The sands in question are those on the edge of Morecambe Bay
in north-west England, which is renowned for the huge distance to which the sea
recedes at low tide and the speed with which it returns when the tide turns.
Grange-over-Sands began as a quiet fishing village that was “discovered”
by the Victorians who liked the year-round mild climate of this sheltered
resort, backed by woodland. A sanatorium was established for the treatment of
tuberculosis sufferers.
A mile-long promenade curves round the shore, fringed by
gardens that feature rare trees and shrubs.
Two miles north is Lindale-in-Cartmel, where a 12 metre high
iron pillar forms a monument to John Wilkinson (1728-1808), an ironmaster who
lived locally in his youth but went on to build the world’s first iron bridge
at what was henceforth known an Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire.
To the east of Grange-over-Sands is Cartmel Priory, which
was founded in 1188 and managed to escape the ravages of King Henry VIII’s
Dissolution of the Monasteries by virtue of establishing its claim to be the
local parish church. The name “Grange” means farmstead, the original village having
this function on behalf of the Priory.
© John Welford
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