Setting off from my mercifully midge-free riverside campsite, I was pleased to see the route was taking me away from the A595 and up into some nearby woods.
Sadly the effects of last year’s storms were very much in evidence, and after an hour of struggling to follow a path over fallen tree trunks and colossal stump holes, I was forced back to the main road for a short while.
Outside Millom, I came across my first mainland England Coastal path sign. I followed these to Millom, where I had all-day breakfast in the Bridge Cafe, a bikers hangout. Always a good sign.
When I finished, I set off on the hottest day of the year. However, in Cumbria, this was leaden skies and regular showers. After a blowy walk along Millom breakwater to Haverigg, I was back on the dunes again. For some reason, Natural England doesn’t paint their post tops white, so finding them amongst the dunes was challenging.
I arrived next in the marshes by the wind farm. You’ve seen the rules in the photographs; what you didn’t see was the difficulty in following the path as the posts are about 2’ 6”, and the gorse bushes are over three feet. It was only my binoculars that helped me stay on track.
In a version of one of my favourite music hall songs

“WIth a pair of opera glasses, you could see the markers in the marshes,
If it wasn’t for the bushes in between “
Apologies to Gus Elen.

I was glad I didn’t have a dog with me as keeping them out of ponds and puddles would be well nigh impossible.
Tired and a bit confused, I camped in some waste ground at Silecroft