Although I shared a very lazy story post when I got back from my holibobs on the coast, I do think it would be a shame if I didn’t blog a little bit about my stay in lovely Arnside.
Arnside is a village on the Kent estuary, where the river meets the sea, overlooking Morecambe Bay. A former fishing port, the resort is now a popular little holiday destination.
We stopped at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks which is situated on the sea front. Dating back to 1660 the pub is one of the oldest buildings in the village and a cock pit still exists under the restaurant floor. Today’s guests can enjoy simple pub food, a good selection of ales and gins and a warm welcome, canine visitors too.
All Arnsides seafront views take in the impressive 50 Span Viaduct , with regular trains making the crossing over the River Kent. The Railway Station is excellent with great services to Carlisle, Lancaster and Manchester. Oneday we took a train to nearby Ulverston , the coastal route is truly stunning and definitely worth doing. 🙂
On a clear day the diminutive Arnside Pier must surely have the best vistas of any seaside pier. The Lake District fells are misted over in the above picture though.
I love the 2 Minute Beach Clean Stand on the sea front. Litter pickers and bags are provided and anyone can go and do their bit. I must admit the beach was noticeably rubbish free. 🙂
There are some lovely local businesses in the village to mooch round. I loved them all ! I did treat myself to a few things including a cute fox pin from The Little Shop and a bottle of gorgeous smelling hand lotion from Homeleigh Vintage .
Make sure you wander up Pier Lane when shopping. There’s a fab sweet shop, a cupcake shop and a wonderful art gallery there, all almost hidden from view.
And we can also recommend the bijou but belting The Wayside Cafe near the railway station for coffee, cakes and delicious brunch options.
I do love a pub with a view. 🙂 Arnsides other watering hole The Albion has possibly even better estuary views than Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. We certainly had a few beverages sat outside of an evening.
As new visitors to Arnside we got incredibly excited ( ok I got incredibly excited) on our first night when a sound rather like a wartime air raid siren suddenly filled the air. Having read that a warning siren precedes the arrival of the Arnside Tidal Bore, I immediately started scanning the horizon for an impressive wave rushing up the estuary. An hour later ourselves and a couple of other tourists were still sat watching ( and freezing our bits off, the wind had gotten up) whilst all the locals had disappeared inside. The Bore didn’t make an appearance !
It turns out that the Sirens tend to go off regularly anyway, but it is only in certain high tide conditions that a tidal bore occurs.
If you want to keep an eye out for the bore virtually The Arnside Chip Shop is home to the Pier Webcam and there are a couple of good videos to view on the website. Also I have to say , awesome fish & chips !! But be warned , this is a very popular chippy….
We fancied a fish & chips supper one evening and the queue didn’t seem very long. When I placed my order at the counter though, the apologetic server told me there would be a 1 Hour 20 minute wait! She then gave me this chunky ‘ vibrating device’ that counts down the time and starts vibrating even faster when your order is done. Cut to us sat outside The Albion with a siren booming across the bay and a constantly vibrating handbag. 🤣 Our supper was definitely worth the wait but as the wind had whipped up we took it back to the room and consumed with mugs of wine. 😊
There are some great beach walks from Arnside to Sandside or the pretty village of Silverdale. Or you can head up Arnside Knott for scenic views over the bay. Signposted from the village, the Knott is a small hill with big vistas and well worth the climb. Known for its varied wildlife especially wading birds and rare butterflies , the whole area is a nature lovers paradise. 🙂
A myriad of footpaths Criss cross the Knott and surrounding countryside. A beautiful place indeed. 😊
Hopefully you have enjoyed my little tour of Arnside as much as we enjoyed our visit to this quirky and delightful seaside village. 💕
sunshine and celandines 
That all sounds lovely. We visited Leighton Moss RSPB reserve there a couple of years ago – a great reserve – and were very taken with the whole area and had ear marked it for a return visit at some point soon! However, I knew nothing about the tidal bore – how exciting. Shame you didn’t see it this time.
I would have loved to see it but never mind. Just hearing the siren added to the atmosphere of the place. If it had been sunnier and less windy I might have had some butterfly photos to show you.
A great post and lovely photos. A shame you didn’t see the tidal bore, I’d love to see it myself but I suppose it’s a case of being there on the right day at the right time.
The first time I went there was about 15 years ago and I wasn’t too impressed as there wasn’t much there, however I went back two years ago and really liked it. There’s just enough to make it interesting and I think anything more would spoil it.
I did notice there was a long wait at the chip shop, I think there was a board outside saying how long the wait would be – sorry but no way would I wait that long for fish and chips, by the time they were ready I wouldn’t want them anyway so I went in the Londis shop and got a can of Coke and a snack from there which I ate on a bench near the promenade gardens.
Your photos are making me want to make a return visit but it won’t be this weekend, there’ll be too many people and too many dogs so I’ll wait until it’s quieter.
I hope you get to go back Eunice, I am sure your post will go into a lot more detail if you do. There are a few old buildings that I didn’t mention such as the churches and sailing club. The chips were worth the wait, but we didn’t mind, we just went to the pub for a couple of drinks first instead of after. 🙂
Goodness! You make me want to visit there too! Perhaps next year when we might feel better able to travel again (we’re just into our 70s). You have visited some lovely places recently. Happy days! 💐💐🙋♂️
Thank you Ashley , I do feel fortunate. I would love to visit Ireland, but I think that may be in a while yet. Before the pandemic Carlisle Airport had started flying to Belfast and I think Dublin too, which would have been so handy from our Caravan. I will have to check back on what’s happened there. X
Still hankering for a job in Tourist Information?
Ha no , I just like my blog and Instagram. 🙂
Your blog is great. I don’t do Instagram.
We’ve never been to Aristide but it looks lovely. Definitely one for a visit if we are ever that way 😃
Yes it is lovely, there are so many places in the UK to visit though , we are so lucky. X
Artiside!!!!! Sorry … predictive text 😂😂😂
Arnside has been a favourite day trip location for quite a few years since I discovered it. I can get the train to there so no getting stuck in traffic on the M6 and faffing about trying to find somewhere to park. Being out of the way somewhat it’s very quiet and the walks along the coast and, especially, up the Knott are favourites. The views from the latter on a good day across to the Lakes and over the Bay and are stunning
Yes the trains are great aren’t they, definitely worth taking advantage of. Just actually on the M6 now heading to the caravan. Luckily most people heading Windermere way rather than North. Just passing through those Sleeping elephants. 🙂
Have a good weekend. The forecast is promising 🌞
Looks cute, and it has a railway station – good enough for me!
Lovely photos 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
Looks a lovely place, nice photos and review x
Thanks Christine. X