Arnside

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Arnside

Arnside

Where is it – England, North West England

Who looks after it –  Local Authority 

What is it –  Coastal, Free access, Village 

When is it from – Modern, Victorian

Arnside was a tiny fishing village and port until it grew as a holiday destination in Victorian times. Local boat builders, Crossfields, built a type of boat known as a Lancashire Nobby for the prawn fishers of Morecambe Bay. Crossfields also built ‘the Swallow’, owned by the author Arthur Ransome, who was a friend and who featured the boat in ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Building a railway station encouraged visitors and Crossfields also built some of the large Victorian villas that can be seen today for them to stay in.

Arnside is not a bucket and spade kind of place. It is located on the estuary of the River Kent on the north-eastern corner of Morecambe Bay, within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is predominantly residential. There’s a small jetty, a collection of shops and cafes, a couple of pubs and easy walks along a modest promenade with lovely views of the Cumbrian mountains. The tides at Arnside go out a long way, and turn very quickly creating a relatively rare tidal bore when the water floods back. It is also highly dangerous to venture onto the sands. Nearby Arnside Knott, a limestone hill, provides woodland and open hillside walks and is famous for its views over Morecambe Bay – and its butterflies and flowers. On the Silverdale side of Arnside Knott is Arnside Tower, a Pele tower built as a defence against border (Scottish) raiders. The railway (Furness Line) between Lancaster and Carlisle via Barrow-in-Furness crosses the River Kent via the Arnside viaduct.

 


Address
Cumbria LA5 0HD 

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