Arnside to Grange-over Sands

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Tangled Metal
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by Tangled Metal »

I've surfed the bore in a kayak before now. A bit of from Arnside but the channels change and is often very hard to stay on the wave. It kept disappearing from under me and appearing a bit over. Not one wave only but a few. The first is a little steep and your boat can kind of get stuck into the low water ahead of it. Second wave is better but they're all so close you kind of get on the only one you can catch and ride it as far as possible. It's not as good as I understand Severn to be but it can be fun.

Under the viaduct is a nice play wave when the tide is back in but still running. Not for beginners at all, quite hairy I thought.

Arnside is a kind of end of the road place but there's a lot there. Sailing club, shops, a decent chippy even if it's not as good as it once was. It's even got it's own class of boat with the most famous being owned by Ransome, the swallows and amazons. The Knott, walk around the coast is nice. Views are good of the lakes (although Morecambe has that too and looking across the wider bay I think it's a nicer view). Despite all the nice things about Arnside it is at the end of the road I think. Mind you I'm still looking at moving there so it must have something about it. I still think a pedestrian and cycle route across the viaduct would be the cherry on the top of the Arnside cake.

One minus is the loss of the old ramblers cafe and it's owners. The food there was special IMHO and a perfect cafe to stop at whether cycling, kayaking on the bore, visiting relatives, walking or having driven there. They were very nice people too.
jb
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by jb »

And don't forget loosing lots hooks and lead weights fishing for flounders
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cycleruk
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by cycleruk »

Has the YHA gone ?
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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Paulatic
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by Paulatic »

cycleruk wrote:Has the YHA gone ?

I remember getting there very tired ( Northern Dales 200K) and the hill up to it was more than enough. :lol:

Used to be a lovely small cafe up Pier Lane did bring your own wine meals on an evening.
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cycleruk
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by cycleruk »

Paulatic wrote:
cycleruk wrote:Has the YHA gone ?

I remember getting there very tired ( Northern Dales 200K) and the hill up to it was more than enough. :lol:

Used to be a lovely small cafe up Pier Lane did bring your own wine meals on an evening.

I did a the shorter version (=100K ?) a few years back. Remember the cafe but never used it.
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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RickH
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by RickH »

Tangled Metal wrote:I've surfed the bore in a kayak before now. A bit of from Arnside but the channels change and is often very hard to stay on the wave. It kept disappearing from under me and appearing a bit over. Not one wave only but a few. The first is a little steep and your boat can kind of get stuck into the low water ahead of it. Second wave is better but they're all so close you kind of get on the only one you can catch and ride it as far as possible. It's not as good as I understand Severn to be but it can be fun.

Under the viaduct is a nice play wave when the tide is back in but still running. Not for beginners at all, quite hairy I thought.


We watched a kayaker when we were there one time. The klaxon sounded. Then this wave maybe 6" high came through. He looked distinctly underwhelmed as his boat rocked slightly as the bore passed without him moving noticeably forward. :?

cycleruk wrote:Has the YHA gone ?

It had become an independent hostel last I heard. But that was some time back, I don't know if that is still running.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by Tangled Metal »

Yes, that does happen. I've surfed it but mostly I don't go far on it. One time all kayakers from our group paddled an hour out from Arnside. Another group paddled even further that day. Maybe 20 kayakers hoping to surf a rather high tidal bore. Anyway only one of us got further than 20 to 30 metres before they lost the wave. One guy but 100m before being dumped. I did write well because I was in my old boar which was longer. The guy who got further was more experienced than me and a similar boat. I believe the length of our boats, being greater than others boats, meant we had more chance in the bore. We then paddled 40 minutes back to the get out point in Arnside, tide assisted. The second group only turned up after our boats were on our cars and we were walking towards the cafe which we filled for two hours before heading off to the river Rothay for some fun.

I've only done it a few times because it simply isn't much fun. It's not easy to ride that bore. It's not a clean River like Severn so the wave isn't clean. Channels move and twist a lot at Arnside area. Not a good bore to surf even though it's technically high enough to.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by Tangled Metal »

The hostel was there last year but independent I believe or independently run for the YHA.
arnsider
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by arnsider »

Well, the thread is not dead! I've just completed a survey, the link emailed to me by the CTC branch Secretary Len Howard, who got it from Tim Dant, in Lancaster.
I can't see a problem publishing the survey here on the Forum;
https://forms.office.com/Pages/Response ... c3VU5HMS4u
Consider this;
The viaduct structure is owned and maintained by Network Rail and was designed and subsequently modified solely for the carriage of a two-track railway line over the Kent Estuary.
As such, there is no provision for an independent segregated footway for the general public.
The tides and weather adversely affect safety on exposed midsections of the viaduct, necessitating periodic closure of the bridge footpath.
A cost estimate of any retrofitted walkway would probably run to millions since the weight, anchorage and windage factors are substantial.
Light timber platforms on up and down lines, just long enough to access the cycle compartment of the three-car class 195's would be cheap and easily built and could operate as a request stop like Morfa Mawddach, with a ticket machine.
This proposal would, unfortunately, require either a footbridge or a subway, since Network Rail has abandoned public flat crossings for safety reasons.
A new half kilometre footpath/cycle path connecting this Halt to Meathop Park farm with an easement/permissive status would land you on the existing Cumbrian Coastal Way within a couple of Kilometres of the halt.
eileithyia
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by eileithyia »

https://forms.office.com/Pages/Response ... ufwM6xexj8

Survey to complete regarding the route.
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mumbojumbo
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by mumbojumbo »

