The route folows the Lancashire Coastal Way, which runs on the coast from Merseyside to Cumbria. While my journey today finishes at Pilling, The Way continues on up and in to the Lake District. The weather forecast for the day was changeable, with showers expected later in the afternoon. With an early start I hoped to be finished before that happened. For the early part of the walk from Cleveleys to Rossall Point, I was joined by my daughter, Morven, who provided transport to the starting line and subsequently jogged back the car from Rossall.
As you leave the Larkholme area of Cleveleys you are walking on the wide concrete promenade which is part of the £64M coastal defence works completed in 2018. There is a sandy pebble beach on your left and the rough ground of the golf course on your right. The beach highline is a sand and pebble mixture that includes a complex mixture of volcanic and sedimentary rock, carried here mainly from up Cumbria way by natural forces, including tidal drift and long ago glacial activity.
To the back of tower there are located public toilets but be warned, they are coin-operated, as are many of the public conveniences on this stretch of coast, as I found to my dismay. As well, on the day of my walk the toilets were closed because of the Co-vid situation which, with the cold walking conditions did tend to make the day a little more difficult than it could have been.
Turning the corner from the Beach Lighthouse you reach the ferry terminal. With fifteen minutes to spare before the next ferry I was able to catch a cup of coffee and a cake at the cafe next door to the terminal.
With ten minutes to spare before departure, I had an interesting conversation with a crew member who was an ex-fisherman. We discussed the imminent departure from the EU and the latter's impact on the British fishing industry. To say he had strong feelings about the Common Fisheries Policy would be to understate it. As a dyed-in-the-wool European, it was interesting for me to hear a completely different viewpoint on the EU based on the direct experiences of one of its policies. While I nonetheless remain committed to the European ideal, the gentleman's experiences were sobering and much food for thought.
For most of us the effects of the policies of the market are filtered before they impact on us. For example, when I go to the fish shop the impact of the fisheries policy may impact on the price I pay but it does not directly impact on my day to day capacity to provide for myself and my family. Not so for fishermen, many of whom have seen their livlihoods disappear. While one hopes that the government lives up to their extravagant promises to the fishing community, I suspect it will not happen as the realities of international politics will severely restrain them. The world, as they say, moves on!
In front of me in the distance I could see the higher peaks of the Forest of Bowland and to the north west the hills at the back of Morecambe Bay. The walking on the sand was fine and firm at first but as I neared the area of saltmarsh close to the first of the floodgates the firmness disappeared and the walking became slightly more difficult. When the sand began to appear damp, the sand clinging to the bottom of my boots, I decided to take to the hard path at the back of the beach. I walked for a bit on the path before deciding to stop for lunch and sat on the wall just off the Wyre & Lune Sanctuary Nature Reserve to admire the scenery and to watch the tide come in, which it did very quickly. The nature reserves is part of the marine conservation zone that encompasses the area.
As you approach the Pilling Marsh area the pathway stops, albeit to the front the seawall continues. The OS map does not show a route along the seawall at this point and the formal route turns inland. Knowing this I had arranged my route that I would go inland, bypass the village and be picked up at the amenities area located near the end of Backsands Lane. Before turning off the path, however, I could see no obstacle to continuing along the coast. Indeed, later, as I walked down the road towards the amenities area I could actually see a couple of people walking on that end of the seawall. It may be that while there is no formal footpath, it is okay to walk on the wall or else it is ignored if you do so. While at the amenities area I checked with a local dog walker who was of the view that the seawall was private property. Let me know if you think differently.
Looking back to the village, over to the Broadfoot Bridge area there is a clear view of the fine looking Pilling or Damside Windmill. Built in 1808, the sails on the mill were removed in 1897, shortly after the mill was converted to steam power. It was in operation until 1926 following which the fabric of the building slowly deteriorated before restored in 1975 and converted to use as a residence.
While it had been a day of contrasts from the concrete promenade of Cleveleys to the sandy beach of Knot End, from cold wind to close and hot, it was still a nice day's walking with some lovely views out over the water to the distant Morecambe Bay and the hills beyond. Tired and a bit stiff from the walking, I was pleased that I had made the decision to base myself in the hotel at Glasson and was returning to a bit of luxury and a cooked meal and not pitching a tent in the wilds and eating out of a mess tin.