Pictures From My Cycle Tour Of Lancashire Featuring Morecambe Bay And The Forest Of Bowland

Welcome to this part of my site featuring some outstanding pictures taken from my successful cycle tour of Lancashire during May and June 2010. Out of all my 25 years of cycle touring I have never taken cycle touring in Lancashire for granted and this is probably because my home county of North Yorkshire has everything such as the Yorkshire Dales and the East Coast. The County Of Lancashire is situated in North West England boarded by Cumbria in the North and The Yorkshire Dales to the East. Also before 1974, The cities of Manchester and Liverpool that border south of the county were part of Lancashire before local Government reorganization. Lancashire is also home to many famous TV shows such as The Morecambe And Wise TV Comedy Show during the 70s and Coronation Street. Pictures in the order of 1 to 11 are from my tour of The Forest of Bowland, AONB, Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty which lies West of The Yorkshire Dales National Park. The Forest Of Bowland is rugged unspoilt beautiful country side that covers 312 square miles of North Lancashire and parts of North Yorkshire. This particular cycle tour takes in National and Regional route 90 which is part of the Lancashire Cycleway and goes through the middle of Bowland known as quite lane before descending into the picturesque village of Slaidburn featured in Pictures 2 to 5. Slaidburn is the main village that caters very well for cycle tourists and walkers, with its Youth Hostel and local Pub. There is also a village store adjacent to the Youth Hostel. Dunsop Bridge is another of bowland's picturesque villages which lies on the banks of The River Hodder featured in picture 11 and not only is it located in Lancashire but if you count Ireland, Scotland and the Channel Islands it is in the centre of Great Britain. Dunsop Bridge is dominated by a lovely village green by the river bank and can be a very busy picnic spot with families during the summer weekends. There is also a village store with cafe adjacent to the village green, but opening hours may vary. Picture 12 is my circular onroad route of this tour which started and finished back to my Yorkshire home town of Harrogate. Pictures in the order of 13 to 28 are from a separate tour of the North Lancashire coast of Morecambe Bay and although I say Lancashire, the seaside villages of Arnside and Grange Over Sands lie within south Cumbria. This part of the Lancashire coast is very quite compared to the southern section between the Holiday resorts of Morecambe up to Southport situated at the start of The Trans Pennine Trail near Liverpool and is the most scenic, enjoyed by many walkers and cycle tourists. A word of warning regarding rights of way across Morecambe Bay. It is very advisable to keep to the coast footpaths as many people have been cut off and drowned particularly at high tides never to be found. Pictures in the order of 14 to 20 are based on the seaside village of Arnside where Kent Estuary meets Morecambe Bay. Arnside also lies within AONB area of outstanding natural beauty and is a haven for birds and there are some lovely walks. The surrounding woods that dominate the south side of the town is known as Ash Meadows where you can have a nice evening walk from the Youth Hostel to the seafront to probably round off the rest of the evening with a drink in the Albion Pub and also admire the lovely west sunset view over Grange Over Sands as seen in picture 19. Arnside Knot featured in the pictures of 14 to 16 is a 520 feet fell that dominates Arnside and the surrounding area of Morecambe Bay and is owned by the National Trust. Arnside Knot has many nice wooded walks and there are some splendid north west views across Morecambe Bay to The Lake District Fells where's if you look towards the east, the Bowland and Yorkshire Fells of Ingleborough are visible on a clear day. Pictures in the order of 21 to 24 feature the seaside village of Silverdale which lies about 3 miles south of Arnside and its rocky seashore has some splendid views in all directions which to the north as you can see in pictures 23 and 24 Arnside Knot is visible along with the coasts low cliffs that dominate this section of Morecambe Bay. Pictures in the order of 25 to 27 feature the pretty seaside resort of Grange Over Sands, accessible by a short railway trip from Arnside which until the 1850s used to be the major route from Lancaster. Grange Over Sands lies on the southern tip of the Cartmel Peninsula and is noted for its mild climate in which most people name it as the Torquay of the North West Of England. Like Dawlish located in south Devon, its railway station is in a similar location situated on the seafront surrounded by some lovely parks and gardens but the only disappointment is there is no sunbathing or buckets and spades for the children to enjoy as the sea shore is mostly made up of marsh with no real beach of such which is probably why this resort retains is quite charm all year round. Picture 29 is a map of my onroad 84 mile cycle trip from my Yorkshire town of Harrogate and despite slight detours on this trip, it takes in almost half of the new coast to coast route, The Way Of The Roses which is a new 170 mile trail which starts from the East Yorkshire holiday resort of Bridlington to the Holiday resort of Morecambe in Lancashire. Talking of the seaside resort of Morecambe and the historic City of Lancaster, they are both a very worthwhile visit and are accessible from Arnside by national cycle route 6 along the Lancaster Canal which I hope to include on future visits of this area.