Right. A niche request this one. I plan to cross the Duddon Estuary at low tide using one of the marked bridleways. However, in terms of info re safe routes, getting guided etc, I have drawn a big fat blank. The OS map has fairly unequivocal warnings about crossing and I am not keen to experienced quicksand up close and personal so has anyone on here done it or can offer advice on doing it?
Cheers!
Sanny
Is your bike worth saving 🤔
Don't you need a guide for Morecambe Bay - that guy who puts birch twigs in the mud?!
MorecAmbe Bay has been ridden across (not in the way you mean though!). Phil the Greek did it in '85. Silverdale to Kent's Bank.
No way I would try that without knowing what to look for and where to go!
I've walked Morecambe Bay.
There's a pretty serious river to wade through, but if course you can't see it as there's always 50-100mm of water underfoot.
I absolutely wouldn't do it without a guide, you'll end up "that guy" being rescued by RNLI, or worse.
APF
"Marked bridleway" is a slightly generous term for a sign at each end and a whole lot of death in between 🙂
Looks like they got a tractor and horses across last year. Maybe a fatbike would do it....
Just tie a big rope round your waist and the other end round a lampost on the prom.
Are you doing it for an article?
Morecambe Bay is a no no for me without a guide although I gather Kevin Hodgson of this parish has ridden Duddon which is the one I am hoping to ride. There are several options on the map but really I am happy to take any route that is low on the “a bit deathy” scale. The other option is to packraft it but that goes against the idea of riding across……..The lack of published information on it intrigues me (or should perhaps serve as a warning?)
Cheers
Sanny
It's one for a fatbike that you're not too bothered about losing to the quicksand or to salt corrosion!
They do guided walks from Arnside reasonably regularly:
https://exploremorecambebay.org.uk/things-to-do/morecambe-bay-cross-bay-walks/
Vast majority are for charity but you might find it possible to sort of sneak along immediately after them on a bike.
Yes the plan is for an article……I just don’t want it to be one about being rescued!
Yes the plan is for an article……I just don’t want it to be one about being rescued!
I dunno, I did one about getting rescued by air ambulance way back in the dawn of STW.
Being rescued by hovercraft would be an interesting new take on the idea.
Edit - it wasn't the air ambulance, it was an RAF Sea King. Issue 15.
Could be type 7 fun.
Yes the plan is for an article……I just don’t want it to be one about being rescued!
You could always liveblog not being rescued. Finish off with final selfie before you disappear under the quicksand.
A friend has been horseriding on Millom beach with these people. Maybe they'll have some local knowledge?
Hi guys
Thanks for the feedback. If anyone knows anyone who has attempted it (and not disappeared), please let me know. Obviously the sands shift with every tide so having someone with a bit of knowledge would be really helpful. The drowning bit is distinctly lacking in appeal.......
You do realise that, quite apart from drowning, you may end up in Millom?
If you drown I might even catch your screams on the breeze, good luck.
Is Millom the Coatbridge of Cumbria then? A one horse town without the horse?
What I really need is a willing and enthusiastic ride companion / easily led simpleton with limited concern for their own personal safety to ride in front of me the whole way over..................the cycling equivalent of a Star Trek red shirt who doesn't make it past the first advert break.
Cheers
Sanny
Put it this way, I'm from Kirkby and even I can laugh at how inbred they are.
It's a shame though, couldve come along but although I fully meet the person specification I don't own a fat bike
On the serious advice front time it for a dip in the tide heights, less stuff being shifted about used to go flatty treading as a kid, the rippled areas tended to be firmer, flatter shinier areas more muddy. I don't know anyone whose tried it though
Quick Google suggests Pete Burton, a naturalist from Askam has lead groups across on foot
And cousin Dan Bob has gone most of the way just not waded the Duddon channel
They do guided walks from Arnside reasonably regularly:
My mate Chris is a guide. He guided a walk on Saturday and Sunday morning last weekend and we met him in Grange-over-sands on Sunday for a few pints in the sun when he'd finished walking over from Arnside. The walk across the bay is 3 hours and even at the lowest tide involves wading through channels.
If you want to message me I can ask him for you, but to be honest I've got a pretty good idea what his response will be.
He describes the surface you're walking across as 'not like Blazing Saddles style quicksand, more like walking on a blancmange. The secret is not to stop walking. Keep moving at all times'
Cousin Dan Bob says: "no, no way would I do it on a bike" quite a bit of wading to do apparently, I guess you could take the bike and carry it but your bearings would hate you forever
If you could, that would be great. Despite my somewhat flippant style of writing and use of humour to downplay things, I am deadly serious about the safety side of this and have no desire to encourage folk to copy me should I do it without knowing exactly what they have to consider and the importance of local knowledge. If I am doing it then it will have to be with someone who knows the sands and how to navigate across them safely. I'd like the piece to be as much about the safety side of it as the adventure of doing it.
