Discover the best places to visit, where to stay and eat and why the landscape is so special with our visitor\u2019s guide to Arnside and Silverdale.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Leighton-Moss-0985942-e1658991507636.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Why visit Arnside and Silverdale?<\/span><\/h2>\nMany of us have sped past Arnside and Silverdale, usually at the end of fraught journeys up the M6 to the Lake District, not knowing that we have bypassed somewhere arguably even more special. <\/span><\/p>\nThis is nothing new; followers of the picturesque movement shot by on the newly established coaching routes. The Lakeland poets followed suit. Wordsworth could have written his greatest poem here, Silverdale<\/em>. Coleridge might never have dreamed more sweetly than here, loving its blend of quietude and awe. Eventually, Edward Thomas made it here, describing it in The Sheiling<\/em> as: \u201cA land of rocks and trees \/ Nourished on wind and stone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThis is no mere landscape, for it reaches out into the silvery seascape of the Morecambe Bay estuary and into the skyscape. More importantly, it is a dreamscape: a place to stop and stare. It is a part of paradise that fell to Earth, liked where it landed and stayed.<\/span><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> View of the Lake District from Arnside and Silverdale AONB\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nArnside and Silverdale walks<\/span><\/h2>\nThe AONB\u2019s labyrinthine network of lanes and footpaths is perfect for pottering, and central to the intense feeling of spirit of place that pervades throughout. <\/span><\/p>\nHere one can bumble peacefully all day. These paths are not for hurrying. And this is pepper-pot country, for there are stone cairns dotted about all over the place, high and low. Some are almost impossible to find, and even harder to refind.<\/span><\/p>\nThe pretty little station of Silverdale sits at the sylvan heart of the AONB and is the perfect starting point for visiting one of England\u2019s best-loved nature reserves: RSPB Leighton Moss.\u00a0If you\u2019re on foot (after arriving by train), entry to this expanse of lagoons, wetlands and reedbeds is half price.\u00a0A varied 7.6-mile circular walk<\/a> cuts through the reserve and goes on to explore some of the highlights of the AONB.<\/p>\n- Silverdale and Leighton Moss walk<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Wander through the extraordinary water world of Leighton Moss\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nThings to do in Arnside and Silverdale<\/span><\/h2>\nArnside<\/h3>\n
The town of Arnside, with its Victorian promenade and arching railway bridge across the Kent, overlooks this strongly tidal estuary. In summer, Arnside is run by its swifts, which scream over its rooftops each evening.<\/span><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Promenade and the Kent estuary at Arnside\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nSilverdale<\/h3>\n
Silverdale is a rather disparate place \u2013 a parish of whitewashed houses that sprawls peacefully over hillocky land. It is perhaps more of a state of mind allied to the Quaker movement (which has roots at nearby Yealand) than anything else. This is borne out by the fact that many a house, street and, curiously, cul-de-sac elsewhere is named after this village idyll.<\/span><\/p>\nWarton Crag<\/span><\/h3>\nThe village of Warton, above the small railway town of Carnforth<\/a>, forms the AONB\u2019s southern boundary. Above it stands Warton Crag, the southernmost of the limestone hills. The old A6 runs along the AONB\u2019s eastern boundary, but the hills continue and tower proudly above the M6, a mile or so to the east, before marching off towards the Yorkshire Dales. The broad estuary of the River Kent, which flows down from Kendal, forms the northern boundary.<\/span><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> View from Warton Crag across Morecambe Bay\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nWhitbarrow<\/span><\/h3>\nAdministrative boundaries often belittle landscapes, especially here, for the limestone hills rampantly cross the Kent estuary to invade the southern end of the Lake District National Park. Here stands Whitbarrow, a haughty scarred limestone massif that scarcely seems British, though it could perhaps be twinned with Great Orme\u2019s Head on the Clwyd coast. It takes two full days to explore Whitbarrow, and longer still for it to accept you.<\/span><\/p>\nArnside Knott<\/span><\/h3>\nThe area contains some of the richest wildlife sites in Britain: the reedbed wetlands of the RSPB\u2019s Leighton Moss reserve and Hawes Water at Silverdale, just about any of the woods, the limestone pavements of Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve, Hutton Roof and Holme Park Fell, and the limestone pasture and scrub mosaics of Arnside Knott, Whitbarrow and Yewbarrow are all essential visiting for the keen naturalist. Perhaps the National Trust\u2019s Arnside Knott should be your first port of call, for from its summit the whole landscape can be appraised \u2013 though beware, the Knott may seek to seduce you into wanting to stay forever, transfixed by wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Arnside Knott and the Kent estuary\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nYewbarrow<\/span><\/h3>\nTo the west is a lower, calmer limestone hill, Yewbarrow, above the paradisiacal village of Witherslack. The limestone eventually peters out at Humphrey Head, just beyond the coastal retirement town of Grange-over-Sands.<\/span><\/p>\nMeathop Moss<\/h3>\n
