From Sea to Sky – South Lakes and Arnside

We stay at The Grange Hotel in Grange over Sands – close to the rail station and Grange centre and promenade

Set on a gentle rise between the bay and fells, The Grange Hotel combines historic charm with modern comfort. Inside, individually styled rooms and suites offer elegant, restful stays. The hotel features a full leisure spa — indoor pool, sauna and steam room — plus a restaurant and bar serving locally inspired meals. With easy access to woodland trails, lakes, and coastal walks, it’s an ideal base for both relaxation and exploring the Lake District.

Breakfast and evening dinner are taken at the hotel. We lunch in one of the local hostelries in the area or, depending on the walk, we will sometimes have a packed lunch.

We offer you the opportunity to stay additional nights, and many people extend their weekend as they wish. Just reserve what nights you need.

Directions to the hotel

By rail – Grange  over Sands  lies on the rail line from Lancaster to Barrow with regular services. The hotel is a short walk from the station.

By car-  we will send you exact details – but for Sat Nav’s use LA11 6EN

Walking starts on Sunday afternoon at 2.30pm with a local walk to get to know each other, your leaders and the local area. We then walk on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday finishing around lunchtime.

Where necessary, we will use transport to get to the start of walks, but this will not involve more than 12 miles travel.

The Southern Lake District, Arnside and the area around Morecambe Bay offer a wide variety of terrains and walking opportunities. We will describe each walk the night before and what it entails. We walk at a steady pace, we don’t rush – we want you to enjoy our lovely scenery. These fells and coasts are a walker’s paradise with good, mainly well marked paths and an ever changing landscape. There are hills to ascend which we will take slowly.  What’s the point of huffing and puffing, being exhausted then not being able to enjoy this fabulous land? This is a land of ever changing vistas – on any walk we get four or five different landscapes to enjoy. Don’t forget your camera.

We walk between 9 and 10 miles per day. 

Sample Walks

We will organise walks from the following choices…

On the first afternoon- Around Grange– a lovely 4 mile walk from the hotel starting at 2.30pm. Getting to know the area, your leader and fellow guests

To Silverdale (Between 7 and 10 miles)

We may walk along the shoreline or over Arnside Knott, all within an AONB.  There is a variety of bird life from Greylag Geese to cormorants.  The limestone is a wild flower haven.  We may visit the Leighton Moss nature reserve where this the option of returning back to the hotel by train.   There are cafes and refreshments in Arnside, Silverdale and Leighton Moss.

Beetham and Dalam

We walk along the shore on a disused railway embankment to the pretty village of Beetham.  Lunch is at Beetham nurseries café.   We walk back over areas of limestone pavement and ancient woodlands

Levens Hall and Sizergh

We take transport to Levens Hall.  There are fabulous topiary gardens which give an opportunity to take a day off and just wander for those who do not want to walk all week.  The walk takes us through the pretty village of Levens and over limestone fells.  We return via Sizergh Castle, lunch, and park land to Levens. 

Arnside Knott

On our last morning we take one of several routes up to the top of Arnside Knott before a light lunch in one of the village cafes.

Farleton Knott

A fabulous limestone ridge with views over Morecambe Bay and possibly Blackpool Tower. 

Cartmel and the Ellerside Ridge 

Walk from Grange to Cartmel, part of the way on the Cistercian Way.  Cartmel is an historic village with an ancient priory, as well as being the home of sticky toffee pudding and a race course. The walk takes us through woodland and undulating fells with fabulous views of Morecambe bay 11 miles.

Grades and Difficulty

The walks on this trip are rated as Moderate but each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descent. The trip requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with previous hill walking experience.

Paths on this Lake District holiday are mostly well marked and walked but can have rough and uneven with stony parts to them.

These we take carefully, bearing in mind your safety at all times.

You need good walking footwear, preferably waterproof walking boots with good soles for protection. You may find that walking poles will aid your enjoyment of this land.

Whilst we do not ascend the high fells- we will ascend and descend on our walks – up to a total in a day of 450 metres. So, there will be some short, sharp ascents and descents.

We stay at Grange over Sands. Grange-over-Sands is an elegant town, with strong reminders of its heyday as a fashionable seaside resort in the 19th century – all thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream and the arrival of the railroad in the 1850s. Grange’s Victorian and Edwardian elegance is still very much in evidence today, in its ornamental gardens, attractive shopping arcades and its long seafront promenade.

Arnside and Silverdale– this extraordinary place is famous for its amazing wildlife, stunning scenery, and superb walks. From the simple beauty of the lady’s-slipper orchid to the shining sands of Morecambe Bay, the area is simply awe-inspiring. Stunning limestone pavements, ancient woodlands, orchards and meadows and an impressive coastline make Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty one of England’s finest landscapes. The work of the AONB Partnership aims to conserve and enhance this extraordinary place now and for the future.

Arnside Knott– is renowned for its wildlife. Take a circular walk to admire views of the surrounding countryside and enjoy the sights and sounds along the way. The peaks of the Lakeland Fells and the Yorkshire Dales are all visible from the high viewpoints so you can see down into Lancashire and right out over the sands of Morecambe Bay. Sit and enjoy the view with a picnic or carry on along the many different paths which take you down to Red Hills Wood or Heathwaite.

Cartmel

Cartmel is a village in Furness northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and it was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12th-century Cartmel Priory, around which it initially grew.

Close by are the fells above Newby Bridge and south Windermere – just a short drive to wonderful walking such as Gummers How.

We walk on both the Arnside peninsula and the Grange/Cartmel peninsula