On the OS map there is no clear path along the coast from Bardsea, apart from an initial stretch along a dirt track at the back of the beach. So, after much rumination we decide to try it anyway – the beach is enormous and the water very far away.

The woods to our right mark the edges of Bardsea Country Park and Sea Wood, both of which will make it difficult to join the road if the beach proves too troublesome – I’m really hoping this won’t prove necessary.

After a mile or so the path ends at a clearing, where some slightly anarchic houses have been put together up on the embankment. They remind me of some of the buildings in Freetown Christiania where I lived for 10 years – and no it wasn’t all sex, drugs and rock and roll. I paid my dues for many years working in the nursery, the cinema and the after school club and also participated in countless meetings and “work days”.

Here’s the Wiki link and a few Google images.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania

The path ends here so we now have to choose between walking on the shingles/pebbles at the back of the beach or the muddy sands with the occasional patches of slimy slippery boulders. We choose the latter as the pools of water are shallow and not high enough to sneak over the tops of our boots. In fact the water is so far away that the easiest way is to head out to sea across the deserted sands.

Inland, the few buildings that can be seen indicate that we have passed Baycliff and Aldingham – the grand looking white house next to the church is apparently a retirement home. If you have to retreat from the world, this is not a bad place to do it.

Our progress on the map is marked by a series of “scars” – headlands of cobble and boulder. After Aldringham Scar we walk round Elbow Scar, Moat Scar, Newbiggin Scar and Leonard Scar. I can’t wait to reach Point of Comfort Scar.

We are now a little tired of walking on wet sand and decide to move inland to find somewhere for lunch – a bench, facing the sea on the edge of a caravan park will do very nicely thank you. Moving on I am thwarted in my efforts to find a footpath running parallel to the main road as somebody seems to have built a house on it. So it’s back to the main road where the only option is the grass verge.

On a bend in the road, Damian suddenly crumples up in front of me and lands on his back in the grass – a concealed rabbit hole was quietly waiting for any unsuspecting foot that happened to be passing by. A couple of seconds after the incident a car pulls up on the side of the road “Can I help?” the woman driver asks through the car window – we thank her and wave her on, the kindness of strangers. The damage – a sprained big toe but he can still walk. Oh dear.

Fortunately, just after the Point of Comfort (how apt) we are able to leave the road and walk along a concrete walkway, away from the traffic. This then takes us up onto a minor road and past the village of Rampside where a tall tower rises up from the marshy beach. Known locally as The Needle, this lighthouse was one of thirteen beacons built in the late nineteenth century to aid navigation into the port of Barrow in Furness.

A little further on we pass the long straight road which runs across the causeway to Roa Island, from where a summer only ferry runs across to Piel Island. These two destinations are not part of our itinerary as I decided back in 2011 that my project would not include islands or anything that calls itself an island. i just don’t have the time …….

We are now following a cycle route first across farmland and then along the edge of a muddy bay called Roosecote Sands. The path runs past gas terminals, flare stacks and a sewage works to end up taking us through an area of allotments where a brood of chickens finish off the rest of our lunch.

From Old Roose station it’s a short train ride to the centre of Barrow in Furness and our AirBnb.

Distance: 12 miles