Meathop Moss<\/a> near Witherslack is a butterfly-rich raised bog with boardwalk \u2013 well worth a visit.<\/p>\n Discover more of the British countryside<\/h4>\n- Best walks in the Lake District<\/a><\/li>\n
- Best walks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park<\/a><\/li>\n
- Best walks in Lancashire<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div>
![\""Walking\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2022\/02\/Lake-District-walks-6b6da98.png?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Lake\\"")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Heathwaite<\/h3>\n
Heathwaite, the lower hill west of Arnside Knott, offers a fine view over Silverdale estuary.<\/p>\n
Levens Hall<\/h3>\n
Levens Hall<\/a> is an Elizabethan manor with an extraordinary yew topiary garden.<\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Explore the topiary gardens at Levens Hall\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nGait Barrows NNR<\/h3>\n
Gait Barrows NNR<\/a> near Carnforth provides an excellent example of limestone pavement.<\/p>\nThe Fairy Steps<\/h3>\n
The Fairy Steps near Beetham is a childhood delight ascending a short scar edge.<\/p>\n
Jenny Brown\u2019s Point and Jack Scout<\/h3>\n
Jenny Brown\u2019s Point and Jack Scout<\/a> (NT)\u00a0are close by on the Silverdale coast. Sit on the Giant\u2019s Seat to enjoy the view.<\/p>\nPlaces to stay in Arnside and Silverdale<\/h2>\nYe Olde Fighting Cocks<\/h3>\n\u00a0Ye Olde Fighting Cocks<\/a> is perfectly placed on the promenade, offering stunning views across the Kent Estuary to the Lakeland mountains from its terraced garden. Originally built in 1660, a large variety of rooms are available. Breakfast is included in the price, and the pub also serves meals at lunchtime and in the evenings.<\/div>\n\nChallan Hall, near Silverdale<\/h3>\n
This B&B overlooking the \u2018original\u2019 Lake Hawes Water, complete with booming bitterns and hovering marsh harriers at breakfast, also offers self-catering cottage lets. Find out more about Chilean Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\nHollins Farm Holiday Park, Arnside\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nHollins Farm<\/a> is campsite at the foot of Arnside Knott that offers both pitches and glamping pods, plus access to a caf\u00e9, bar and swimming pool at the nearby Holgates site.<\/span><\/p>\n Planning a walk in the Lake District?<\/h4>\n
Of all the national parks in Britain, the Lake District is arguably the most celebrated \u2013 discover the area\u2019s fells, rivers, waters and towns with our guide to the best walks in the Lake District National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>
![\""English\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/01\/Lake-District-ffef935.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Lake\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section><\/div>\nWhere to eat in Arnside and Silverdale<\/h2>\nThe Albion, Arnside<\/h3>\n
Situated on the Promenade, The Albion<\/a> offers good food of local provenance and views of superb sunsets.<\/span><\/p>\n\nThe Old Bakehouse Caf\u00e9, Arnside<\/span><\/h3>\nThe Old Bakehouse<\/a> is a dog-friendly caf\u00e9 serving freshly made pastries.<\/p>\nYe Olde Fighting Cocks, Arnside<\/span><\/h3>\nOverlooking the estuary, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks<\/a> hotel and pub provides fresh homemade meals and Sunday roasts.<\/p>\n
This is nothing new; followers of the picturesque movement shot by on the newly established coaching routes. The Lakeland poets followed suit. Wordsworth could have written his greatest poem here, Silverdale<\/em>. Coleridge might never have dreamed more sweetly than here, loving its blend of quietude and awe. Eventually, Edward Thomas made it here, describing it in The Sheiling<\/em> as: \u201cA land of rocks and trees \/ Nourished on wind and stone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This is no mere landscape, for it reaches out into the silvery seascape of the Morecambe Bay estuary and into the skyscape. More importantly, it is a dreamscape: a place to stop and stare. It is a part of paradise that fell to Earth, liked where it landed and stayed.<\/span><\/p>\n The AONB\u2019s labyrinthine network of lanes and footpaths is perfect for pottering, and central to the intense feeling of spirit of place that pervades throughout. <\/span><\/p>\n Here one can bumble peacefully all day. These paths are not for hurrying. And this is pepper-pot country, for there are stone cairns dotted about all over the place, high and low. Some are almost impossible to find, and even harder to refind.<\/span><\/p>\n The pretty little station of Silverdale sits at the sylvan heart of the AONB and is the perfect starting point for visiting one of England\u2019s best-loved nature reserves: RSPB Leighton Moss.\u00a0If you\u2019re on foot (after arriving by train), entry to this expanse of lagoons, wetlands and reedbeds is half price.\u00a0A varied 7.6-mile circular walk<\/a> cuts through the reserve and goes on to explore some of the highlights of the AONB.<\/p>\n The town of Arnside, with its Victorian promenade and arching railway bridge across the Kent, overlooks this strongly tidal estuary. In summer, Arnside is run by its swifts, which scream over its rooftops each evening.<\/span><\/p>\n Silverdale is a rather disparate place \u2013 a parish of whitewashed houses that sprawls peacefully over hillocky land. It is perhaps more of a state of mind allied to the Quaker movement (which has roots at nearby Yealand) than anything else. This is borne out by the fact that many a house, street and, curiously, cul-de-sac elsewhere is named after this village idyll.