‘The Point’

March 9, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Sunday 9th March 2025

Woke up to yet another beautiful blue sky day – perfect Spring weather. Up and out sharpish as today we were walking Spurn Head Spit, where tides can be an issue – we weren’t going to take any chances. Decided to drive as the bus journey was going to take two hours. Didn’t end up saving ourselves loads of that time due to tremendously stressful traffic diversion and congestion in the city – road closures – and then further on the roads were largely restricted to 30 and 40mph. We drove through some gorgeous villages though, some with magnificent churches, and it gave us a clearer picture for further days of walking.

We managed to take the last parking spot in the car park at Spurn and predicted this was going to be a busy old place. Turned out there was a European Angling Competition taking place and the anglers were all spaced out, with all the gear, along the whole stretch of beach. We got chatting to one competitor who told us the first prize was £4,000 for the weightiest cod or ray. He loved talking all things fish but seemed completely uninterested in our coastal walking chatter – funny that!! We continued our walk up the sandy beach, a little miffed that the fishermen were hogging all the firmer sand … mustn’t grumble. After two miles we were led on to a path that took us off the beach and behind some sand dunes. This shortly turned into a concrete path … being nature lovers we’re ashamed to say that we love a concrete path occasionally – today it was a lifesaver.

*Setting off on today’s walk of Spurn Head Spit*

Spurn is a narrow sandy spit that juts out into the Humber Estuary and curves round to the North Sea. It has a lot of history as a defence location, it has a lighthouse (open for visitors and refreshments) and a redundant lifeboat station. The spit’s main purpose now is a Wildlife Haven – you just have to be aware of the unpredictable tides that can leave you stranded. We were aiming for ‘The Point’ at the furthermost tip, so an out and back which we reckoned on being about 6 miles. We felt comfortable, although not many but other walkers heading the same way – we reckoned we’d be safe.

Spurn Pilot Station

There were glorious views the whole stretch, sea all around and sandy beaches, just wonderful. Shortly past the lighthouse, the signs for ‘The Point’ took us through a long and winding stretch of sand dunes. Steve did suggest we skip this bit and just head back but I said it was a shame to get this far without getting to ‘the point’ … ha ha! Did I ever regret that comment. Because (1) ‘The Point’ was literally a bench with one of those signposts that tells you how many miles it is to Timbuktoo and (2) after that it led us back to the beach. Now I love a beach but not walking another 4 miles of it on soft sand, I’d much rather admire it from something firmer. I confess to getting a little grumpy. If ever you find yourself on Spurn Head, take my advice … maximise the use of the concrete path.

By the time we got back to the car we had clocked up nearly 9 miles, 3 more miles than estimated. We found a spot on the beach to tuck into our picnic lunch and hot chocolate – always a great soother. We could relax while watching the anglers do their stuff – well not much really, they just seem to sit and look at their lines … saw no fish activity at all.

So, despite some grumbles and some achey legs from soft sand walking, the point is … we had another fabulous day.

All about the Humber Bridge

March 8, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 8th March 2025

*We had views of this wonderful bridge all day*

Naturally, bright and early we hotfooted it to our usual Saturday morning activity and today’s choice was the Humber Bridge parkrun. For anyone planning to do this one, leave yourself plenty of time after parking up as it’s a fair old walk to the start and down a particularly steep set of steps to boot. And remember those lovely steps are waiting for you to climb up on your return, so pace yourself! But what a fabulous route – three trail laps around pretty woodland – this Country Park was originally a quarry.

Before setting off on today’s Coastal Path walk we sensibly checked in to a Greene King pub for breakfast – turned out to be pretty disastrous. We were pointed to a table without being given any instructions, so we fiddled around trying unsuccessfully to download the app. Our table was right next to an ever growing table of cheery bikers – they were lovely but incredibly noisy and we were just drowned out! No-one came to serve us so we moved to a different table and then just decided to help ourselves to the buffet. We had to search around for plates – the food was good but cold by the time we’d waited for the bread to toast! And there were no mugs so NO tea! Oh well, we had some sustenance which is more than we accomplish sometimes!

We parked up again at the Hessle Foreshaw car park (it’s free) as today we were walking the other side of the estuary. We caught a bus to Barton on Humber and a train from there to New Holland. We had a very smooth connection (timing is everything) and enjoyed our little countryside ride.

