The guided walks take place on Saturdays from the end of April until late September at low tide. They need to be guided as the bay is treacherous with sinking sands, river estuary crossings, shifting channels and a tidal bore. In fact one of our fellow scholars had sadly drowned as a result of the tidal bore some 50 years ago.
I joined the walk with my sister Jen, her husband Jem and their Springer Spaniel, Jake.
If my son Mike sees a photo of me in these shorts he will disown me.
We were surprised at the number of people gathering at Hest Bank Foreshore to participate - there must have been at least 80.
We were to be accompanied by the guide, Alan Sledmore and a couple of helpers on Quad Bikes and later, Tractors. The Quad Bikes rush ahead and "scout" the safest route through the channels. Alan himself has a pole with which he can test the depth of the water and strength of the current.
Our target was Grange over Sands 9 miles away across the Bay but it had to be changed to Humphrey Head due to changes in the channels.
We set off across the wet sand and it didn't take long for many of us to remove our shoes and roll our shorts up.
Although it wasn't raining there were low clouds which spoilt our view of the Lake District mountains across the bay.
We let Jake off his lead and he went tearing off to meet the other dogs, but always coming back when whistled.
I was interested to see Warton Crag, Yealand Woods and Silverdale from a new angle. This was where my brother Ian, Jen and I had grown up and our mother, grandparents and great grandparents before us.
We had 3 major channels to cross of varying depth. One across the River Kent was flowing quite swiftly out to sea and a lady lost her balance and fell. She was carrying her her small dog which she managed to protect whilst falling. Rather like a man tripping but holding onto his precious beer.
Jake was managing to swim rather well.
Every now and again we could feel patches of sand which were much less firm. The infamous sinking sands - we were instructed to keep moving.
In places the sand was littered with the famous cockle shells which are harvested and sold. We also came across some small jellyfish with the appearance of glass marbles.
We could make out the ugly block of flats that mark the start of Bare Lane close to where Mum lives and the other eyesore of the nuclear plant at Heysham Head.
Our 3 hour walk turned into 4 and a half hours as the guide routed us around the channels. Apparently there were sections of rock that had become exposed over the previous 12 months and new sand banks more than 20 feet high.
Jake formed an attachment to another male dog - an older black Labrador who wasn't in the least interested but couldn't shake him off. However he redeemed himself by presenting a fish to Jeremy. It was a flounder and Jake looked so proud.
We could see the point at Humphrey Head getting closer, it was pretty cold in the late afternoon, not at all summery.
The tractors were offering rides to those who were becoming a tad weary.
As we drew nearer land I could hear a collective sigh of relief from all those who were becoming desperate for a loo! I just hoped that there would be more than one, or the queue would be very long.
We emerged onto a field of cows as we climbed up Humphrey Head and shoes were rapidly put back on as protection against the many thistles. Filtering through 3 or more stiles broke the group up into a long line.
Someone observed that most people's left leg was muddier than their right. Wonder why that was?
Oh the blessed relief of the Humphrey Head Outdoor Centre with its MANY loos and even showers.
A gentle walk down the road to the awaiting coaches and the entire party, muddy dogs and all was transported in luxury back to our cars at Hest Bank.
Couldn't wait for a hot shower!
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Location:Hest Bank to Humphrey Head
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