You could hire a boat and row across,once tide is in-ask for Arnside Albert,who drinks in Red Crab.
nirakaro
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by nirakaro »

mumbojumbo wrote: 24 Jan 2022, 4:01pm You could hire a boat and row across,once tide is in-ask for Arnside Albert,who drinks in Red Crab.
Aye, but how do you return the boat? Shades of 'Runcorn Ferry' -

On the banks of the Mersey, o'er on Cheshire side,
Lies Runcorn that's best known to fame
By Transporter Bridge as takes folks over t'stream,
Or else brings them back across same.

In days afore Transporter Bridge were put up,
A ferryboat lay in the slip,
And old Ted the boatman would row folks across
At per tuppence per person per trip.

Now Runcorn lay over on one side of stream,
And Widnes on t'other side stood,
And, as nobody wanted to go either place,
Well, the trade wasn't any too good.

One evening, to Ted's superlative surprise,
Three customers came into view:
A Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom it were,
And Albert, their little son, too.

'How much for the three?' Mr Ramsbottom asked,
As his hand to his pocket did dip.
Ted said: 'Same for three as it would be for one,
Per tuppence per person per trip.'

'You're not charging tuppence for that little lad?'
Said Mother, her eyes flashing wild.
'Per tuppence per person per trip', answered Ted,
'Per woman, per man, or per child'.

'Fivepence for three, that's the most that I'll pay',
Said Father, 'Don't waste time in talk'.
'Per tuppence per person per trip', answered Ted,
'And them, as can't pay, 'as to walk!'

'We can walk, an' all', said Father. 'Come Mother,
It's none so deep, weather's quite mild'.
So into the water the three of them stepped:
The father, the mother, the child.

The further they paddled, the deeper it got,
But they wouldn't give in, once begun.
In the spirit that's made Lancashire what she is,
They'd sooner be drownded than done.

Very soon, the old people were up to their necks,
And the little lad clean out of sight.
Said Father: 'Where's Albert?' And Mother replied:
'I've got hold of his hand, he's all right!'

Well, just at that moment, Pa got an idea
And, floundering back to old Ted, He said:
'We've walked half-way. Come, tak' us the rest
For half-price -- that's a penny a head.'

But Ted wasn't standing for none of that there,
And, making an obstinate lip,
'Per tuppence per person per trip', Ted replied,
'Per trip, or per part of per trip'.

'All right, then', said Father, 'let me tak' the boat,
And I'll pick up the others half-way.
I'll row them across, and I'll bring the boat back,
And thruppence in t'bargain I'll pay'.

T'were money for nothing. Ted answered: 'Right-ho',
And Father got hold of the sculls.
With the sharp end of boat towards middle of stream,
He were there in a couple of pulls.

He got Mother out -- it were rather a job,
With the water, she weighed half a ton --
Then, pushing the oar down the side of the boat,
Started fishing around for his son.

When poor little Albert came up to the top,
His collars were soggy and limp.
And, with holding his breath at the bottom so long,
His face were as red as a shrimp.

Pa took them across, and he brought the boat back,
And he said to old Ted on the slip:
'Wilt' row me across by me'sen?' Ted said:
'Aye, at per tuppence per person per trip'.

When they got t'other side, Father laughed fit to bust.
He'd got best of bargain, you see.
He'd worked it all out, and he'd got his own way,
And he'd paid nobbut fivepence for three!
arnsider
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by arnsider »

The need for a Footbridge or Subway at any new Halt might be reduced to a flat crossing. Network Rail have recently upgraded one such crossing at Silverdale, near the lower end of Eves Wood, where they have introduced a klaxon operated by the train passing over a treddle, giving pedestrians warning of its approach.
Another costly component of a retrofitted walkway would be the line possessions required by contractors in the construction and the disruption of the timetable.
Taking all this into consideration, the cost of my proposals would be a fraction of that of re-engineering the viaduct.
jb
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by jb »

There's absolutely no chance of any operators putting a walkway over there it would be a liability as well as a fortune to even bring to the design stage. The cost of maintainable in a structure over salt water would be huge and it'd probably have to closed in bad weather or bridge maintenance.
A simple hop on & hop off would be far more practical even if you had to design a solid gold underpass.
Cheers
J Bro
Tangled Metal
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Re: Arnside to Grange-over Sands

Post by Tangled Metal »

You're cyclists, ride around and enjoy the ride. Stuff the crossing there! If you can't make the current route get a train to Grange. It won't happen in our lifetime if at all!

Now the Heysham to Barrow viaduct... 😆
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