The Local Area

Enjoy a walk along the Lancaster canal and a refreshing drink at The Canal Turn, Carnforth, but if you do have to do something else then below is a list of local attractions.

Click on the links to see more.

Carnforth Railway Station
Tel: 01524 733165/735894
Open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day 10.00am - 4.00pm Admission: Free
This local railway station has been refurbished and is proving a mjaor tourist attraction because of its links to the classic film Brief Encounter. Carnforth Railway Station was opened in 1846 by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway Company as a roadside "second class" station, and was originally just a single platform. It is now thought that the original Lancaster and Carlisle station building, is the building that in later years became the Carnforth station refreshment room made famous in Brief Encounter

Docker Park Farm Visitor Centre
Open from 10.30am - 5pm. Indoor adventure play area, llamas, rabbit world, tearoom, shop. Bottle feed the lambs in spring. Check out the chicks at Easter. Weekends + holidays there are tractor + pony rides. Book a one hour tour and learn about the farming year, feed the animals, stroke lots of animals, enjoy a nature walk around Swan Lake and meet Farmer Ford on the Free tractor ride.
Arkholme, nr Carnforth. (M6 J35, then B6254 to Kirkby Lonsdale then follow brown signs).
Tel: 015242 21331

Forest of Bowland
Area of Outstanding natural beauty

Hest Bank Beach
Just north of Morecambe. You can get to the beach via the railway level crossing where there's a free car park. You can walk a long way along the beach path and it's lovely.

Ingleton Waterfalls Walk
For the strong and well-shod.

Leighton Hall
nr. Carnforth LA5 9ST tel. 01524 734474
1246 AD. Home of Gillows - famous furniture family. 80 acres garden and park, falconery displays, caterpillar maze. Tours, gifts, tea room + plant conservatory. Open til September Tues - Fri + Sundays + Bank Holidays 2-5pm or (12.30-5pm in Aug).

Leighton Moss Nature Reserve
Myers Farm, Silverdale, Carnforth, Lancs, LA5 0SW tel. 01524 601601
One of the RSPB's most important reserves. The largest remaining reedbed in north-west England attracts a wonderful range of wildlife. Among its special birds are breeding bitterns, bearded tits and marsh harriers, with water rails and pochards, and its mammals include roe and red deer. You can take your pick of long or short nature trails - shorter ones are suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. As are most of the hides. Open daily from 9am to 9pm (or sunset, when earlier) and has an impressive Visitor centre & year round programme of events and activities.

Sizergh Castle
Sizergh, nr Kendal, LA8 8AE.
Tel: 015395 60951
Originally built in the Middle Ages by the Strickland family, who still live there, this imposing house has an exceptional series of oak-panelled rooms culminating in the Inlaid Chamber. Portraits, fine furniture and ceramics accumulated over centuries by the family are shown alongside their recent photographs. The garden includes two lakes and a superb rock garden. All this is set in a 638ha (1600-acre) estate crossed by public footpaths, providing short walks from the castle to dramatic viewpoints over Morecambe Bay and the Lake District fells.

White Scar Caves
Ingleton, North Yorkshire, LA6 3AW tel. 015242 41244
Tours from 10.00am-5.30 pm every day except 25th Dec. last tour 3.30pm

Lancaster Castle
Castle Hill, Lancaster.
Ttel. 01524 64998
If you could only visit one castle in the UK it should be this one. Open daily all year (ex-Xmas week) 10.30am-4pm. Guided tours at 30-minute intervals (Court sittings permitting - check by phoning 01524 64998) from 10.30am to last tour at 4pm. Some narrow, winding old stone staircases so not suitable for people with restricted mobility. Themed evening tours available for group bookings. Tours available for pre-booked school groups.

City Museum and The King's Own Museum
Market Square, Lancaster LA1 1HT tel. 01524 64637
This splendid museum is housed in Lancaster's former Town Hall, built in 1781-3 to the designs of Major Thomas Jarrett and Thomas Harrison. The Museum itself was founded in 1923 and its newly redisplayed collections illustrate the rich history and archaeology of the city of Lancaster, the most northerly and rural part of Lancashire. The Museum is home to The King's Own Regiment museum which offers a fascinating insight into army life.

Maritime Museum
Custom House, St George's Quay, Lancaster LA1 1RB tel. 01524 64637
Open daily: Easter to October: 11am - 5pm
November to Easter: 12.30 - 4pm
This museum occupies two historic buildings on St. George's Quay, the main 18th century harbour. It was opened in 1985 and has won many awards. The former Custom House of 1764, designed by Richard Gillow, contains interactive displays on the history of the Port of Lancaster and the local fishing industry, including an excellent push-button audio/video show of Bay maritime history, with a gallery for exhibitions. In the adjacent warehouse are displays on the Lancaster Canal and the ecology of Morecambe Bay. Several preserved vessels are also displayed, including 'Sir William Priestley' and 'Coronation Rose'. There is a cafeteria and shop and parking is available at the rear.

Cross-Bay Walks
Tourist Info Office lists scheduled walks tel. 01524 582808
Walks across the bay from Hest Bank to Grange-Over-Sands. You need a guide to avoid quicksand, riptide etc.