Morecambe Bay Walks
Cedric Robinson MBE - the official guide - will guide the following Morecambe Bay walks in 2012, all starting at Arnside promenade and ending at Kents Bank railway station. Please note: The walks are all in aid of charitable causes. For details of which charities are walking each day, please contact Grange Over Sands Tourist Information Centre on 01539 534026. The charities will provide further details about start times and travel arrangements. Walks sometimes have to be cancelled or re-routed due to heavy rain in the preceding days.
To see what a typical walk looks like, please click on 'Video Clips' above, which will enable you to see a 1 min 38 sec video clip of Cedric Robinson MBE leading a Morecambe Bay walk in 2008.
Saturday 28 April - The first Morecambe Bay Walk of 2012
Sunday 29 April
Saturday 12 May
Sunday 13 May
Saturday 26 May
Sunday 27 May
Saturday 16 June
Sunday 17 June
Saturday 30 June
Sunday 1 July
Saturday 14 July
Sunday 15 July
Saturday 25 August
Sunday 26 August
Saturday 8 September
Saturday 22 September
Sunday 23 September - The last Morecambe Bay Walk of 2012
Cedric’s Morecambe Bay walks take up to four hours to complete. Some people do the walk in bare feet, but the ridges in some areas of the sands can be painful after a short while, so some form of old footwear is recommended. Old trainers are ideal, and be aware that the salt water can quickly damage new footwear, including leather walking boots. For the first part of the walk from Arnside to White Creek, I strongly advise the wearing of footwear, even if you then walk on the sands barefoot , as the Arnside shoreline is stony and rocky in places.
The crossing of the main channel – the River Kent estuary channel – can reach up to the bottom of an adult’s shorts, so be aware that even rolled up trousers are likely to get wet. Currently, the last part of the walk on the salt marsh presents about a dozen small channels which need to be jumped across and have extremely slippery mud on their sides ( unlike the firm sand in the middle of the bay ) so choose your exact crossing routes very carefully and take your time. It is best for the most agile members of your group to cross these channels first then stretch out a hand to help the young and old across. This slimy mud also means that it is a very good idea to have some water in a large bottle, and an old towel, to clean one’s feet and legs after a walk. It can be windy out on the bay, so I recommend that a sweater, or similar warm top, is packed even on seemingly warm summer days.
Almost all of people who take part in the walks are in charity fund-raising groups. These groups which are often large, tend to book well in advance. This explains why Cedric’s walks soon become fully booked, as he can only take a fixed number of people on each walk, for safety reasons.
I should mention that Cedric Robinson receives no money at all ( apart from small tips ) for guiding his Morecambe Bay walks, and conducts them for the pleasure it gives him, and others ( and has enabled very many charities to earn millions of pounds in walk sponsoring money since 1963 ). He is able to live in his home, Guide’s Farm ( owned by the Crown ) virtually rent free instead of receiving a salary, but is not duty-bound to guide any public walks at all during the year. The only people whom he is ‘contracted’ to guide across the bay, when asked, is the Queen and people nominated by the Queen, as his job title is 'Queen’s Guide to the Sands of Morecambe Bay'.