Walk Description

With the promise of a long weekend of good weather, I set off north to make the most of my  free time.  I had agreed to meet Steve at Leighton Moss Visitors’ Centre.  We had a short stretch of road walking before we turned off towards Hawes Water (not the Lake District one). Then a gentle stroll took us along the tree lined paths and just off the main path, almost hidden by the trees, we saw the ruins of an old cottage

We then left the shady woodland path and crossed the road heading for the unmanned railway crossing.  Thankfully there were no trains whilst we were crossing.  We then made our way into the National Trust woodlands, as usually happens to us in woods, the path on the ground wasn’t on the map and we were soon far away from any marked routes.  So we continued onwards and upwards eventually reaching the large stone walk marking the boundary between the woodland and the quarry.  We then followed a small path across the mossy limestone and eventually managed to find the Pepper Pot.  We had extensive views of the surrounding area and also across Morecambe Bay towards Grange over Sands.

We then made our way down to The Cove, a delightful quiet spot on this Friday afternoon.  Steve couldn’t resist climbing up to check out the cave part way up the cliff face.  A large section of the cliff face had fallen away on the opposite side of the Cove, leaving a tree perched rather precariously on the top of the cliff.  We continued along the cliff top path heading towards Silverdale.  Here we followed the Coastal Path through the village and up the lane towards the Garden Centre where we stopped here for a very welcome, all be it pricey, cup of hot coffee.  After warming up we braved the wind and set out along the Costal Path again, passing Lindeth Tower on our way.

At Jack Scout we left the lane and walked past the old limekiln.  We then followed the cliff edge path, this was a little airy at times because of the brisk wind. At Jenny Point we clambered down onto the beach and had a scramble over the rocks.  As we walked around the headland the large chimney (remains of an old smelting mill) came into view.  Instead of going straight back to the car, we crossed the salt flats and headed towards the RSPB reserve on the other side of the river. As we walked towards the hides, we saw serious looking people with very large binoculars and cameras walking towards us, I am not sure what they had been looking at, but we only saw a pair of mallards on the water.  However the warmth and shelter we found in the hide was very welcome.

Walking along the path towards the road, we were treated to an aerial acrobatic display by the black tailed godwits and dunlins. Now all that was left for us to do, was to walk along the road back towards Leighton Moss Visitors’ Centre.  As we walked passed Slackwood Farm we were treated to an aerial display by three curlews. We then popped in to the Centre itself to have a look at their feeding station.  As usual the greenfinches, nuthatches and of course the obligatory chaffinches, blue tits and great tits were taking advantage of the food supplied in the Centre’s feeder.