Countrystride #62: GRANGE-OVER-SANDS & Hampsfell

...in which we take in the salt air at the Victorian seaside resort of Grange-over-Sands with local historian and National Park Rights of Way Officer Nick Thorne. In a wide-ranging conversation covering history, ecology, tourism... and lots of old postcards, we walk the town's mile-long promenade and imagine the refined resort in its heyday; we visit the town's salt-water lido, in which generations of children shivered as they learnt to swim; we consider the history of paths in coppiced Eggerslack Wood, with its water ways and sunken lanes; and we discuss the practicalities and perils of crossing the ever-shifting Sands of Morecambe Bay, before alighting on Hampsfell's summit Hospice, with its breathtaking panorama.

• Nick's local history website can be found at https://grangeoversandshistory.weebly.com

Hampsfell Hospice.

The Bandstand.

Onto the prom, with the salt marsh pictured right.

The lido and its listed diving boards - in rather a sorry state.

A view of the town from the salt marsh.

Our guest, Nick Thorne.

The Howgill fells from Eggerslack Wood.

The shifting Sands of Morecambe Bay.

The Hospice.

Limestone, scrub and fab views.

Our route for the day.