When I did my bikerafting piece in Knoydart last year as a relative novice, I did it with my mate Rob who is a qualified paddling instructor and who has an encyclopaedic knowledge when it comes to water safety, reading wind and tides etc. My work in risk management has taught me a lot about anticipating risks and mitigating against them. It's the old phrase, safety doesn't happen bu accident. Heck, I'm Chartered Accountant to trade so I'm not exactly your typical thrill seeker! Ha! Ha!
I suspect the fat bike will be an accompaniment to walking across as opposed to being ridden. It's usually me who is the easily led simpleton so finding someone even more gullible might be a tough ask for me! Ha! Ha! I am now intrigued to visit the shallow gene pool of Millom where the six fingered banjo player is king.
Cheers
Sanny
Pedalo?
The fat bike has the advantage of offering two large flotation devices in the form of the comedy size tyres built in. In my mind, I expect a walk without riding. Any riding would be an unexpected bonus.
Cheers
Sanny
Ps I had forgotten how funny that scene from Blazing Saddles is.
Pedalo?
Won't that just dig a small hole in the sand/mud while remaining immobile?
@Sanny. I'll ask him for advice and drop you a message with his response. I doubt he'd do it himself (you never know though), but if anyone knows anyone who'd be up for it then it'll be him.
When they walk it, they take big groups but with quite a number of guides. I'm not sure of the exact ratio
Harry Roberts has done it
"Our hovercraft is invaluable. A lot of our rescues would be very difficult to execute in any other craft. This craft gives us a far quicker response time by allowing us to take the direct route across the estuary and mudflats, often to otherwise inaccessible areas.
Harry Roberts
Hovercraft Commander, Morecambe RNLI"
Just sayin'
I've walked it on a guided walk, with Cedric the Queen's Guide in a tractor and his replacement leading us on foot. You go a LONG way round and do have to ford the river, it was about knee to thigh deep when we did it. That was the only water though. Pics on my strava log here to show how deep it was - the kids were swimming in it so it's not just a quick dip thing
Won’t that just dig a small hole in the sand/mud while remaining immobile?
Not if you wait for the tide to come in.
AFAIK There have been a few fatbike guided rides across - search the UK Fatbike FB page?
The other option is to packraft it but that goes against the idea of riding across
I was thinking that if riding across, it would be worth carrying a deflated packraft just in case (and doing it when there's a gentle W or SW wind).
In years gone by, there was a half marathon across Morecambe Bay - may still be for that matter. I did it in either 2016 or 2017. That year - and possibly for a year or two beforehand - they ran a fat bike challenge over the same route - I think it was something like 15 minutes head start - and like a fool I entered the half marathon. They'd had to do a hurried replan of the route as the sands had shifted - if I recall, we set out from Silverdale rather than Hest Bank as intended, and ran out into a headwind for quite some distance - probably around 8 or 9 miles before turning and heading back to dry land, and onwards to Flookbrough airfield.
As others have commented, it's never really properly dry across the bay - the rivers that discharge into the bay keep flowing at low tide, and I can recall wading through with water a good way up my thighs within the first mile or so. I'm pretty sure I recall some of the fat bikers were having issues with floatation - not the good "not sinking into the sand" type, but the "trying to keep tyres on river bed" type.
What I really need is a willing and enthusiastic ride companion / easily led simpleton with limited concern for their own personal safety to ride in front of me the whole way over………………the cycling equivalent of a Star Trek red shirt who doesn’t make it past the first advert break.
You may have found your simpleton! Been wondering about trying it for a while. My hairbrained plan is to drag an inflated packraft behind the bike on a length of cord, and/or lash a couple of easily accessible planks of wood to the bike in case I need something disposable to spread my weight for some reason...
Not sure how much wear and tear it would cause to the raft being dragged across wet sand so far though. Would probably need to service the bike immediately afterwards, if not change the hub bearings. Sadly there's already traces of salt corrosion on some of the components from various sea crossings on bike rafting trips so that ships sailed.
This is what I would be really keen to avoid!
Not sure how much wear and tear it would cause to the raft being dragged across wet sand so far though.
Fit a couple of skis to it.
It'll be a **** to handle towing it on a bike, especially if there's any sort of crosswind trying to tip it over.
Right @Sanny.... I think its fair to say you may have just started something here
I asked my guide mate Chris about it and I got this reply...
Hey up buddy...
If you can walk it you can cycle it... When we walk we always have to cross the river Kent. The guide picks the lowest time for the tide and we walk across the river.It's usually no deeper than your knees but can be waist height depending on the weather. If its been raining a fair bit then the river is deeper as the run off the land is filling it up.
The trick is where to cross it though mate. We never cross in the same spot from weekend to weekend. Michael, the head guide goes out on the Friday before the walks and tests the crossings. He looks for a spot where the banks are low and the ground is fairly sturdy.
There is deffo quicksand out there mate. We've pulled people out. He did a demo a couple of walks ago. He knew where there was a spot and got a couple of walkers to walk out in it. The whole area was bouncing underfoot. It was pretty trippy! Like a slow motion earthquake. Weird as **** mate! He plots the route using brobs... Laurel branches... Staked out across the bay and we follow them. Laurel branches don't shed their leaves when the tide comes in and out so they are good for a week or so.
