Duddon Estuary

Winter on the Duddon Estuary

Warton Crag

Warton Crag is prominent limestone hill in Lancashire, just off the M6. And looks right across Morecambe Bay to Black Combe a fell I was planning to visit on this mission. But for now a great place to be, for a one night’s wild camp in the car park, I and a friend turned up in the dark and pitched up for the night.

Next morning we were out exploring on this damp, cloudy morning, climbing the crag to the summit of 163 m (535 ft).  Warton Crag is part of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB),  of Arnside and Silverdale. A Local Nature Reserve in Lancashire, and looked after by the council, RSPB and the Wildlife Trust.

There is also much more to the site than nature there are caves and a hill-fort also. The site is a SSSI, for species like the fritillary butterflies.

So here we are on a winter’s morning in December 20/12/2012, going up the hill to check the site out for a future visit. We climbed around outcrops of limestone rock and then onto the limestone pavement, long distance views was poor with low cloud, we came across the summit in mist, not many signs of a hill-fort and not seen any caves, we moved into the woodland, from my botany experience, I can see this place is going to be a good place to visit in spring and summer. We followed a main track through the wood, what took us down the hill to the road and a walk back by road back to the car park.

The next stage of this winter mission was to drive to Kirkby in Furness and the Duddon Sands Hostel next to the Ship Inn, http://www.theship1691.co.uk/cheap_backpacking_hostel.htm what we had booked for the week. This small village is on the banks of Duddon Estuary with its own little train station. From the footbridge over the railway line, you can see Black Combe and all the narrow creeks and mudflats with flocks of waders wheeling low over the shallow water in the estuary.

Back at the barn, luxury is all I can say about the hostel is electric, hot water, central heating and a TV; pure luxury, and we had a pub next door and we had the place to ourselves.   

This winter mission was to carry on exploring the area of the Duddon along the estuary, most this area I was exploring is outside the national park.

Kirkby Moor walk, 4 miles.

A damp afternoon as we walked up through the village for this next walk, took from the book, walks in Ancient Lakeland by Robert Harris, a great book on prehistory. On we went up to Beck Side a group of stone houses and a church, we carried on climbing with open views of the Duddon Estuary and its tidal sands, Black Combe is on the opposite side of the estuary , with its top in low cloud.  We headed out onto open moorland still slowly climbing following paths with the tops of wind turbines coming into view, these are part of the wind farm on top of Kirkby Moor, we all have our views on these, I like them  for their green energy, but a lot of thought must be in place, when sighting these farms.

Duddon Estuary

Just near the skyline is a large burial cairn, it was probably a long cairn, constructed of smallish stones which, at one end, covered a stone cist. This is now exposed as the covering of stones has been partly removed. Two large slabs near the cist could be the capping stones which have been removed. Who was buried here upon this hill with wide open views to the west? It must have been someone important to get such a grand grave and site. With the wind farm behind us as we looked out west, we knew this site was of great antiquity and just to emphasizes the importance of this whole south-west corner of Cumbria, we could see out across the Duddon Estuary to the Irish Sea, was this a trading route from across the sea?  With a number of sites we have visited in this area, it must have been important.  

We left the site to start back down the hill towards Gill House Beck, passing a ring cairn; they are a mystery, as they appear to be more for ceremonial use rather than a place of burial.On we went to Long Moor and back to Beck Side and the finish, a nice little walk of interesting archaeology.

   

Black Combe 

Walk 5 miles.

Hoping for a better weather today, I left the camping barn to check the view out across the estuary this morning and was greeted with a view of Black Combe.

Black Combe

Satisfied with the view, it was going to be a mission to tackle Black Combe today, so we packed up and took the car to Whicham for the start of the walk.

There was going to be two walks, first, a Wainwright walk from the Outlying Fells book, Black Combe and the second was another pre-history walk called Lacra Bank. So on a bright and breezy morning, we set off up Moorgill Beck.

Moorgill Beck

With a steady ascent,  the views down the beck and beyond started to open up, we left the beck and carried on climbing on the upper slopes of the fell with views seawards now. Black Combe the only fell in all of the fells of the Lake District, none is so close to the sea as this one. As we take another turn in the path it brought us views up the coast to Eskmeals Dunes, and it was at this point that the wind also hit us gale force, it was a struggle to get to the summit, the summit was now in cloud, as we made our way to the trig point and a nice sheltered spot for lunch.

