KENDAL TO ARNSIDE

The last day of the Westmorland Way walk. And it’s cooled off. Overcast and breezy, but the forecast is for the rain to hold off.

We decided to shorten what was supposed to be a 17 mile day by taking a cab to the outskirts of Kendal and avoiding a bit of the dull part of the walk.

Our walk started along the Lancaster Canal. The canal was developed in the late 1700’s to provide a faster traveling link than coaches between Kendal and other nearby towns.  Today, it’s still navigable for part of its original length.

We followed the canal for several miles; it’s a wonderful hiking path. It’s a quiet waterway with wildlife in and around it, frequently passing under 200 year old stone bridges. This morning, we pretty much had it to ourselves.

Our trail left the canal at the village of Holme, and turned across farms and fields to Beetham. Beetham is a small village with stone buildings that looks like it hasn’t changed much since the 18^th century. We stopped for a break on a bench next to a set of stocks that meets that same criteria ; still there from 200 years ago.

From Beetham, we turned up a mountain, through the Fairy Steps (a crack in a limestone wall that requires taking your pack off and squeezing through, and on into Arnside.

Arnside is a coastal town, where the River Kent empties into Morecambe Bay. The waterfront is a large tidal plain, so it’s a wide, flat, glassy surface when the tide is in, sand and mud at low tide. It feels like a small resort town at the waterfront, and an upscale community up the hill behind that. We walked in on a cool, sunny, Sunday afternoon, passing a cricket match and families picnicking in the parks, and the restaurant and pubs hopping down on the water. Pretty pleasant.

The promenade at Arnside is also the end of the Westmorland Way.  The ending is a counterpoint to the little village of Great Strickland and the lakes and mountains we started in at the beginning of the week.         

We’re staying tonight at a great little pub/B&B named Ye Olde Fighting Cocks.  A nice pub with a good kitchen, a patio looking over the waterfront, and a warm welcome.

It also has the smallest rooms we’ve ever encountered. By comparison, I’m sure I could lay crossways in my closet at home. Not so sure if I could do that in what was grandly named the “Arnside Knott” room. But the bed was comfortable and everything was there for a decent sleep after a good dinner and some experimenting with local gins.