SOUTH WEST LAKE DISTRICT

Great places to visit in the south-west Lake District include: Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston, Duddon Valley, Wrynose, Grizedale and Cartmel.The tide sweeps across Morecambe Bay with the speed of a good horse. It performs pincer movements round the sandbars and spreads itself languidly over the mudflats. In a short time, what had been a damp desert is an arm of the sea, choppy and chilling. Then, with another turn of the tide, the bay is once again what someone called a 'wet Sahara', though this is no desert.

On the mud banks thrive small creatures that sustain dense flocks of wintering birds. Years ago, the bay at low tide would be alive with fisher folk from the villages who, with horses and carts and tackle, sought cockles, mussels, dabs, flukes and, of course, the famous Morecambe Bay shrimps. North of the bay are limestone hills and beyond them the high fells. Journey in this area is ever-varied.

GRANGE-OVER-SANDS

Grange-over-Sands is on the B5277 which loops off the A590 halfway between Levens and Newby Bridge. It began as a monastic 'grange' or granary, but a stimulus to the development of Grange took place when it was connected to the rail network in 1857. The Victorian and Edwardian holidaymakers it attracted, and that muddy beach, ensured it would not grow into a major holiday resort. It would remain a place for discerning folk, on whom it thrives today. The architecture of the station, the formal park with its bird busy lake, the elegant shops with their cast-iron canopy, and the cosy retro tearoom on the promenade, appeal to those who remember a more gracious age A clock tower makes a brave attempt to give the town a focal point.

Those of an athletic inclination find pleasure in heading up bank from the clock tower, following the signs for Hampsfell, with its restored shelter cum observation point that offers a fine weather view of distinction, taking in Ingleborough and other Yorkshire peaks as well as those of the Lake District. A footpath, with views of the bay, leads from Grange to neighboring Kents Bank.

Drive to Allithwaite, and from there follow the road westward to Flookburgh. The promontory to the left is Humphrey Head, the highest point on the west coast between Wales and St Bees Head. Flookburgh, a mile or so inland from Morecambe Bay, was a village of horse and cart fisher folk, who operated on the bay at low tide. Shrimps were caught by a trawl net with a beam. As the beam approached shrimps in one of the channels, they jumped straight into the net. Cockles by the ton were once transported in sacks from the railway station at Cark. Notice, as you drive towards Cark, the next village, that the weathervane on the church is a gilded fish, not a cockerel.

HOLKER HALL

Holker Hall lies just beyond Cark. The splendid home of the Cavendish family dates from 1871, replacing a previous building that was gutted by fire. Red sandstone was used to create a building which has a markedly Elizabethan style. Part of the old 17th century house remains. It was the home of the Preston family, benefactors of Cartmel Priory. Holker is set in an award winning garden which, in turn, lies within a deer haunted park. Joseph Paxton, designer of the Crystal Palace, was invited to plant the 'monkey puzzle tree' (Chilean pine).

It has reached an enormous size and is pinned down for stability, having once been blown over in a gale. The venerable Holker Lime, listed as one of 50 Great British Trees, is here too. Holker Hall is the venue for a noteworthy annual garden festival. Outbuildings at Holker hold the Lakeland Motor Museum (opening hours the same times as Holker Hall). More than 150 classic cars are on view, together with an exhibition on the Campbell water speed legend and Bluebird, a boat with a revolutionary design.

LUXURY HOTELS AND BUDGET HOTELS IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

Whether you want to stay in the heart of the Lake District in Windermere, Coniston, Grasmere, or further out at Ulverston or Maryport, there are plenty of luxury hotels and budget hotels in the Lake District to choose from. You can enjoy a stay close to all the attractions of Windermere or book a romantic weekend in the Lake District in Bowness. Wherever you stay, you will be within easy driving distance of all the main Lake District events and attractions.

ULVERSTON THE LAKE DISTRICT

The road from Holker unfolds in long straight stretches and winds through an almost-flat but intriguing landscape, beloved of naturalists. The road joins the A590, and a turn left leads beside the Leven Estuary, where the overflow from Windermere mixes with the salty tide. Continue through Greenodd and on to Ulverston, which has a distinctly nautical flavor. The ship canal from the bay was built by John Rennie in 1796, but is now in effect a static water tank for Glaxo Wellcome. The Lakes Glass Centre offers the chance to see glassware being produced by traditional methods. Ulverston has become widely known for its Laurel and Hardy Museum as Stan Laurel was a native of the town.

