There is a royal appointment whose entire job is walking people across this bay. It is 478 years old, and people still book months ahead.
That is the sort of place this is, and nobody covers it as one. Both shores, one email, every Thursday.
Ten days. Two counties. Everything free.
Buildings normally locked or ticketed open for nothing, on both sides of the bay. Here is the route we would take.
Sun 13th Sep - Book by 9th Sep
Backbarrow Ironworks, near Ulverston. Fired in 1711, still running in 1965. Booking required, so do that today. The Grand Theatre, Lancaster. Whole building open, same day, no booking. Backbarrow in the morning, the Grand after lunch, and you have had a two-county Saturday.
Backbarrow Ironworks in 1850 - Source
Several Dates
Cartmel Priory Gatehouse. Fourteenth century, free, no booking. Everyone who drives in for lunch walks straight past it. Lancaster. The Cottage Museum on Castle Hill, free. Judges Lodgings does behind-the-scenes tours, booking needed. The Georgian Assembly Rooms open as artists’ studios on the 19th.
The Georgian Assembly Rooms - Source
Both county lists run longer than this. We checked these ourselves rather than copying them across.
Sources: Heritage Open Days, Cumbria · Lancashire
Around the bay
Clear your diary for 19th September
The Ulverston Lantern Festival is the best night on the Cumbrian shore and most of Lancashire has never heard of it. Four processions leave the town at 7pm, meet at County Square about 8pm, then everyone walks to Ford Park for fireworks around 9pm. Free to watch. Lantern kits £6, workshops at Coronation Hall from the 13th.
Go and watch the sea arrive all at once
Stand on Arnside promenade about ninety minutes before high water and the tide does not creep in. It arrives, in one wave, with a siren going twice to warn you. Running until the end of October. Watch from the promenade. Over the bank holiday the rescue crews had to warn a fisherman off the sand.
About a fortnight left on the ospreys
Leighton Moss had ospreys over the Causeway most days on 27 August, plus bitterns from the Lower and Causeway hides, which is a treat that late in the year. Red deer and fawns from Jackson, otters at dawn, kingfishers on the channel. They will be gone within weeks.
Our favourite fact of the summer
Holgates won Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year at the Cumbria Tourism Awards in July, for its site at Silverdale. Which is in Lancashire. It qualified because it runs nine parks across both counties, which is this newsletter’s entire argument handed to us by an awards panel.
What’s on · 3 to 10 September
Thursday 3rd
Ever Present Past: a brief history of Lancaster Moor Hospital, 7.30pm, with Gary Bradshaw | Lancaster
An Audience with Graeme Souness | Lancaster
Friday 4th
A Night at the Musicals, dinner show | Lancaster
Saturday 5th
Mourholme Local History Weekend, Leighton Hall, day one of two | Carnforth
Bat walk at Trowbarrow, 7.30pm to 9pm, free, no booking, bring a head torch | Silverdale
The Georgian and Regency Tour begins its run | Lancaster
Shire Yard Sounds, live music in the Shire Yard at Holker | Holker
Sunday 6th
Bradford to Morecambe Classic Car Run, the Promenade | Morecambe
Mourholme Local History Weekend, day two | Carnforth
The Best of Bublé | Lancaster
Flookburgh Brass Band in the Shire Yard, 2pm to 4pm, free, donations to the band. Outdoors, limited straw bale seating, so take a chair | Holker
Monday 7th
Nothing anywhere. A good night to stay in. Be lazy or something. Read a good book.
Tuesday 8th
Walking tour: Yards, Courts and Alleys | Lancaster
Wednesday 9th
Quiet again. Save your energy for the weekend.
Thursday 10th
Supper and Stories with Matthew Murgatroyd, Holker’s head gardener. Dinner 6.30pm, talk 7.30pm, ticketed | Holker
Seann Walsh: This is Torture | Lancaster
Any day
The Karel Klic town trail, free and self-guided, starting at The Storey. Klic invented photogravure and settled here in the 1890s. Printed copies at the City Museum, The Storey, Lancaster Priory and The Gregson, or download it. | Lancaster
Make your own chocolate bar at the Castle, Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 3pm. Cost on the day. | Lancaster
Holker Hall and Gardens, open Wednesday to Sunday plus bank holiday Mondays, 10am to 5pm | Holker
That is issue one. Thanks for being here this early, it genuinely matters.
Hit reply and tell us what we got wrong. We would far rather be corrected once than be wrong twice.
And tell us what is on near you, especially north of the Kent, where our sourcing is thinnest and we know it. Send us something good (or funny ;)) and we will credit you.
See you Thursday.
The Bay Scoop publishes corrections in the following issue, in the same position and at the same length as the original.
