Hidden
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
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Take a walk across
MORECAMBE BAY
in the company of the Queen's Official Guide, Cedric Robinson,
MBE
A chance to walk across Morecambe Bay in the company of the
official guide, Cedric Robinson MBE. The tides allow this to happen
on 24 April, 2010, leaving Arnside Pier at 2pm prompt.
MORECAMBE BAY CROSSING 24 April 2010, 2pm
The start time will allow time for people to drive to Kents Bank in
the morning and take the train back in readiness for the start. The
crossing will take about 3 hours (give or take), but there is no
convenient train back to Arnside until well after 6pm.
Anyone proposing to drive first to Kents Bank should note
that the rail service is limited on Saturday; the only trains
available are 0858, 0953, 1047 and 1241. The journey time
is 10 minutes to Arnside station - as you leave the station, turn
right towards the centre of Arnside. A single rail ticket is
£2.60.
Post walk refreshment will be available at the Albion Pub, a
real ale pub on the seafront at Arnside. Meals will cost £8 per
head from a short menu comprising steak and ale pie, Cumberland
sausage and mash, curry, or vegetarian pasta dish. You can, of
course, eat a little more expensively, from the à la carte menu. If
you want food, please let me know.
Cedric receives the princely sum of £15 a year from the Queen for
fulfilling his duties, so I propose asking if anyone attending
would consider making a donation to Cedric, either by giving it to
him direct, or through me - I can be trusted!
The walk involves crossing the River Kent, which is usually knee
deep. The best way to dress for the occasion is firstly to carry a
small sack containing a change of clothing, and a towel, plus
anything you might want to eat or drink en route.
Secondly, it's cold out in the Bay, all year, so you need something
warm and waterproof on your top half. For your legs and feet, I
find that a pair of old tracksuit bottoms is fine, with a pair of
old trainers on your feet. The sand across the Bay is ridged in
many places, and this is very hard on your feet if you think you
might walk barefoot. Cedric can do it, but I've seen a lot of
people suffer.
It's a great experience, and if you've not done it before, then
maybe you should try. Dogs and Muggle friends are welcome as
long as they are all under proper control!
UPDATE The River Kent has changed it's course, and this has
affected the final stages of the walk at Kents Bank. It is now
impossible to leave the sands at Kents Bank. So, Cedric is going to
take us all the way to the far side of Humphreys Head, and we can
then walk back along the shore to Kents Bank from there. This is a
completely unavoidable change, but the sort of thing that happens
all the time on the Sands.
The walk will take around 3½ hours to complete.
FURTHER UPDATE
MORECAMBE BAY WALK 24 April 2010 1400 hours (2pm in old
money)
Just spoken with Cedric Robinson again, who tells me that there is
a way we can get off the sands near Kents Bank rather than go all
the way round Humphrey Head. It means that anyone wanting to get
the two caches on Humphrey Head may have to visit some other time,
but it is important that we complete the walk in good time.
Prompt start at 2pm from Arnside is important. So, please be there
in good time.
Secondly, the Albion pub has undergone a change of management, and
while it shouldn't cause us much of a problem, they are anxious
that the restaurant is vacated by us by 8pm. We can still remain in
the pub and have a drink, but not remain in the restaurant. Sadly,
they only came to me with this one today. I was mightily annoyed,
but it is very short notice to try to find somewhere that can
accommodate almost 60 of us. So, we will have to stick with Plan A,
and go to the Albion. Realistically, if we can be in the pub before
6.30pm - which we should do easily - then there is no reason why we
can't be clear by 8pm. So, it's not really an issue, but I felt the
need to mention it.
I would like to take pictures of you all as a group, and perhaps
some as smaller groups, for the purposes of a geocaching book I'm
working on. I will take pictures throughout the crossing, but if
anyone doesn't want me to use their image, please let me know, and
I'll delete the picture there and then. I look forward to meeting
up with you on the 24th. Let's hope we get decent weather, not just
on the day, but in the run-up to the weekend...large quantities of
rainfall in the Lakes we do not want.
Final reminder: wear warm clothing out in the bay, and leave a
change of clothing (and a towel) in your car.
Additional Hints
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