After a hearty breakfast with my sister and her husband, we set off from West Lancashire, hoping to arrive in Silverdale in time for a five mile walk before sunset. The village stands on Morecambe Bay near the border with Cumbria and consists of a collection of pretty grey stone buildings, a parish church, a hotel and post office. Twenty of the buildings are listed and one former resident of note was the comedian Victoria Wood.

After stocking up on a few provisions we walk cautiously down the lane leading to the shore, trying to avoid the patches of black ice that haven’t yet succumbed to the afternoon sunshine. Once there we are firmly directed away from the lane on to the beach, which looks distinctly soggy.

Clambering over boulders at the back of the beach to avoid getting our feet wet, we manage for a while until we come to a small headland standing in deep water – too deep to wade. The escape route is up the cliff and over a stone wall where I manage to bruise my hip heaving myself over the top few sharp stones. My struggles would probably raise a laugh but thankfully I have no audience.

After this little adventure we cross a field and find a signpost to Arnside which directs us down though a patch of woodland and up onto a road. We now leaving Lancashire and entering Cumbria.

Following the road down the hill we arrive in front of a collection of houses and farm buildings marked as Far Arnside on the map. A little later we walk through a beautifully manicured caravan park where we stop for a bit of local knowledge – we are told that the cliff path is a little sheer.

Fortunately there are only a few places where I had to glue my eyes to the narrow path, but otherwise there were stunning views over what is still the immense sweep of Morecambe Bay.

A mile or so on the cliffs give way to waterlogged marshland – a woman walking her dog spends most of the time hopping from one mossy tuft to another trying to avoid getting her feet wet.

And then we are down on the flatlands, the late afternoon sun lighting up the tans, greens and rusty reds of the landscape.

Closer to Arnside, the silhouette of a viaduct appears from the emerging dusk. If it was possible to walk across it to Grange over Sands we could save ourselves fifteen miles. However, despite vigorous local and national support for a walkway/cycle route across the bay, the feasibility report published in 2023, is still awaiting consent from Network Rail. I’m sure it will happen……………

From the end of the promenade at Arnside we walk along the seafront and on to the railway station, where we have twenty minutes before the train arrives. By the time it does we are both chilled to the bone, and very grateful for the warmth of the surprisingly crowded train.

We get out of the train in Silverdale, only to realise that our accommodation is a mile and a half away down a dark, narrow, icy, unlit road. Crossing fingers we set off, squeezing ourselves into the hedgerows every time a car passes, until I realise that I can use my phone’s torch to light up my position in the road.

Feeling slightly safer I now dare to look up and enjoy the delicate new moon and evening star in the heavens above.

Distance: 5 miles