turf has changed the shoreline into a very rough walk. Where it was once a simple stroll along grass it is now an adventurous outing which needs careful planning for it can only be accomplished at low tide. Despite the difficulties the reward is the most spectacular coastal scenery in the area, a succession of craggy headlands and inspiring views over the bay. If you do not like the exposed path, you can always turn back.
The cliff-top path is rough and airy
Start the scramble at the car park at the end of Shore Road. Walk south along the remnant of turf at the foot of a low line of gorse-topped crags. When the grass ends scramble along the stony shore past Know End Point topped by wind-blown trees. Continue round the point on the bedrock to a pebbly cove where the easier angled rocks at its back provide a zigzag scramble onto a cliff-top path. The cliff-top path is narrow, exposed and rocky in places. Do not trespass into the farmer’s fields. The path undulates along the top of crags and needs care. Turn a corner and cross over a headland into the deeper inlet of Cow’s Mouth. There is no public access up the dell at its head as this leads into the Gibraltar Farm campsite.
An impressive crag lines the east side of the cove, one of the north–south faults so prevalent in the area. It is a popular place for rock climbing although the base of the crag is covered at high tide and the rock is rather shattered. Note the red triangular scar above a small cave in the centre of the crag, where a large rock detached itself in 1983. The cave is on a mineral vein and is an old mine trial. In the 1970s turf as smooth as a bowling green abutted the crags; now it is a genuine sea cliff.
The scramble continues along the slippery stones below the crag. It is best to endure these as the muddy bed of the cove is an unpleasant walk. At the far end climb a short rock spur to reach easier, less slippery rock on a broader base. Soon a stile is seen above. This gives access to the National Trust heathland of Jack Scout. This an idyllic area of little paths and clearings amidst clusters of gorse and small trees.
Either join Walk 1 here, or to return to Silverdale go left along the fence side, below the Giant’s Seat up on the right, and continue to the restored limekiln near the lane. Turn left along the lane and left again on Lindeth Road. A shortcut signed path on the left joins Shore Road to return to the car park.
WALK 2
North from Silverdale: White Creek, Heathwaite and Arnside Tower
| Start/Finish | Silverdale, end of Shore road (SD 458749) |
| Distance | 5¾ miles (9.25km) |
| Total Ascent | 110m (360ft) |
| Time | 3½–4½hrs |
| Refreshments | Silverdale Hotel on Shore Road, Royal Hotel in village centre; Cafes in Silverdale and at the entrance to Holgates Caravan Park |
| Toilets | Silverdale near Gaskell Hall |
| Parking | Public car park on shore |
| Note | This walk must be started at low tide as all of the first section is impassable at high tide and inadvisable when the tide is coming in, although there are numerous escape points. The sea sweeps in with great speed to the foot of the cliffs. Check the tide tables. Great care needs to be taken especially at the times of the highest spring and autumn tides. Walking is rough, with a mixture of stones, bedrock scrambling and sandy beach. Although it may be tempting to go well out onto the sands, bear in mind that quicksands can occur even close to the shore. The cliff top path is narrow and exposed. From White Creek the walking is easy. The High Tide Route (see below) involves more lane walking and is less interesting. |
Silverdale was a popular bathing resort in the 1840s but declined as the salt-marsh grew and the estuary foreshore became muddier. The Kent channel swings to and fro and by 1900 the Silverdale salt-marsh of the time had been removed by erosion, as has happened again over the last 30 years. The marsh was at its widest in the mid-1970s when a walk around the base of the cliffs was on turf not unlike a bowling green. The route can be linked with Walk 10 to provide a longer circuit.
Silverdale Cove
Start from the car park (honesty box) at the end of Shore Road. Park carefully as the highest tides can cover the car park.
Within the car park is a spring, Bard Well, which was covered when the car park was first built, but after water forced a way through the rubble it was edged with stones.
Walk north below low limestone cliffs.
THE SILVERDALE CLIFFS
On the right just as The Cove is reached, lies the deep red gash of Red Rake. This was once tunnelled by miners in search of copper and haematite. The entrance has since collapsed, but the site is interesting to geologists. Erosion of the turf has exposed some metal posts of uncertain origin.
On the opposite side of the Cove is a black circular hole in the cliffs, a conspicuous landmark which invites a scramble into its interior. It is a phreatic cave, originally worn by underground water pressure when the water level was higher, and has possibly been enlarged by human activity.
The most interesting of the Silverdale caves lies about 100m further north along the cliffs. Its entrance is a low porch, just about head high and in wet weather it is guarded by a shallow pool. Inside the roof is higher and the cave can be explored with a torch. A tall, narrow rift leads on, past a small rock scramble to end in a small chamber.
Continue along the foot of the cliffs past a jutting headland where the channel reaches the rocks and reach a bay where an escape can be made to the nearby road to the high-tide alternative route (see below). The vegetated cliffs are a veritable vertical rockery.
A variety of plants sprouts from the pink and grey shattered limestone, including wild strawberries, stonecrop, coltsfoot, thrift and celandine – and a few wallflowers, probably escapees from nearby gardens.
At low tide the rocky headland which follows is easily passed close to the channel. Another small headland leads into a broad stretch of sand, where the cliff is topped by the green holiday homes at Far Arnside. A small headland necessitates a rough scramble to pass into a wide sandy bay, still below the extensive holiday park. At the end of a shingle beach, where the woodland comes down to the shore, there is a path into trees to gain the cliff-top path to meet the alternative high-tide route.
The gangway up the cliff has a tricky step
If you like the scramble along the shore, continue along the shore as there are frequent opportunities to join the cliff-top path. Reach a shallow bay with wave strewn shingle. Grange-over-Sands is seen beyond the next headland. There is an exciting scramble along a rising rock gangway up the cliffs. This narrows and has an exposed step near its top. Turn left along the cliff-top path. If this is too daunting, continue round the headland to reach a small inlet with an obvious path through a gap in a wall to join the cliff-top path and turn left.
The path keeps close
