One of the most stunning, underrated parts of the UK is a delight

Wandering along the vast, empty golden sands towards the caves gouging the tree-tufted limestone cliffs, the setting reminds me of a long-ago trip to a rustic island off Thailand’s Andaman coast. Granted, the cliffs here aren’t as lofty, but with the summer sun beating down, we’re happy to cool down in the cave, where we enjoy pretending we’re in a remote tropical idyll as seabirds circle the huge, sparkling bay.

We’re actually in one of the most unsung, serene and loveliest pockets of England’s coastline. Located where Lancashire meets Cumbria, between the hedonism of Blackpool and the bucolic beauty of the Lake District, Morecambe Bay is the UK’s largest expanse of intertidal sands and mudflats. It sprawls about 310-square-kilometres, fringed by contrasting locales, from gritty ports and sleepy villages to bygone resorts and pretty countryside alive with butterflies, birdsong, sheep and wildflowers.

While a hire car is handy for exploring, it’s not essential. You can ride trains to stations around the bay from Lancaster, a historic riverside port city on the West Coast Mainline between London and Scotland. Lancaster is one charming potential base, with boutique hotels, guesthouses, timeless pubs, tea merchants and coffee roasters lorded over by a medieval castle owned by King Charles III. Crowning the city’s hilltop Williamson Park, the Ashton Memorial is an Edwardian baroque folly that wouldn’t look out of place in Vienna or Paris. Standing beside it, looking westwards, Morecambe Bay blends into the Irish Sea. Sunsets are often a delight.

It’s just 11 minutes by rail from Lancaster to Morecambe town, location of TV police drama The Bay. It would be criminal to miss the excellent, sustainably sourced fish and chips at Atkinson’s (16-18 Albert Road), followed by a stroll (or a bike ride) along the briny-aired promenade past bucket-and-spade-dotted beaches, floral gardens, colourful boats and murals evoking Morecambe’s heritage as a fishing town and holiday resort.

Pictorial boards detail the bay’s resident and migratory birds, including cormorants – also portrayed in sculptures here – while a statue depicts keen birder Eric Morecambe, the town’s legendary comedian, born John Eric Barthomolew, in 1926. Fortunes have ebbed and flowed since, but the Eden Project Morecambe, a spin-off of the Cornwall crowd-puller, is opening in 2028 with its giant, plant-filled biomes sprouting near the streamline moderne-style Midland Hotel.

Morecambe is already vibrant compared with Arnside and Silverdale, a couple of tranquil bayside villages further north. The pair comprise one of the UK’s 46 National Landscapes, previously called AONB (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and attracting fewer visitors than national parks, notably the Lake District. I can spy its distant fells (hills) from the beach at Silverdale.

It’s here I find those cave-pocked carboniferous cliffs, riddled with limestone formed about 330 million years ago when England bathed in an equatorial sea. Footpaths wriggle from Silverdale to Arnside through rolling farmland and wooded peaks. For a festival each June, artists from the villages open up their homes and studios to display paintings and sculptures inspired by these land- and seascapes.

Amid the beauty, however, lurks danger. Treacherous currents and quicksands stalk Morecambe Bay. In 2004, 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned after being cut off by the high tide. Tempting as it is to stride across the bay at low tide, think twice about attempting it alone. Since the first one was royally appointed in 1548, official guides have provided safe passage for walkers and horses. On selected weekends (April-September), cross-bay walks link Arnside with Grange-over-Sands, a genteel town you can alternatively reach in five minutes on the train via a Victorian-era viaduct.

Expect beguiling vistas on Grange’s bay-hugging promenade and family-run bakeries, eclectic shops and restored coaching inns in the lanes above. Trails also entice walkers over breezy, sheep-peppered hills to Cartmel, a medieval priory village reborn as an unlikely foodie destination. Acclaimed chef Simon Rogan has restaurants with rooms here (including three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume) and inviting pubs and cafes also bless the village. Most serve the Cartmel speciality – sticky toffee pudding, a dessert I can never resist in this more-ish part of the world.

THE DETAILS

FLY
Emirates fly to London Heathrow from Sydney and Melbourne via Dubai. From London Euston, trains go to Lancaster, where you’ll find connections to various bayside stations. See emirates.com and nationalrail.co.uk

STAY
Centrally located The Sun Hotel in Lancaster has double rooms with breakfast from about £73 ($151). See thesunhotelandbar.co.uk

MORE
lancasterandmorecambebay.com
visitbritain.com

The writer travelled at his own expense.