BB2233
: Three Things To Remember
29th
November 2022
“There’s
three things that you need to remember,”
I told the boys as we started to sink in
the mud. “If you find yourself in
quicksand, first remove your rucksack and
throw it away from you. Next, if you
still can, lie on your back to maximise
your surface area.” “OK “said the
boys. “What’s the third?”
“Put
your hands together on your chest, palm
to palm, fingers to fingers and pray.”
For
a while, it seemed that there was the possibility
that this advice might be needed. We
had met at Arnside intending to do a circuit
of the Knott. However, to our surprise,
the mist was thick and visibility across
the estuary was severely limited.
The
sensible thing to do, we decided, was to
head round the coast to New Barns and stop
for a coffee in the Bob-in café and
hope that the mist would clear. We
did but it didn’t.
We
debated which way round to go- hill then
coast or coast then hill. We chose
the latter, as much as anything because
the tide was now out so it would be much
easier than later on once it returned. What
a good decision. A better one might
have been not to go round the coast at all
but that didn’t occur to us.
All
was well to start with but then the sands
became less and less firm. It had
obviously been a very high tide and it showed.
There
were occasions when our feet sank deep,
which is why I reminded them of the above
advice.
Eventually
we were able to escape up onto the cliff
path. The track is narrow and perilously
close to the edge.
It
wasn’t a huge drop but the debate as to
whether a tumble might lead to certain death
or just a good mauling didn’t exactly fill
me with confidence. At last we descended
to a firm beach. One I knew well.
It
has been mentioned previously in these reports
(BB1403
for example). It is below where we
had a family caravan for 44 years although
in those days the channel was quite different.
I used to go out to the windy beach
where I would dance beneath the diamond
sky with one arm waving free, silhouetted
by the sea, circled by the circus sands
with all memory and fate driven deep beneath
the waves…… OK. Sorry, Bob. Forgot myself
there. The Tambourine man must have
jingle-jangled me. But that is how
I thought of it. Today, the beach
is gone. The moss is gone. The
channel comes right up to the pebbles. Sad,
really.
The
caravan site is much the same, only grander.
The van parked where ours had stood
has been changed since our last visit.
Clearly the 10 year rule is still
being enforced. The stone wall that
we commissioned remains. It still
grieves me that we had to pay for it to
be built. Anyway, that is long in
the past, let’s not dwell on it.
We
climbed the Knott from Hollins Farm and
had our lunch at what used to be the view
point. Today, the only way we would
have known there were any hills to be seen
was from the brass plates depicting them.
After
saying hello to the Giraffe.....
.....and
visiting the trig point, we dropped down
into Arnside, passing many rather grand
houses plus a summer house that looked as
if it had Bart Simpson on the roof.....
.....
before emerging to the path that crosses
the field to the station. The mist
across the estuary had lifted a little.
We could now see the viaduct.
Somehow
we walked past the Fighting Cocks but the
same could not be said of The Albion. It
called us in as it had done many a time
fifty years ago. Until I was banned,
that is.
"There
are three things to remember," I told
the boys as we parted company some time
later. "What?" they asked?
Sadly, I can’t now recall but I’m
sure there were.
Don,
Tuesday 30th November 2022 Thanks to
Tony for several of the pictures
Comitibus
:
Martin, Don, Tony
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