Yorkshire Walks

The path alongside the road from the RSPB car park to the track across Leighton Moss

Setting off along the road from the car park

A pond on Leighton Moss

Today we drove to the west coast to an RSPB reserve called Leighton Moss near the village of Silverdale. We parked at the RSPB visitor centre at map ref. SD476750. From the car park we turned left to walk along the road. For most of the way there is a gravel path off the road on the right hand side to enable people to walk safely from the visitor centre. After 400m we came to a track on the right which crosses Leighton Moss.

My mate, Jim, and I used to have a few days away each year for a walking trip in country that's just a bit too far from home for a day walk. It's four years since our last trip but at last we are off again. Albeit for some gentler walks than we used to do. We have booked two nights at a pub in Hawse and yesterday we did a walk from Thornton Rust.

Start of the track across Leighton Moss

Convolvulus flower amongst the reeds

A pond on Leighton Moss

Cormorant drying its wings and a greater black backed gull seen from the hide

View over Leighton Moss from the public hide

Lake at Leighton Moss

Group of calves near Leighton Hall

Leighton Hall

We sat on one of the seats for an early lunch break. It was such a lovely place it was too good to just walk by. Below us was Leighton Hall and beyond was the patchwork of lakes and ponds of Leighton Moss. To the left were the sands of Morecombe Bay and all with the backdrop of the wooded hills around Silverdale. It was a very pleasant spot indeed to sit in the sunshine.

We followed this track and about halfway across leighton Moss there is a public hide to view the wild fowl on the lake to the Northeast of the track. From the hide we continued along the track for 1.5km to Leighton Hall. Just beyond the hall we kept left off the drive to the hall and followed a path up the grassy hillside to a couple of seats at the top of the hill (map ref. SD499743)

Track leading to Leighton Hall

Hundreds of pheasants around the edge of a large field

Our view point above Leighton Hall

Path to Yealand Conyers from our view point

Path to Yealand Conyers from our view point

The road at Yealand Conyers

We followed this path through a series of sheep pastures with rocky limestone outcrops for about 1km to a road at map ref. SD496737.

Eventually we had to leave the view point and continue on the path to the road at the edge of Yealand Conyers (map ref. SD502743) At the road we turned right and walked along the road for 100m to a footpath on the left hand side of the road.

A rocky 'barrow' near Yealand Conyers

Stile to the road at Yealand Conyers

Start of the path off the road at Yealand Conyers

Peter Lane lime kiln

Crossing the fields to Grisedale Wood

The path to Grisedale Wood

Path through Grisedale Wood

The track led us through Grisedale Wood and down to a road at Crag Foot (map ref. SD479737).

We crossed the road and continued along a track opposite into Grisedale Wood.

Start of the path to Grisedale Wood

Ripe blackberries by the path

An boletus (cep) mushroom

Path through Grisedale Wood

Approaching Crag Foot with a view across the Southern part of Leighton Moss

Chimney at Crag Foot

Beyond the railway the path led us around the edge of the coastal mud flats and salt marshes. The first part of this was along the Lancashire Coastal Way route.

We walked along the road for 200m to a turning on the left which took us under the railway at map ref. SD475737.

Track under the railway at Crag Foot

Lancashire Coastal Way path along a flood bank

A heron fishing in one of the channels

Tall chimney on the rocky shore

We came to a tall chimney on the rocky shore and just past the chimney we joined a minor road.

At map ref. SD469738 we turned left to continue along the coast whilst the Lancashire Coastal Way went straight on up a wooded hillside.

Path around the coast to Jenny Brown's Point

Sunlit patterns on the bay

Path along the rocky shore

Red admiral butterfly on the roadside

Sunlit patterns on the bay near Jenny Brown's Point

Sunlit patterns on the bay near Jenny Brown's Point

It was around low water and the sunlight on the wet mudflats produce some wonderful effects. We followed the road past Jack Scout, a part of the headland owned by the National Trust with a permissive path through it.

We walked along the road around the coast for a few hundred metres to jenny Brown's Point. The scenery on the coastal part of the walk was amazing.

The road to Jenny Brown's Point

Sunlit patterns on the bay near Jenny Brown's Point

A speckled wood butterfly on the roadside

The road into Silverdale

There are some seats here with a very nice view out over Morecombe Bay.

We continued on into Silverdale and to the sea front at map ref. SD458748.

Leaving Silverdale to walk along the shore

Walking around the rocky shore to the Cove

If the tide is coming in there is a path inland that starts in Silverdale at map ref. SD460749.

The tide was out so we walked around the rocky shore for 500m to a little cove at map ref. SD456754.

Walking around the rocky shore to the Cove

Leaving the Cove for the road to Eaves Wood

Here we took the path around the southern, lower edge of the wood for about 1km to a lane at map ref. SD470762.

From the cove where the shore route and the inland path meet we followed the road for about 400m to the edge of Eaves Wood at map ref. SD461759.

Path through Eaves Wood

Path through Eaves Wood

Path leaving Eaves Wood

Woodland path around Hawes Water

Woodland path around Hawes Water

After 400m at map ref. SD474766 we turned right off the road on to a path through the woods around the little lake called Hawes Water (not the large Haweswater reservoir further North). Very little of the lake was visible through the woodland. At map ref. SD478769 we turned right to follow a path down the east side of the lake to Red Bridge about 1km away.

We crossed the lane and followed the path for almost 100m to an unmanned pedestrian level crossing of the railway. We crossed the railway to a road where we turned left and then almost at once turned right to follow a path to the next road where we turned left to walk along the road.

Pedestrian level crossing

Woodland path around Hawes Water

Woodland path around Hawes Water

Start of the permissive path at Red Bridge

There were elaborate but nonstandard yellow signs (large discs on poles) to mark the route across the golf course where the signs seem to suggest that it's up to walkers to dodge the golf balls! We saw not active golfers at all and reached the road at map ref. SD480753 without incident. At the road we turned right and retraced our steps back to the visitor centre car park. The whole route had been 15km and the walk had taken us over 6 hours including our stops. This is much further than we normally walk these days and we were both looking forward to a pint and a bar meal at our pub in Hawes.

On the edge of Red Bridge just before the bridge over the railway at map ref. SD475758, there is a permissive path on the left hand side of the road. After about 150m on this path we turned left onto a public footpath up the wooded hillside for another 100m. Here the path turned right to bring us out onto a golf course. This could be a bit confusing because on my maps the golf course is shown on the west side of the railway and road, but there definitely is a golf course to the east of the railway.

Hen & pullets by the permissive path at Red Bridge