Morecambe Bay Cycle Way

[doughnut]

Here's a route I have used a couple times from Glasson Dock to Warton and back. About 40 miles. Quite a lot of this, particularly the Glasson end of things is not on road which my wife prefers. But it shows the Bay Cycle Way route out of Lancaster to Morecambe - its all cycle path and crosses the train line as you get to Morecambe. Once in Morecambe you get onto the promenade for 2-3 miles. Its a great route - dammit, you've talked me into doing it again in the next week or two
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30340943

 

[doughnut]

In fact, just checked the rest of my ride with gps routes. Here is the full Bay Cycle Way if you want to download the route for a GPS
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9622909

 

[MontyVeda]

@shnjmsn give me a shout closer to the time and i'll check if the section south of Lancaster is flooded... it's only five minutes away. I presume it'll be OK as we had our two month's worth of rain the other night, but if not, I can advise an alternative route.

with regards to food/beer stops... i presume anywhere round lancaster/morecambe will be far too soon for a stop. In Arnside there's two good pubs (The Albion, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks), both with beer gardens looking out over the Kent estuary... I love these views so much i often have one too many and just get the train home

 

[ColinJ]

As has @ColinJ.

My only contribution is to say the cafe at Glasson Dock is decent, although if I recall it's one of those places that stops serving hot food fairly early.

Yes, I did (an extended variation) of the Bay Way a couple of years ago with a non-cyclist friend over 4.5 days.

Because my pal wasn't used to cycling we kept our daily distances right down. I extended the route round the eastern side of Coniston Water to Hawkshead and then back down the western side of Windermere to rejoin the original BW route. We stopped at Swarthmoor (just west of Ulverston), Hawkshead, Grange-over-Sands and Carnforth.

We made another change at Bolton-le-Sands - instead of heading along to Morecambe, we headed over the hill via Nether Kellet to Halton Green and then took the Lune cycle path into Lancaster. I had been to Glasson Dock lots of times, so we decided to head to Morecambe on the cycle path instead for a late breakfast on the seafront, then back on the path to Lancaster station for the train home.

There were only a few short, hard-ish climbs, even on our extended route. I think anybody without health problems ought to be able to complete it as long as daily exertion is kept within acceptable limits.

 

[shnjmsn]

Thanks all for the great info !!!! Monty I'll give you a shout a day or two before we head up, but hopefully there won't have been so much rain that it floods !!

 

[Jackslad]

We’re having plenty of the wet stuff at the moment, so the Lune Cycle Path is flooded as I mentioned previously.
Last Thursday it was knee high on me (around 24” deep). Take care on the very narrow path above the main route.
As for Glasson Cafes, only the cafe by the shops and the cabin by the marina are open. The cafe by the Condor Green car car park is currently closed. BTW, the car park at Glasson has dramatically increased in price. It used to be £1 all day. Being a Yorkshire lad, I made alternative arrangements.😉

 

[doughnut]

The car park at Glasson has dramatically increased in price. It used to be £1 all day. Being a Yorkshire lad, I made alternative arrangements.😉

That's bad news. I use that car park every time I go up there. What are the new prices and what's the alternative?

 

[Jackslad]

That's bad news. I use that car park every time I go up there. What are the new prices and what's the alternative?

Can’t recall the full price list but it started at 80p for 1hour, going considerably higher for the full day. As I intended to be away all day, I parked over the Lune, turning left at The Stork pub onto the Condor Green cp next to the Crook O Lune cafe (closed).
Price to park all day is still £1.00. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

 

[MontyVeda]

Thanks all for the great info !!!! Monty I'll give you a shout a day or two before we head up, but hopefully there won't have been so much rain that it floods !!

when are you planning on doing the BCW?

 

[shnjmsn]

We’re having plenty of the wet stuff at the moment, so the Lune Cycle Path is flooded as I mentioned previously.
Last Thursday it was knee high on me (around 24” deep). Take care on the very narrow path above the main route.
As for Glasson Cafes, only the cafe by the shops and the cabin by the marina are open. The cafe by the Condor Green car car park is currently closed. BTW, the car park at Glasson has dramatically increased in price. It used to be £1 all day. Being a Yorkshire lad, I made alternative arrangements.😉

That's some serious flooding for August....... We may have to find a diversion to that in that case !!!!

We're staying in a pub/hotel close to Glasson Dock, and they've Kindly agreed we can leave the car there for three days so don't need to worry too much about parking elsewhere or charges, thankfully !

 

[shnjmsn]

when are you planning on doing the BCW?

Early September ! Weather looking decidedly more Autumnal across the UK but we remain hopeful for a nice weekend 😂

 

[MontyVeda]

Early September ! Weather looking decidedly more Autumnal across the UK but we remain hopeful for a nice weekend 😂

Ah OK... I'm off to Yorkshire on the 1st for a few days but will have a recce before the month's out. If it's not flooded currently i can't see it getting flooded again anytime soon.

 

[shnjmsn]

Ah OK... I'm off to Yorkshire on the 1st for a few days but will have a recce before the month's out. If it's not flooded currently i can't see it getting flooded again anytime soon.

Great, much appreciated !!!!!!!

 

[geocycle]

Yes the stretch south of Lancaster near Aldcliffe Lane was flooded this morning. But the higher level path along the bund parallel to the flooded Section of route was fine, just a bit muddy. The path is tarmac from the end of the quay in Lancaster to Aldcliffe lane and compacted stone to Glasson. There were puddles along that stretch but perfectly rideable. Lots of geese on the estuary already, numbers will build up over the next month. Loads of goldfinch and chaffinch plus egrets, oh and a stoat!

 

[MontyVeda]

Yes the stretch south of Lancaster near Aldcliffe Lane was flooded this morning. But the higher level path along the bund parallel to the flooded Section of route was fine, just a bit muddy. The path is tarmac from the end of the quay in Lancaster to Aldcliffe lane and compacted stone to Glasson. There were puddles along that stretch but perfectly rideable. Lots of geese on the estuary already, numbers will build up over the next month. Loads of goldfinch and chaffinch plus egrets, oh and a stoat!

Probably worth doing a RH turn and going up through Aldcliffe then?

This potential detour, @shnjmsn... it's probably a more interesting route, taking you along the canal for a while, and closer to the castle (worth a quick look to have a nosey in the courtyard).