Disembarking in New Holland, we found ourselves walking amongst impressive seaport industrial sites -it is a tidal dock, almost entirely used for the import of timber. The path eventually led us on to the more peaceful environment of embankment wall where we had spectacular views to our right of the Humber Estuary and to our left a nature reserve gleaming in the sunshine. We could see the Humber Bridge in the distance and as we walked the views just got more and more magnificent.

*Started our walk from New Holland Railway Station*

The weather was glorious again today – blue skies and sunshine. I was walking in my t-shirt most of the way, Steve clung on to his layers and thick jacket! And the spring flowers and blossom make this time of year even more joyous – it’s a good to be alive day!

Just before the bridge we dived into the Humber Hideaway cafe where we indulged in lashings of tea and raspberry and coconut slices – yum! From there it was a short walk to the bridge – we eventually found the access route to get on it, one pedestrian side was closed. It was a stunning walk over with views of the Humber river and the surrounding area stretching for miles. Then back to Hessle to find the car.

So, 7 miles clocked up in coastal walking + 3 miles of parkrun – think we got our steps in today.

Friday 7th March 2025

Just to fill the gap in from yesterday – day off the coastal path – we went to Hull New Theatre instead to see ‘The Book of Mormon.’ If you haven’t seen it – go, it’s hilarious!

So so sunny Yorkshire

March 6, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Thursday 6th March 2025

Yesterday we drove up to our latest house-sitting assignment in the village of Anlaby, East Riding – just a short bus ride away from the interesting city of Hull. We’re here to see what the Yorkshire coastal path has to offer us in the way of adventure.

I have to say that today’s ramble was gorgeously straightforward – easy terrain, blue skies and oodles of sunshine. We parked up in the Hessle Foreshore Country Park car park and were immediately wowed by the views of the quite magnificent Humber Bridge, so majestic. And on our walk up to the bus stop we were further impressed by the grand houses with sweeping driveways – breathtaking but every newspaper boy’s nightmare. We had to admit that this is just not what we expected of Hull.

Two different bus rides took us to where we wanted to start our walk today and it was the perfect chance to get our first glimpse of the city. We said it so many times today – so different to our expectations – stunning period architecture mixed in with clean modern buildings, smart streets with vibrant atmosphere – we just can’t wait to explore more.

*Starting off from the industrial area of Salt End – the large Siemens site* (wind turbine blades in the background).

These towers are connected with either the gas powered power station or more likely a large chemical production facility … check out this list … acetic acid, anhydride, ammonia, butanol, ethyl acetate and vinyl copolymer … yes I don’t know either!

Salt End is where we started and it was a long straight walk through an impressive large scale industrial area – the pavement being wide and plentiful and set well aside from the road. Great coastal path signs too, confirming we were doing okay thus far. And the signs eventually led us off the main road and along to the Humber Estuary, this magnificently wide river basking in sunshine. Estuary walking generally means trudging along muddy paths or suffering high winds on embankment walls, but not today – the path almost the whole stretch was like a promenade, all our dreams come true! For a section we were diverted off and into the quayside area, down a popular street of pavement cafes and colourful shops. At the harbour we had to walk over a small lock and then an incredibly high lock – needed us to switch on our ‘head for heights’ bravery. Made for interesting views over the city though.

The last two miles we were provided with a kerbside path that was fenced off from the high volume of traffic on a major road – noisy but, like the rest of the day, perfectly manageable.

*Nearing the end of our 10 mile walk at the magnificent Humber Bridge*.

A bowl of Shreddies, a Gregg’s sausage roll and a fruit bar had fuelled our 10 mile walk today – no cup of tea stops unfortunately. And sadly I have the onset of a sore throat and head cold, so have stocked up on a concoction of strepsils, lem-sip, Jakemans, Paracetamol and vitamin C – nothing’s going to stop me on my quest!

It’s wonderful to be back on the path – we’re lapping up this fresh air and sunshine – long may it last.

So so sunny Yorkshire!

To Morecambe … and back again

January 26, 2025March 4, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Saturday 25th January 2025

Storm Eowyn has been doing its stuff over the last couple of days – today we woke up to stunning blue skies, but still a whole load of wind. So Saturday at 9.00am, of course we found ourselves at a Parkrun! The Lancaster one had been called off due to fallen trees and so Morecambe it was – and how lovely to finally find ourselves at the seaside. It was a wonderful out and back run along the promenade with fantastic views of the wide expanse of sand, the sea and the Lake District coastline on the horizon. The return part was not much fun however as we were running into strong wind – it was a battle.

