Some writings . . .

Riddle of the Sands I HAD READ somewhere that when the tide comes in at Morecambe Bay it does so at a speed that would overtake and submerge a galloping horse. A fleeting memory of this came to me recently as I stood several miles offshore on a sandbank in the middle of the bay, calculating how long it would take me to reach the distant haven of Kents Bank, should the tide suddenly appear. Not that I need to have worried, for - with a small group of companions - I was in the safe hands of Cedric Robinson, the official Queen's Guide to the sands. Robinson has been taking parties on the cross-Bay walk for more than a quarter of a century, and he hasn't lost a client yet. When the tide goes out, the Bay is like a sea-girt Sahara, with shimmering horizons and a vast, lonely emptiness. You need a guide in such a place. The Priors of Cartmel appointed the first official guide back in 1548 but at the Dissolution of the Monasteries the responsibillty became the Crown's through the Duchy of Lancaster. Crossing the sands was a quick way from Lancaster to Furness: 15 miles to Cartmel as against 36 by poor roads through Kendal, and the guide was necessary not only to judge the tide but also to avoid the treacherous quicksands for which the Bay is notorious. All sorts of folk came this way - including an invading army of Scots - and there was even a regular coach service until the railway did away with it. Tragedy was never far off: Cartmel Priory alone records 141 people drowned crossing the Sands: Now the crossing is a day out for the family. The long crossing from Hest Bank is no longer done, but several times during the summer Robinson takes a large party across on the shorter crossing from the Silverdale shore to Kents Bank; a pied piper with up to 300 men, women and children following. He walks barefoot and carries a thumbstick. With his tight grey halr and weatherbeaten but benign countenance you get the fanciful notion that he is Moses leading the tribes to the promised land. The crossing begins from White Creek on the Silverdale shore and takes a dog-leg route out into the Bay before turning for Kents Bank on the other side of the estuary where there is a railway station convenient for the return home. The walk takes three hours and the highlight comes with the crossing of the Kent, a notably unpredictable river sometimes barely ankle deep but often up to the thighs. We waded across in the wake of our leader, guided by laurel branches, which Robinson had placed there the day before as safety markers. Laurel is used, he explained, because even when the branch dies, the leaves won't fall off - so the marker can still be seen from a distance. Once across the Kent the sense of isolation is profound. Looking back one can see the distant shoreline of Silverdale and the estuary; one of the most beautiful in Britain. Even old Ingleborough, that majestic mountain of the Yorkshire Dales, could be seen about 20 miles away. And all around are the great sands, which have a slightly menacing character of their own. The walking was easy and we began to doubt all those tales about quicksands. Our guide grinned and beckoned us to a nearby spot where there was as firm a rippled sandbank as you could wish to see. He touched it with his stick and it wobbled like jelly. Tentatively, he stepped on to it and immediately began to sink. "T'auld fishermen have a saying," he told us. "If it bends it bears but if it braks - then get out quick!" The sand broke and Cedric jumped for safety. Kent's Bank seemed no distance by this time and our guide led us straight towards it. We reached the station just in time for the train: As we boarded, each of us was clutching a certificate to prove that we had indeed walked across Morecambe Bay. During the summer months, Cedric Robinson leads several trips across the Sands; time and dates depend on the tides. For those who do not wish to cross on foot there are tractor and trailer rides, called Sandpiper Trips, from Kents Bank. Details from Cedric Robinson, Her Majesty's Guide to the Kent, Guides Farm, Grange over Sands, Cumbria LA11 7AF; tel 05395 32165

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