SWARTHMOOR AND DALTON

Continue on the A590 to Swarthmoor, an Elizabethan hall of major interest to Quakers. George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, was a frequent visitor from 1652 when the hall was owned by Judge Thomas Fell and his wife, Margaret. When the judge died in 1658, the immunity he had secured for Quakers lapsed and they were persecuted. Margaret later married George Fox, and both suffered hardship and imprisonment for their beliefs.

At Dalton-in-Furness, the so-called castle is a 14th-century tower with monastic links standing in the main street. It was built by the Abbot of Furness when Scottish raiders were troublesome. On the dissolution of Furness Abbey (see below), some of its attractive red sandstone was transported to Dalton to repair the tower, which became a prison and courthouse. Dalton had its economic heyday in the 19th century with the growth of ironstone mining and the lifting of 7 million tons of ore from local mines.

Today, the town is more widely known for the South Lakes Wild Animal Park. This is described as Lakeland's only zoological park. Species on show range from free flying parrots to Sumatran tigers. Recent arrivals include pygmy hippos and black footed penguins.

FURNESS ABBEY DALTON

Furness Abbey is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Lake District.Not far from Dalton, to the left of the A590 and on the edge of mighty Barrow, a short, constricted road leads under a monastic arch to the outstanding remains of the Abbey. Originally founded in 1127 by monks of the Order of Savigny, Furness later joined the Cistercians and became one of the richest abbeys in the land. The area became known as the Vale of Deadly Night shade because of the profusion of those plants.

The Abbey's extensive remains, on a 73-acre (30-hectare) site, are breathtaking. Rosered sandstone stands out against the green of well manicured lawns. The nave and transepts date from the 12th century, the massive west tower from the 15th century The Dock Museum, sign posted in Barrow, is built over an original Victorian graving dock.

BROUGHTON THE LAKE DISTRICT

The A595 turns northwards, with a gleam from the Duddon estuary to the west. Drive around the estuary to Broughtonin Furness just off the A595. The name Broughton is Old English and means a farmstead or village by a stream. Now there is a settlement with a market square, overlooked by fine buildings, shadowed by trees and with a set of stocks as a reminder of an old-time punishment.

Continue around the side of the estuary and the goose frequented marshes, beneath the brooding Black Combe, to the quaint little Victorian town of Millom, a child of the Furness ironstone boom and the home of Norman Nicholson a poet in the Wordsworthian tradition. His bust bedecks the library, and he is deemed important enough to warrant a section to himself in the adjacent folk museum. Less than a mile from the town of Millom, beside the A5093, are Millom Castle (a pele tower) and a restored 13th century church that hint at the pre industrialized feel of the area .

THE DUDDON VALLEY

Backtrack along the A595, but turn left just before the narrow bridge spanning the River Duddon, and enter the Duddon Valley. The road runs high, offering views across wooded hills, which in the days of Furness Abbey provided timber for the making of charcoal and in the 18th century supplied fuel for an early forge, the substantial remains of which, not far from Duddon Bridge, are preserved. The iron ore was brought up the Duddon, and the forge operated using charcoal made from local woodland, which was clear felled and burnt slowly in 'pits'. Wordsworth wrote a sequence of 35 sonnets about the River Duddon, describing it as 'majestic' and, at Duddon Bridge, making 'radiant progress towards the deep'.

The Duddon frolics between jumbled boulders and the dried fronds of bracken, providing perfect picnic areas, though being secluded the valley does not attract a great many visitors. Humans have lived in these parts for several thousand years, judging by sepulchral mounds on the flanking hills from which have been taken calcified bones.

SEATHWAITE THE LAKE DISTRICT

Seathwaite was a Norse name derived from 'clearing of the shieling'. Robert Walker who was curate at Seathwaite for well over 60 years, became known as Wonderful Walker because of his thrift and industry. Although on a stipend of only a few pounds a year, he had managed to accrue £2,000 by the time he died at the age of 92. His wife, who was equally thrifty, died in the same year. The curate is commemorated by a plaque in the local church.