We drove back to Lancaster and after a quick turn around we were heading back to Morecambe – this time walking. We caught the bus to the bus station (our starting point), couldn’t find the bus station cafe so carried on – our tummies were well and truly rumbling by the time we came across sustenance in Starbucks, about two miles in.

The Bay cycleway had been our path thus far, and we could have carried on this very pleasurable route all the way to Morecambe but that would have only been a couple more miles and cheating as so inland. The true coastal path option was a little risky as it floods daily and you need to know the timing of the tides. It would also have meant going via Heysham and being a 15 mile day. So our plan was to walk roadside into Morecambe – we had two roads to choose from. We checked them both out, neither had pavements! One of them did have a narrow kerb so we went for that, but it really wasn’t safe as it was National speed limit and we were getting some funny stares. A little over a mile of this stress we came to a turn off and Steve worked out a cross country option. And it was beautiful. Yes it was muddy paths and waterlogged farm fields but I’d take that over the craziness of speeding vehicles any day. A huge relief.

When we reached the outskirts of Morecambe, we had another hellish 200m walking another section of narrow busy road, with the blindness of a bridge thrown in. We took our life into our hands inching our way up and over, making our way to the safe haven of pavement. We really did get some puzzled looks that time!

And before we knew it, we were on the beautiful promenade of Morecambe – all our stress fell away. We walked 4 miles along this perfect stretch, making our end point at the oh so famous Eric Morecambe statue. What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful entertainer. It felt fitting to pay our respects for all those heartwarming Christmas Day memories.

Morecambe Bay with the Lake District in the background.

There’s a huge amount of Cormorant sculptures – funnily enough we didn’t actually see any real ones!

The absolutely wonderful Eric Morecambe!

Me and Eric xx

We treated ourselves to food and a few celebratory drinks back in Lancaster. So recommend ‘Merchants 1688,’ a bar just near the castle, a fabulously atmospheric venue for eating and drinking.

Today we walked 8 miles (plus our 3 mile run in the morning of course!!)

On this trip, we have covered off 43.5 miles over 4 days of coastal walking. Not bad for a couple of old codgers. And we will be coming back one day to continue this stretch of coastline, beginning with a guided 9 mile walk over Morecambe Bay, notorious for its quick sands – we are definitely not taking any risks by going solo!! Till next time Morecambe.

Walking into Lancaster

January 24, 2025March 18, 2025 / Dee and Steve / Leave a comment

Let’s give this a go!! Yesterday’s blog was taken down from Facebook – I have no idea why. I have appealed and am waiting to hear.

Thursday 23rd January 2025

Apart from being up to our ankles in mud and at one point up to our knees in water, our walking day wasn’t too bad. The start was a little challenging and I so nearly turned back. It was a ridiculously narrow path, on a slope and slippery. After a half mile of this, with lots of muttering, we took the alternative lower path which was very wet – nothing like starting the day off with wet feet!

The first 6 miles was a complete mixed bag of terrain – from boggy to tarmac, from puddles to farm lanes – you never take anything for granted. Stopped and had a lovely chat with a farmer in his tractor – he was just about to start lambing and explained all about it. He was fascinated that we were walking all the way to Lancaster in this weather – mad Southerners! I’m sure this area is fabulous in sunshine but even today the Lune estuary was pretty scenic.

Our half way point was Glasson Dock, a quiet village and marina. We treated ourselves to a coffee stop and a humungous slice of Millionaire’s Shortbread – they had the thickest layer of caramel and the thickest layer of chocolate that you’ve ever seen – the perfect energy booster.

Rejuvenated we made our way to our next path and were delighted to find another tarmac surface – in fact it appeared to be an old railway walk as long, straight and flat – a complete breeze for ramblers. Halfway along, the app suggested a turn off onto a sea wall path – after a ‘brief’ investigation we decided it was far too muddy so stuck to the very lovely manageable path all the way to Lancaster – great decision.

It felt like coming home walking back into Lancaster. We’ve so quickly blended into this historic city – everywhere you look is magnificent, even the newer builds are so cleverly designed to merge in tastefully. Plenty of student halls too – sneaky views of untidy bedrooms!

11 miles today.

And back to our temporary home, muddy boots and all – to find our little charges, Monty and Kit, in their usual cuddling position.

The rambling roses

Come along with us on our journeys :)

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