Sunday 7 October 2012

Leighton Moss ramble

It was a glorious autumnal day in the Silverdale area. We parked the car at Crag Foot (near the car park for the saltmarsh hides at Leighton Moss), and walked up the hill, through Grisedale Wood towards Yealand Conyers. From there we dropped down past Leighton Hall, crossed the causeway at Leighton Moss (which was so flooded that one of us had to give the other a piggy back - guess which one got wet feet), and then we sat on a sunny bench overlooking the reedbed, with socks and boots hanging from a barbed wire fence in a forlorn attempt to dry them out.

Then we walked over Silverdale golf course, through Woodwell, past the Wolf House Gallery at Silverdale and on to the Giants Seat on Jack Scout (near Jenny Brown's Point). Here we sat for a while and took in the wonderful views over Morecombe Bay. Finally we went around Jenny Brown's Point, past the shoreline chimney and across the saltmarsh back to the car.

Can there be a more varied walk anywhere? We took in ancient woodland, reedbed, limestone headland, huge seascape and saltmarsh.

Small birds were quite abundant, or perhaps they were just easier to hear and more visible due to the good weather and especially calm conditions. We saw several Chiffchaffs, a couple of Blackcaps, a couple of Marsh Tits and lots of Goldcrests, Treecreepers, and various tits. At Leighton Moss we saw Bearded Tits and a Marsh Harrier.


Leighton Moss from Grisedale Wood and Morecombe Bay from the Giants Seat at Jack Scout.

2 comments:

  1. Like you have said Colin, Leighton Moss and Silverdale have to be one of the most varied habitats and best places to visit for Birdwatching in the NW region. The area is still very much a hidden gem.

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  2. It's a fantastic place, it's got everything as far as I'm concerned. Great habitat, wonderful scenary and great for plants, birds, invertebrates and probably lots of other things. It's also in an ideal location for visiting the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales. It's a place I'd love to live.

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