Walk 39 Overton and Bazil Point
Walk 40 Sunderland Point
APPENDIX A Route summary table
APPENDIX B The Lune Valley end to end
APPENDIX C Useful contacts
Through a gap in the wall along Borrowdale towards Blease Fell (Walk 11)
INTRODUCTION
Looking back past the Lune Viaduct towards Arant Haw (Walk 14)
The area of the Lune valley, nestled between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, begs discovery and presents no shortage of inviting walks to suit every taste and inclination. The selection of walks in this guide reveals its many facets, with routes that clamber onto the hills overlooking the main valley, delve into the tributary dales that feed it, or simply follow the River Lune itself. Further downstream the routes wander the two promontories between which the Lune finally meets the sea near Lancaster, seeking out the many picturesque and interesting corners there. In some walks, aspects of the area’s rich history are revealed, while few rambles lack opportunities to observe wildlife at any time of year. Walking is one of the best forms of physical exercise, and in a setting such as this, it cannot help but be good for the mind and soul too.
Although it gives its name to Lancashire, the River Lune is born in what was Westmorland, a historic county that was swallowed up within Cumbria during the reorganisation of local government in 1974. The river’s higher reaches fall from the Howgill Fells in a fold that separates the western dales of Yorkshire from the rolling hills of south-east Lakeland. The river enters Lancashire only below Kirkby Lonsdale, but immediately encounters some of the county’s prettiest countryside. Lower down it skirts the Forest of Bowland before passing through Lancaster to find eventual release into Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea.
Although surrounded by hills, it is the Howgill Fells to which the Lune is most intimately related, that distinctive massif of high ground rising dramatically to the east of the M6 as it passes through the deep trough of the Lune Gorge. The tentacles of the river’s upper tributaries completely encircle this compact group and effectively set it apart from the neighbouring Pennine and Lakeland hills.
The Lune is a relatively short river, yet it embraces a considerable upland sweep that includes The Calf and all the other high tops of the Howgills, a corner of the Shap Fells, as well as the southern aspect of Great Asby Scar. Further south, Whernside and most of Ingleborough also lie within its reach, the catchment curving around to include the northern slopes of the Forest of Bowland. But the area explored within this book is not confined to the high hills, and there is much of interest too within the main valley and its tributaries. Borrowdale, Dentdale and the secluded valleys of Bowland are particularly beautiful, while the estuarine marshes and coast reveal other aspects of the area’s character.
Beached boats indicate that the high tide covers the salt marsh (Walk 40)
Besides Lancaster, Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh are the only towns situated by the river, and the area is largely untouched by conurbation or industry. The beckoning landscape ranges from the untamed, expansive moorlands of the high tops to secluded woods, bucolic countryside and tide-washed coast, all combining to offer walking that is both varied and rewarding. Although there are undoubtedly challenges to be found, none of the routes included here is overly demanding. They focus upon walking for enjoyment to appreciate the scenery, wildlife and plants encountered while the text also offers background to some of the features and curiosities passed along the way.
Traditionally, the river is regarded as upwelling from the ground beside the mound of an ancient chapel dedicated to St Helen in the hamlet of Newbiggin-on-Lune, although higher and longer tributaries complicate any discussion of its source. The river’s 50-odd mile journey to the coast winds almost entirely through unspoiled countryside, and along its length the river subtly exchanges the wild scenery of rolling, deserted moorland hills for a more intimate pastoral setting of waterside meadows and woodland.
Scattered throughout the upper Lune Valley are attractive farmsteads, hamlets and villages, with only two settlements large enough to claim the status of town, Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh (the latter being set back a couple of miles from the main flow). Both ancient market centres, they retain a delightful individuality that is becoming increasingly hard to find in today’s towns. They make ideal bases for a few days’ exploration of the area or convenient stopping-off points for those wishing to create an ’end-to-end’ trek along the valley.
The only major conurbation within the river’s entire catchment is Lancaster, founded by the Romans as a garrisoned port at the river’s lowest bridging point. Throughout the Middle Ages the County Palatine of Lancaster was governed from its intimidating medieval castle and, although the county’s administrative centre has now shifted south to Preston, Lancaster is still considered the county town. During the 18th century it rivalled Liverpool as a great seaport, trading with the Baltic States, Africa and the Americas, but with a silting estuary and shifting centres of economic activity, Lancaster’s maritime importance faded into history. Downstream, the city is quickly left behind and the river, tidal from this point, winds to a lonely estuary across an expanse of largely empty coastal plain, where extensive salt marsh and mud flats attract a host of birds to feed at low water.
The landscape through which the river flows boasts great beauty and diversity, yet much of the main valley, let alone its many tributary dales, is relatively unknown and little visited, overshadowed by the proximity of more well-publicised neighbours. Few of those passing through to the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales or points further north afford it little more than a passing glance and most are largely oblivious to the loveliness of its uncluttered countryside. The Howgill Fells and the Forest of Bowland are among the country’s least frequented hills, and few but locals are aware of the attractive hamlets and villages scattered along the length of the valley.
Looking back to Beckside from the path to Harprigg (Walk 19)
The rewards of such relative obscurity are found in unfrequented hills and vales, an absence of the trappings of commercialism, and a freedom from the obligation to undertake a handful of ’must do’ routes. In and around the Lune there are no ’highest peaks’ to climb or ’longest ridges’ to traverse, and the one or two spots that have gained a justified popularity have yet to succumb to over-exploitation. Travelling from one end of the valley to the other reveals an ever-changing scene that is constantly and subtly altering to offer something uniquely special.
Much of the upland catchment is open-access land where walkers can roam at will, while miles of paths, trackways and quiet lanes offer endless scope for inquisitive and uncrowded explorations. The revelation of far-reaching views from the tops contrasts with the intimacy of secluded woodlands and deep, winding valleys, while the abundance of plant and wildlife and endless wayside curiosities more than matches that to be found along the well-worn trails of the more popular haunts.
Across the Lune Valley from the top of Firbank (Walk 14)
Origins and landscape
The waters of the Lune
Identifying