Arnside is lovely but has a dark side (Image: Photos by R A Kearton via Getty Images)
A picturesque UK coastal village is overlooked as tourists flock to a nearby popular destination, and locals are happy about the oversight.
The Lake District is renowned globally for its stunning landscapes that have inspired poets, authors and musicians throughout history. While tourists rush to well-known spots such as Lake Windermere, Kendal or Keswick, a small yet beautiful seaside village, hailed by The Times as one of the best coastal places to live in the country, is often missed.
Arnside offers an enchanting blend of verdant, rural landscapes where pheasants are as common a sight as seagulls soaring over the white sands.
Jackie Ellis, 69, a resident of Penrith in the Eden Valley, Cumbria, drove the 50 miles from her home to the stunning seaside spot. “I like to be beside the sea. It’s near for me and it’s very charming. It’s an oasis of peace and it’s beautiful,” she said. However, she believes that the tourist board’s focus on promoting the Lake District means that delightful spots like Arnside remain relatively unknown.
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Trevor Brown, 72, has lived in Arnside for 14 years (Image: Andy Commins/Express)
Jackie, a writer, added: “Cumbria Tourist Board is obsessed with the Lakes and don’t take an interest in us! Who on earth wants to go to Beatrix Potter [a famous Lakes’ museum] if you can come here! What’s the point? You have beautiful countryside on your doorstep. People come and stay here as it’s maybe that bit cheaper than Ambleside and use it as a jumping off point.”
However, she noted that residents continue to experience a tranquil atmosphere in comparison to Cumbria’s more popular tourist hotspots. She remarked: “But if I lived here I would be very grateful to be overlooked.”
Daytrippers to Arnside should be aware that the village has two geographical phenomenons that make it a little tougher to tackle than your average seaside spot.
The village is renowned for its tidal bore, an unusual tidal phenomenon that happens when the rising tide encounters resistance from the bay’s sandy channels. When the wave rushed up the waterway, an alarm blasts out across the village, warning locals and daytrippers of the incoming swell.
Located on Morecambe Bay as it is, Arnside is notorious for dangerous quicksand and mudflats, which regularly lead to rescues by Coastguard teams and Bay Search and Rescue of people and animals stuck in the treacherous, water-saturated sand as the tide comes in.
Arnside is up the bay from the site of a particularly famous tragedy. On the evening of 5 February 2004, at least 22 Chinese labourers were drowned by an incoming tide while illegally harvesting cockles off the coast. There have been many other near misses, including in Arnside.
In 2009 a woman fell forward on to her hands in quicksand. She began to sink, only to be saved at the very last moment, her nose six inches from the mud, the Guardian reported.
The quicksand and tides have claimed lives before (Image: Loop Images, Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Aside from the bores and quicksand, Arnside is a lovely place. Trevor Brown, 72, relocated to Arnside from East Sussex 14 years ago. He recalls how his initial visit to this picturesque village completely won him over. The former industrial chemist now pursues landscape photography, capturing stunning images of his beloved surroundings.
He recalled: “Somebody said to me ‘go and see Arnside’ as the sunsets are the best in the world. The first time I came here the rain was hitting me horizontally but I came back when it was sunny. I fell in love with the place.”
Despite being virtually tourist-free during our visit, he observes the area’s growing appeal. He commented: “If you come here in the summer it is very busy – you won’t get a parking spot as it’s like Brighton!”
Leonie Punter, 53, operates She Sells, a seafront business she’s managed for 15 years. Originally hailing from Manchester, she now resides in Lancaster, approximately 25 minutes away by car. She remarked: “On a sunny day it attracts lots of people but it’s overlooked as lots of people go to the Lake District. Only people in the know come here. It’s a hidden gem.”
Tracey Leigh, 59, who operates Homeleigh Vintage, has called Arnside home for four years. Originally hailing from Skipton, she purchased a village property to refurbish “from scratch”. She explained: “I fell in love with the property and obviously the views.”
Beyond the stunning scenery, Tracey highlighted that the area’s connectivity is another major draw for the business proprietor.
She continued: “The train links are good and you can get to Manchester Airport in one and a half hours and as we’re only 15 minutes from the M6 we are also very accessible.