Arnside in the sunshine

This is the third time I have visited the pleasant seaside town of Arnside in as many months but until this time the weather had always been quite gloomy. This time the sun came out which makes a wonderful difference. Arnside is beside the estuary of the river Kent in the northeast corner of Morecame Bay. There is an abundance of wildlife to be seen here and the fishing is good here too. One of the famed activities here is barefoot flounder fishing. I have been told tales about wading around in the shallow water feeling for flounder in the soft sand and mud and cathching them by hand.

We Paddled from the promenade beach out with the gently flowing water from the River Kent. Heading out towards the outer reaches close to Blackstone Point we saw plenty of cormorants, redshank, turnstone and herons.

A disturbance on the still waters in the distance was the first sign that the 'bore' was on its way. The wave was less than a foot in height and moving a little more than a brisk walking pace. Birds that had been bobbing around on the calm waters took to the air everywhere around us as we turned to surf the surging incoming tidal wave.

After spending some time surfing the standing waves under the railway viaduct we headed north up the estuary in search of serenity in the upper tidal reaches of the River Kent before returning to Arnside on the early ebbing tide in time for fish and chips and a cup of tea.