SLUMBERING above the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay is the delightful hill country of Silverdale.

Here Lancashire merges into Cumbria in a succession of limestone crags and lowland ponds, dominated by the popular RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss. This walk starts in Silverdale village and heads across the causeway of the nature reserve before climbing through the parkland estate of Leighton Hall. On the great hill above the stately home there are panoramic views across the Bay to the Lake District. From here the walk heads back to the coast along quiet lanes and paths through fields and woodlands. The walk can also be started at Silverdale train station.

SILVERDALE: Lancashire Limestone Country

DISTANCE: 6 miles (allow three hours)

START: Silverdale village (OS Grid Ref. 462 749). There is parking at the Shore car park or roadside parking in the village. Silverdale is signed along minor roads from Carnforth (on the A6).

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Regular train service to Silverdale station which is passed close to the walk route. Use these route directions in conjunction with the relevant OS map (Explorer OL7 SE Lakes). Note that sections of the walk route can be slippery when wet.

Start the walk in Silverdale village at the end of the main street where there is a junction of lanes. A lane runs downhill to the Shore car park but the main road bears slightly uphill towards Silverdale Green heading eastward. Take this latter road and follow it past residential houses for over a quarter of a mile until it reaches an alleyway on the left signed as The Green. Turn up this and it soon joins another route. Bottoms Lane.

Turn left then join the footpath on the right signed for Lambert's Meadow. A track leads through woodland to a footbridge in a meadow. Cross the meadow and climb steep steps through woodland to reach a lane.

Turn right along the lane and follow it downhill to reach a busier road. Turn left at the junction and bear right at the next junction to cross the railway. Silverdale train station can be reached by going left at this road junction. Pass Leighton Moss Visitor Centre and continue down the road for a further quarter of a mile until a signed path for Yealand Conyers is reached on the right. Join this track following a causeway all the way across the reed beds of the Moss. Keep to the main track beyond a gate and it winds past farm buildings to eventually reach the driveway entrance of the Gothic Leighton Hall.

To continue the walk keep going straight ahead when the driveway swings right in front of the Hall. The path is not obvious but just head directly up the steep hillside following the line of telegraph poles. At the top of the hill there are great views looking westward and turn right following the path along the hilltop to pass through kissing gates and join a lane.

Turn right along the lane and follow it downhill past the lodge entrance to the Hall. Just after the lane swings sharp left, leave it via a footpath on the right hand side of the road. A rough track climbs gradually through woodland to a hilltop clearing. There is a confusion of paths but keep going straight ahead until it reaches a stile at a field corner. Cross the field and at the bottom end bear left alongside a wall to reach another field boundary. Turn diagonally left across this field and re-enter woodland, then right along a track to finally emerge on a lane by Moss house Farm. Turn left to reach the road by the chimney -- a former pump house which drained the Moss -- at Crag Foot.

Turn right and follow the road for a short distance before leaving it on the left via the footpath signed for Jenny Brown's Point. A track leads under the railway, crosses a stream and follows the embankment above the marsh to the bottom of a wooded hill. There is a junction of paths here but the way is straight ahead up the rocky hillside. Climb through the undergrowth and continue straight ahead through the woodlands on top of Heald Brow. Then follow a field edge path which eventually turns sharp right and reaches a road.

Cross the road and almost directly opposite join the path signed for Stankelt Road. This leads through woodland alongside a field then runs along a steep limestone escarpment to a stile at the edge of a clearing. Take care along the crag edge particularly in wet conditions. Swing right from the stile and climb the grass bank before bearing left and crossing further stiles to follow a path through woodland. Turn right when you reach a private wooden gate and a fenced path leads to a stile at the road. Turn left along the road to retrace your steps to Silverdale village.