Sunday 25th February 2018 - Arnside, South Lakes

This month our walks are based on Arnside.  The coach will leave school as usual at 8.00 am prompt and travel to Forton Services for a toilet and boot stop. The coach will continue to Pine Lakes where the A walk starts.  The other two walks both start in Arnside.   Boots are essential on all walks. 
                      
This year’s Hotpot will be at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, which is on the Promenade at Arnside.  A room will be set aside in the pub for RWC diners, which will be available from 16.00 hours, the menu options are overleaf.   Assuming that all parties have returned, meals will be served from around 17.00 hours.  We will depart after the hot pot meal at approximately 6.30pm arriving back in Formby about 8.30pm.  

The cost of travel will be £11.00 for members, £14.00 for non-members and £5.00 for Leaders, children and students in full time education. The cost of the meal will be £11 per person for two courses.   Please provide payment via 2 separate cheques one for the walk and one for the meal.  Please make your cheques payable to Range Walking Club and ensure they are signed as it is inconvenient for the Treasurer to chase up such omissions

Please send in your return to the Treasurer Monica Sealey before 15th February; places will be booked on the coach by the treasurer on a first come first served basis.

Cancellations: if you need to cancel or make a late booking, please contact the Treasurer on 01704 809287 or by email monicatuk@yahoo.co.uk who will endeavour to substitute your booking from the waiting list.  If you cancel after 15th February and it is not possible to fill your place on the coach, regrettably, we will not be able to give you a refund as coaches will have been booked on initial returns.

‘A’ Walk Distance: 12.5 miles Ascent: 1,500 ft Leaders: Ken Bryning Shaun Rollinson	This is a linear walk starting from Pine Lakes, after coming off the M6 at J35.  We walk through the village of Warton, up and over the Warton Crag Nature Reserve, to visit the Trig Point at 163m (540 feet).  The walk now follows the Lancashire Coastal Path, along the shore line to Jenny Brown’s point, then along the limestone cliffs of Jack Scout, then up and past Lindeth Tower to Silverdale. The whole of the area is a nature reserve and binoculars would be useful to study the birdlife. The walk then heads up through a caravan park to Arnside Tower, then a very pleasant track up to the summit of Arnside Knott 159m (524 feet), where on a good day there is a full panoramic view of South Lakeland and beyond. (On the recce we could barely see across the River Kent to Grange!) Descending through Copridding Wood we head for Blackstone Point, then follow the shoreline back into Arnside, where our Hotpot Supper awaits us.
‘B+’ Walk Distance: 10 miles Ascent: 1,250 ft Leaders: Carol Scurr Ray Webb	A grand tour of the highlights of the Arnside peninsula! Starting on the front at Arnside we walk out of town via lanes, woods and fields in a steadily upward direction until we reach the summit and viewpoint of Arnside Knott. We will take this at a steady pace and will take coffee on arrival at the top! The views should be just reward for our efforts.  Leaving the Knott we descend via Heathwaite to Silverdale for an alpaca encounter! Prize to anyone who can explain the difference between them, llamas and guancos. Moving on, we enter Elmslack Wood and climb up through the wood to the famous Pepperpot on King William Hill, where again superb views should be had.   Our route then takes us down through the wood to Hawes Water nature reserve and on over Gait Barrows. Our last treat of the day is a visit to the Fairy Steps where you can endeavour to outwit the local sprites!  We then begin our return to Arnside via Storth and the lovely coastal path that passes the saltmarsh back to town and much deserved refreshment.
‘B/C’ Walk Distance: 8 miles Ascent: 600 ft Leaders: Ann Belcher Liz Bellman Gill Hickmott	This is a circular walk starting and finishing at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks where we shall dine later in the day. We walk through the village along the promenade with beautiful views across the River Kent to Grange-over-Sands including the distinctive rail bridge.  The path leads us onto the beach, which is rocky in places and then we head inland through woods until we reach the base of Arnside Knott, where a final push is worth all the hard work to reach the panoramic viewpoint. We descend towards Arnside Tower and continue on following woodland paths, village roads and through caravan parks back to the beach where we retrace our steps back to Arnside village.  The majority of the height is climbed in the first two hours and will be taken at a gentle pace. There are plenty of opportunities for refreshment stops and a coffee shop with WC at our lunch stop.