Askam to Kirkby on the Cumbrian coastal way.

5th September 2023.

 Askam was quiet as the kids are not back in school until tomorrow. I started out with an aching ankle, not achilles problems, more like a slight sprain. 

Passing locals wished us good morning, all very pleasant as we headed down to the beach passed the local football ground, well manicured and neat.

The tide was well out, we checked the tables before we left to make sure. The Duddon estuary is huge, so big the camera struggles to represent just how big it is.

Numerous flocks of birds followed us down the beach, mainly Oyster catchers and Sanderlings with a few Skylarks and Pipits. Noisy gulls broke the silence as they vied for the scraps on the marsh.

The edge of the land has been eroded over the years but the council has tipped lots of demolition waste, bricks concrete, slag from the old iron works, most of it is now covered in sand but it's interesting seeing what you can identify. Recently I hear that an old iron ingot was found which is quite remarkable as the foundry here closed in 1918 but not demolished until 1938.

Lots of worked sandstone can be found which I would have thought to be rather an expensive waste product. I spotted a brick with the name AB Co. on it. This is from the Askam brick works whereas the majority of old stock brick came from Furness brickworks.

Setting off from Askam

AB Co. Askam brick company.

Good views North towards the Coniston range of mountains was had, but because of the unusual temperature, 25 deg C and the time of day the hills were quite hazy and didn't make for good photography. 

Approaching Dunnerholme rock I could see a good grassy path heading up to the top and so decided to get up there for the view. On the way up an old Limestone quarry is passed on the left which has now grassed over. It makes an ideal camp site for anyone backpacking the coast path although you would need to carry water.

To the right on a lofty perch, believe it or not is part of the golf coarse with well cut greens. A sign saying no public right of way meant we headed left towards the sea. The views are worth the little extra effort getting up here.

Dunnerholme rock.

View north towards the Coniston Hills from top of Dunnerholme rock.

View west towards Millom and Black Combe 

Hare bells still out.

Dropping down to Quarrymens cottages.

 A right of way heads east from the top of the rock and leads down to three small old cottages tucked away against the crags. As we approached a dog barked loudly, warning the occupier of our approach.

A chap called Graham lives in the middle one, a very friendly Canadian who we found out had worked in Papua New Guinea and was a big fan of the Tilley Hats that I was sporting. 

Graham is an effervescent sort and invited us into his cottage for a look round. They are old quarrymen cottages that have had very little done to them over the years. I didn't take any photographs inside as I thought it would be rude to ask. Grahams Tilley's had seen much wear and had been replaced as is the norm from the Tilley Company. He also had a winter Tilley, the likes of which I had never seen before. He also told us Tilley is now owned by the Chinese! Is nothing sacred?

After a pleasant 1/2 hr chat we bade farewell to Graham and Sally the dog and set off again across the fairway towards a marker fence and following a narrow grassy track to a stile and into the marshes proper. Graham had mentioned that there was 14 white topped marker posts which guide the walker through. We followed these until the route ran parallel with the Cumbria coast railway. 

A good path handrails the railway for the majority of the way from here to Kirkby although care has to be taken on a couple of short sections where large boulders have to be negotiated. The alternative to the boulders would result in very muddy boots and possibly legs too. I don't recommend the muddy option as we tried it on the return journey.

Mainly Canada geese with the odd stranger.

Kirkby station is a clean and tidy place with a pedestrian footbridge. It is a "request" train stop station. One of nine along the line from Barrow to Carlisle. You put your hand out just like you do when flagging a bus to stop.

On the east side of the station is the wonderful "Pams cafe". It isn't open everyday so if you fancy going there you will have to make it Sunday, Monday or Tuesday between 10.30am and 4.00pm. It's worth going.

Kirkby in Furness station, Sandside.

We were asked by two other walkers if we were going to cheat getting back to Askam by train! Absolutely not, even though after 7.5km my ankle was no better. After we finished our coffee and scones with butter, jam and real clotted cream we had to make a move.(So the 400 calories we had just burnt off was nicely put back on at Pams.) Thanks.

Our return journey was more or less the same as the outgoing journey except for a detour around the rock rather than up and over it. It turned out a surprisingly interesting route.

Along the railway line path I found a drilled piece of rock with copper mineral ore. 

Then I found what I think is a piece of Obsidian.

And to cap it all a fossil in the limestone rock of Dunnerholme. (Looks like a snail to me)

We came upon 2 lime kilns which had their flues filled in. There was not much to see and I haven't managed to find out much on the internet about the history of Dunnerholme limestone working. I would guess it had something to do with the local iron industry.

Lime Kilns at Dunnerholme. I wonder why they were shaped differently.

In the shade of the rock we stopped for lunch. A fine viewpoint looking straight up the Duddon towards Broughton In Furness. With the tide being right out locals made good use of the water and also to train their horses. A young girl with lots of patience and encouragement managed to get two horses into the deep sections of the river when at first they didn't want to go in. It was great to watch.

So apart from a walk back along the beach to Askam pier and spotting this huge jelly fish, that was our walk done. My ankle was still aching and we were both looking forward to a dip in the cold tub. It is a lovely walk, as most of the Cumbria coastal path is.

A 600ml water bottle to compare size.

Our route 15km. 5hrs including many stops.