The rock that makes up Black Combe is Skiddaw Slate, what is new for me in the geology of the lakes, we followed the same path back down, with good views, once back out of the cloud, and no gale force winds, just pleasant views back to the start.

After a short break, it was on to the second walk crossing the flat fields of Whicham Valley, we came across a wind sculpture hawthorn, it just shows you the main prevailing direction.

Lacra Bank

We came to the village of Silecroft  and went through the village looking for the sign post what says ‘standing stones’ we found this and headed out across this flat, marshy coastal landscape crossing fields and there on the horizon was the standing stones known as the Giant’s Grave, so we made our way over to them, the two stones stand at the edge of the field, standing about three meters high.

Giant's Grave

What was their purpose? They align up the Whicham Valley, where they some kind of gateway of an ancient trackway?  Black Combe stands in the background with the top in the cloud, was black Combe a sacred hill? They stand there weathered and covered in lichen on the seaward side.

 We left the standing stones behind and made our way into our next village of Kirksanton, through the village and across the main road and then a steady climb up onto moorland on the hillside and started our search through the rocky hummocks and hollows for Lacra’s  secrets.

We found a small ring of rounded boulders; this must be the stone circle of Lacra.

Lacra Stone Circle

On this platform where the stone circle sits, this place is a quiet and secluded setting, with views across the Duddon Estuary and down to the town of Millom and  Hodbarrow Nature Reserve.  We carried on to find the second stone circle what was sadly damaged, we went on to find unusual alignments of stones here and there, where these avenues to the circles? We will never know, we had to press on because of the time, on these short winter days, another short climb over the hill brought us back into the Whicham Valley and the great bulk of Black Combe, and with a steady descent back into the valley we went, and back to the car and the end of a good day of walking.

Next day brought a day full of rain and no walking in the fells we had a visit to a town called Ulverston, nice place and did some shopping, the rest of the short winters day was back at base with an evening watching dvds.

Woodland fell walk 7 miles.

A damp grey day with low cloud, we could not waste another day, so planned another walk, starting from Blawith, a seven-mile circular.

This interesting area has a variety of habitats such as mires, tarns, heathland,  acid grasslands; it is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interested a (SSSI).

Even on a dull grey day as today, we walked along the track to Tottlebank,  my eyes surveyed the landscape, and wondered what it must be like in summer when it’s buzzing with life.   We followed the unfenced  lane, meandering around rock outcrops passing Tottlebank, the top of Blawith Knott was in mist, so we did not visit the summit and onto to a site named on the map as Giant’s Grave, a kerbed cairn with a large standing stone at one end.

Giant's Grave

The Duddon Estuary has long been known by the Neolithic and Bronze Age people as a trading route from the Isle of Man and Ireland and from the south of England, the sites I have seen so far around the estuary has shown that this area was popular, the estuary would have existed much further inland, than is seen today, now the estuary is silted up around the flat marshy coastal plain. 

Back on the route going down the hill towards Woodland, there are more cairns to be seen, the best time of year look for these is winter when the bracken has died back.

We leave the road again for the track going up the hill into the more open landscape, and my eye captures the site of hawthorn shrubs, but these shrubs were decorated with lichens Evenia prunastri.

Evenia prunastri.

Back on route again cairn spotting, as smaller cairns turn up, as we leave the path for the site of White Borran a large ring cairn built into a small natural rock outcrop.

White Borran

So peaceful is this place, even on a cold winters day, to sit for awhile and take it all in. The siting of White Borran cairn is spectacular. The view of Dow Crag and the Old Man of Coniston is stunning, it was no mistake that this site was picked. So far on this walk, we have not seen anyone out walking.

Juniper 

Another stop to look at some Juniper shrubs, leaving the beauty of these shrubs, we found our way back on the path and the final stretch of the walk back to the car and what a lovely and interesting walk, look forward one day to visit it back on a summer’s day.

Sandscale Hawes National Nature Reserve

The last mission was to pop in and visit Sandscales Hawes National Nature Reserve, just to see what type of site it is, as I have plans to be back in spring.

Sandscales

Two hours we spent at the nature reserve, on a cold day with rain showers in and out of the sandunes, a great place looking forward to seeing it in spring.

And that’s the end of the holiday and now the drive home.