Morecambe Bay’s Guide Over the Sands
The route across the vast sands of Morecambe Bay is depicted in our logo for Kents Bank Holiday Cottage with a lone horse and carriage travelling across the bay against the backdrop of the distant Lake District hills, has been used for hundreds of years by travellers on foot, on horseback, or in carts and carriages.
These travellers preferred the risks attached to this eight-mile crossing of the sands to a thirty-mile, and quite hazardous, alternative route via Kendal.
The cross-bay route was widely used until the opening of the Ulverston-Lancashire railway in 1857.
Today, the only remaining vehicles using the sands are the carts and tractors belonging to the fishing and shrimping fraternities.
If we read Tacitus, the Roman historian, correctly, Emperor Agricola used the route in the first century A.D. in his attacks on the western Brigantes in Cumbria.
At the end of the seventh century, the King of Northumbria gave the lands of Cartmel to St Cuthbert, and monks were no doubt among the earliest travellers to cross the sands.
It was the religious orders that first established the Guides “over the sands.”
The soldiers of Robert Bruce crossed the sands during the invasion of Lancashire in 1322.
George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), was arrested in 1660 at Swarthmoor Hall, near Ulverston. He was taken across the Sands by a troop of horses (30 men) for trial and imprisonment in Lancaster Castle.
John Wesley reached the shore at Hest Bank in 1759 and in his journal describes how he crossed the sands on horseback “racing the tide.”
The long and hazardous journey of approximately 8-10 miles, depending on the deep channels in the bay, crossing the sands from Hest Bank to Kents Bank, involved taking considerable risks and from time to time, accidents and indeed disasters were recorded.
Nearly all the Registers of the old Parish churches bordering the Bay contain entries of people who have drowned on the sands.
From the second half of the sixteenth century until 1850 (some 300 years), such burial entries totalled 141 in the registers of Cartmel Priory alone.
The first mention of public transport over the sands occurred as an advertisement in a paper called “The Cumberland Pacquet,” dated 11th September 1781.
This was a diligence or chaise (a carriage consisting of two wheels and a calash top, drawn by a single horse to carry three persons). It went from the Kings Arms in Ulverston every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and returned from the Sun in Lancaster every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as the tide permitted.
About 1785, this chaise was superseded by a coach, and from that time, horse-drawn coaches ran regularly across the sands between Ulverston and Lancaster until there was a scheduled “over sands” coach service between Lancaster and Ulverston.
The earliest coaches were rather heavy and were gradually replaced by lighter vehicles pulled by four horses, as the heavy ones frequently got stuck in the quicksands.
Today, the crossing of the sands is mainly undertaken by pedestrians, numbering up to 200 at any one time, as an organised excursion conducted by the Guide over Sands.
Where to Stay for a cross-bay walk
If you are looking for a holiday cottage on the edge of the Morecambe Cross-Bay route,ring 07785944194 or enquire here.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Morecambe Bay
1) What is the Cross-Bay Walk in Morecambe Bay?
The Cross-Bay Walk is a guided tidal crossing across Morecambe Bay — often between Arnside and Grange or Kents Bank — following safe routes across sands and waterways under an official guide.
2) Why is it dangerous to cross Morecambe Bay without a guide?
The bay is full of shifting sands, quicksand zones, fast-rising tides and hidden channels. Mistakes in timing or route choice can be hazardous. That’s why crossings should only be done under the supervision of experienced guides.
3) Who is the official Morecambe Bay, King’s guide to the Sands?
The role of Guide to the Sands is a centuries-old appointment to safely escort people over the bay’s sands. Cedric Robinson held the title from 1963 to 2019, and Michael Wilson is his successor.
4) When are cross-bay walks held, and how long do they last?
Cross-bay walks typically run in spring through autumn, depending on tides and weather. The route from Arnside to Grange is about 5.5 to 9 miles and takes several hours.
5) What wildlife or natural features can be seen in Morecambe Bay during a walk?
Walkers may see seal colonies (especially around South Walney), wading birds, intertidal habitats, and the dramatically changing sandflats emerging and submerging with the tides.
Finally
If you are looking for a holiday cottage on the edge of the Morecambe Cross-Bay route,ring 07785944194 or enquire here.