<\/span><\/p>\n The village of Warton, above the small railway town of Carnforth<\/a>, forms the AONB\u2019s southern boundary. Above it stands Warton Crag, the southernmost of the limestone hills. The old A6 runs along the AONB\u2019s eastern boundary, but the hills continue and tower proudly above the M6, a mile or so to the east, before marching off towards the Yorkshire Dales. The broad estuary of the River Kent, which flows down from Kendal, forms the northern boundary.<\/span><\/p>\n Administrative boundaries often belittle landscapes, especially here, for the limestone hills rampantly cross the Kent estuary to invade the southern end of the Lake District National Park. Here stands Whitbarrow, a haughty scarred limestone massif that scarcely seems British, though it could perhaps be twinned with Great Orme\u2019s Head on the Clwyd coast. It takes two full days to explore Whitbarrow, and longer still for it to accept you.<\/span><\/p>\n The area contains some of the richest wildlife sites in Britain: the reedbed wetlands of the RSPB\u2019s Leighton Moss reserve and Hawes Water at Silverdale, just about any of the woods, the limestone pavements of Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve, Hutton Roof and Holme Park Fell, and the limestone pasture and scrub mosaics of Arnside Knott, Whitbarrow and Yewbarrow are all essential visiting for the keen naturalist. Perhaps the National Trust\u2019s Arnside Knott should be your first port of call, for from its summit the whole landscape can be appraised \u2013 though beware, the Knott may seek to seduce you into wanting to stay forever, transfixed by wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n To the west is a lower, calmer limestone hill, Yewbarrow, above the paradisiacal village of Witherslack. The limestone eventually peters out at Humphrey Head, just beyond the coastal retirement town of Grange-over-Sands.<\/span><\/p>\n Meathop Moss<\/a> near Witherslack is a butterfly-rich raised bog with boardwalk \u2013 well worth a visit.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Heathwaite, the lower hill west of Arnside Knott, offers a fine view over Silverdale estuary.<\/p>\n Levens Hall<\/a> is an Elizabethan manor with an extraordinary yew topiary garden.<\/p>\n Gait Barrows NNR<\/a> near Carnforth provides an excellent example of limestone pavement.<\/p>\n The Fairy Steps near Beetham is a childhood delight ascending a short scar edge.<\/p>\n Jenny Brown\u2019s Point and Jack Scout<\/a> (NT)\u00a0are close by on the Silverdale coast. Sit on the Giant\u2019s Seat to enjoy the view.<\/p>\n This B&B overlooking the \u2018original\u2019 Lake Hawes Water, complete with booming bitterns and hovering marsh harriers at breakfast, also offers self-catering cottage lets. Find out more about Chilean Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hollins Farm<\/a> is campsite at the foot of Arnside Knott that offers both pitches and glamping pods, plus access to a caf\u00e9, bar and swimming pool at the nearby Holgates site.<\/span><\/p>\n Of all the national parks in Britain, the Lake District is arguably the most celebrated \u2013 discover the area\u2019s fells, rivers, waters and towns with our guide to the best walks in the Lake District National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Situated on the Promenade, The Albion<\/a> offers good food of local provenance and views of superb sunsets.<\/span><\/p>\n The Old Bakehouse<\/a> is a dog-friendly caf\u00e9 serving freshly made pastries.<\/p>\n Overlooking the estuary, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks<\/a> hotel and pub provides fresh homemade meals and Sunday roasts.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Arnside-62ecf58.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C401"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Arnside and Silverdale walks<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Leighton-Moss-e03eeb6-e1681377849654.jpg?quality=90&resize=607%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Things to do in Arnside and Silverdale<\/span><\/h2>\n
Arnside<\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Arnside-promenade-and-Kent-estuary-Cumbria-d343510.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Silverdale<\/h3>\n
Warton Crag<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Warton-Crag-a31b086.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C409"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Whitbarrow<\/span><\/h3>\n
Arnside Knott<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Arnside-Knott-and-the-Kent-estuary-b74e010.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C396"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Yewbarrow<\/span><\/h3>\n
Meathop Moss<\/h3>\n
Discover more of the British countryside<\/h4>\n
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Heathwaite<\/h3>\n
Levens Hall<\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/08\/Levens-Hall-2fd7a20.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Gait Barrows NNR<\/h3>\n
The Fairy Steps<\/h3>\n
Jenny Brown\u2019s Point and Jack Scout<\/h3>\n
Places to stay in Arnside and Silverdale<\/h2>\n
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks<\/h3>\n
Challan Hall, near Silverdale<\/h3>\n
Hollins Farm Holiday Park, Arnside\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Planning a walk in the Lake District?<\/h4>\n
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section><\/div>\nWhere to eat in Arnside and Silverdale<\/h2>\n
The Albion, Arnside<\/h3>\n
The Old Bakehouse Caf\u00e9, Arnside<\/span><\/h3>\n
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, Arnside<\/span><\/h3>\n