Sands

Following a brief encounter with Carnforth Station I arrived in Arnside to meet up with my eldest brother (aka @Charlalaliz's dad) for the first of three days of walking.

It's been twenty years since I last visited, but during my Lancaster years this was a regular destination for day trips and walks. And way back in my pre-teens, Arnside Knott was the only place outside of Wales that I ever won an orienteering event.

The logical choice for a first walk was around the coast to Far Arnside and then back over the Knott. The tide was out, so we were treated to fine views over glistening sands and mud flats, with waders galore silhouetted against the sun. A Little Egret flew in, the first I've seen for years.

The warm weather also drew out plenty of butterflies, with Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Small White in numbers together with an occasional Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Silver-Y Moth. This is one of the top sites in the country for butterflies, but we'd need to come back in spring and summer to encounter some of the more special species.

The weather closed in a bit as we walked back up through the woods to the Knott's summit trig point, at a whopping 522 feet above sea level. It wasn't the best day for views from the top; all of the Lakeland peaks were obscuresd, but we did spy a nuclear flask train creeping across the viaduct.

It's with some trepidation that I blip anything from this locale, given the way @gladders has treated us to so many beautiful Arnside images over the years. I can't resist the Kent Viaduct though, and the characteristic estuary view.