Coneheads and Maidenhair at Arnside

Arnside Knott is one of our favourite walks, with views that just seem to get better and better, looking over the Kent estuary, Morecambe bay and the Lake District. The outward leg starts off as a coastal walk from Arnside and the return goes over the Knott before dropping back down into the town. It's one of the top spots in Lancashire for wildlife, which includes butterflies such as high brown fritillary, northern brown argus and Scotch Argus and it's very rich botanically with plants such as fly orchid, dark-red helleborine, maidenhair fern and Teesdale violet.

A few years ago I found a population of short-winged coneheads crickets on the saltmarsh at White Creek. The only other place I have seen these insects in north west England is at Marshside, Southport.

Maidenhair fern is a very rare plant in the UK, in fact the only other place I've seen it is Gordale Scar at Malham in the Yorkshire Dales plus also at Poulnabrone Dolmen on the Burren in Ireland.

Spartina anglica common cordgrass.

Sea aster.

Sloe berries.

Salt marsh at White Creek

The railway viaduct over the Kent estuary at Arnside.

Morecambe bay.

Morecambe bay

The Kent estuary with the mountains of the Lake District behind.