Not sure I'd go out on the sands all the way across without knowing where to cross mate, but you could follow Michaels brobs on a low tide I suppose.... Not sure if he would condone it if asked tbh but legally its a public highway and everyone has the right to cross the bay if they choose.
Then I just got this...
Just been talking to Jane and mentioned your question... We both think it's deffo doable!
In fact as long as the river crossing is right it's probably safer on a bike than walking. The golden rule if you start sinking on the sands is to keep moving. Don't stop! I reckon you could fly over the jelly sand on a bike and barely realise it. You'd be over the bay in 30 mins on a bike too instead of a couple of hours trudging.
You've really got me thinking about this Binners. I'm seriously thinking about having a word with Michael anyhow now. Could possibly be an event or something... Sure shedloads of mountain bike enthusiasts would love to cycle across the bay.Bikes would be so much quicker than the walkers that it could run alongside a walk maybe and possibly raise a few quid for a charity. The charity angle would be the deal breaker if it could be organised. The trust who organise everything baywalk-wise are suckers for a good cause. Nearly every walk we do is a sponsored event.
You really have got me thinking mate 😉
Right. Well if this is going to be a thing, then I'm in!
Hmm, I know a bloke who owns a fat bike I reckon he'd lend me...
Sanny,
Speak to the guys at ghyllside cycles in ambleside.
They organised a fat bike only Morecombe Bay ride a few years back that I did.
Let me see if I can dig out the photos.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hdx14zD8fPTYTh2V8
One piece of advice, you want a wax lube on the chain like squirt or smoove
Found the strava as well, looks like we didn't actually cross Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/szaRTbzv3pb
If an organised guided bike across is happening, I am interested. For a smaller, safer challenge (lovely firm sand) Longniddry to Gullane Head (East Lothian) is a good fatbike trip. You can get across on the falling tide. One small river crossing.
More advice, take a windproof, think it was one of the windiest places on this planet I've been to.
More advice, take a windproof, think it was one of the windiest places on this planet I’ve been to.
I used to work on the shore of Morecambe Bay and I can confirm this. It's *amazing* for windsurfing if you get the tides and wind combination right.
And if someone would like to lend me a fatbike, I'll be well up for a ride across.
Can you ask your friends if they would be up for speaking to Michael about doing this? An organised crossing could be woven into a bigger feature piece but with the crossing at the heart of it. The notion of using old marked rights of way that would normally be ignored and could not otherwise be done safely really appeals to me. It feels like it would be a proper little adventure. It was Chipps who floated the idea of crossing the estuary to me as a feature (sorry, terrible pun!) and I eagerly agreed to it. Clearly the quicksands rule out a solo crossing but if your friends could make it happen, then it is game on. Really interested to learn about the science of it, how the sands are constantly shifting and the dangers they present for the unwary.
Great pics!
Ridden that very route many times with Coastkid and co! Possibly with you too not knowing your non-forum name!
Cheers
Sanny
So if you can get your mate on board, we are go as a feature piece for the magazine! If we can do it for charity, even better! Having folk from the forum come along would be icing on the cake!
Cheers
Sanny
I remember there was a charity fat bike ride across Morecambe Bay in 2015: Westmorland Gazette I have seen video footage somewhere but can't find it now. This event seems to be the one supported by Ghyllside Cycles mentioned above.
While I was Googling, I came across this which might be of use: Cumbrian Fat Bikers FB pages
Good luck. I quite fancy the idea of this myself (I was once a local). Alas, I've no fat bikes to hand!
*edit - the link to the Gazette has an image gallery and not a lot of detail.
@Sanny - I spoke to him last night. They've got guided walks on this weekend so I believe he's going to have a chat with the powers that be and see if it's doable
Anyone done The Wash?
You legend! Good work, that man! It would be great if we could get a big bunch of forumites to come along and make this happen.
Excited!
Cheers
Sanny
How did you get on with your mate? Do you reckon we can make a forum ride happen for an article?
Cheers
Sanny
Looks like I can't get a loan of the fatbike I was hoping for. ☹
I was chatting to someone recently - and frustratingly I can't recall who it was - who said there'd very recently been a guided horse ride from Arnside to Kent's Bank
We're actually going up in a couple of weeks to do a guided walk, I can try to have a chat and get some contact details for you if you like @Sanny
There's a walk from Flookburgh to Chapel island off Ulverston very soon.
There’s a walk from Flookburgh to Chapel island off Ulverston very soon.
https://www.sjhospice.org.uk/event/chapel-island-walk-2022/
@Sanny - looks like this might be what you need
https://www.guideoversands.co.uk/
edit - wow looks like there WAS a horse ride, this looks amazing. Wish I could ride a horse then I could have a go!
Re: hosses the reason the routes are there at all is because they were old coach routes. Hence they're marked as bridleways. Not without its dangers, there's a grave in St Marys church in Ulverston containing two brothers that got stuck back in 18something-or-other and drowned. True fact.
The Bay Horse pub at Canal Head, Ulverston has a sign on the wall explaining about the coach crossings back in the day. Not so many signs about how the canal was used for (amongst other things) importing slaves...
