A Quart in a Pint Pot: Around Silverdale

The Arnside-Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is barely longer than its name, yet intricate and exquisite. Unfortunately - for this book, anyway - half of it is in Cumbria. This walk attempts the impossible, to sample all of its delights in one go.

The AONB covers a mere 29 square miles (75sq km) yet includes rocky coastline, salt marsh, wetland, pasture, woodland, heathland, crags and quarries, and some attractive villages, principally Silverdale in Lancashire and Arnside in Cumbria. With such a mosaic of habitats, it's no surprise that the area is rich in wildlife - more than half of all British flowering plant species are found here.

There's a fine start, through Eaves Wood with its yew trees and impressive beech ring, then the route sidles through the back lanes of Silverdale before reaching the coast. The channels of Morecambe Bay shift over time and so does the shoreline. The band of salt marsh around the Cove has shrunk drastically in the last few years. In future it may become more difficult to follow the shore, at least at high tide. (Fortunately the footpath across The Lots, just above, offers a ready-made alternative.)

The described route avoids a tricky section of the coast south of Silverdale, returning to the shore near Jenny Brown's Point. The breakwater running out to sea recalls a failed 19th-century land reclamation scheme. Just around the corner stands the tall chimney of a copper smelting mill that operated around 200 years ago.

After Heald Brow comes Woodwell, the first of three 'wells' (actually springs) on the walk. At Woodwell the water issues from the crag above the square pool. This was used for watering cattle but now you're more likely to see dragonflies. Woodwell and the other 'wells' around Silverdale are found where the water-permeable limestone is interrupted by a band of impermeable material such as clay. Rainfall generally sinks quickly into limestone and there are no surface streams over most of the area, so the springs were of vital importance. This rapid drainage also means that relatively few of the footpaths are persistently muddy, even after heavy rain.

Lambert's Meadow, however, is usually damp. It sits in a hollow where fine wind-blown silt (known as loess) accumulated after the last ice age. The soil is dark and acidic, very different from that formed on the limestone, and the plant community is different too.

While you're there

The Leighton Moss RSPB reserve and nearby Leighton Hall are obvious attractions, but for something different (and free) pop in to Trowbarrow Quarry. Last worked in 1959, the quarry is now a Local Nature Reserve, and it's also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its geology. Most striking is the near-vertical Main Wall, basically an upturned slice of fossil sea-bed. Trowbarrow is also very popular with rock climbers.

What to look for

If you do this walk in winter, you'll see huge flocks of wading birds around the shoreline. Morecambe Bay is an internationally important site for migrants and over-wintering birds. In spring listen, rather than look, for the rare bittern. This relative of the heron is rarely seen but its booming courtship call - like someone blowing across the top of a milk bottle - can be heard up to a mile (1.6km) away.

Where to eat and drink

The tea room at Wolf House Gallery is a great spot for mid-walk refreshments, as long as you can find a table. For post-walk celebrations, head for the New Inn in the nearby village of Yealand Conyers. There's good food and beer, a small cosy bar, a non-smoking dining room and a walled beer garden that's delightful on summer evenings.