WFV, Sunderland Point, 8th August 2023

This was our second visit to Sunderland Point, the first having taken place almost exactly 6 years before.  In planning the day careful study of tide tables is required as the hamlet of Sunderland Point is cut off from the mainland at high tide, evidently the only village in the UK so affected.  Fortunately we had calculated correctly and we were on our way home in good time before there was any risk of being stranded. 

In what would have been a full minibus if Sue had not had to pull out at the last minute we had an uneventful journey on a new route through Bentham, breaking the journey at the excellent toilets in Gargrave.  The first thing we encountered on arrival at Sunderland Point was a security guard requesting details our intentions for the day – we had landed on a film set for ITV’s ‘The Bay’ series!  Fortunately filming on the day was taking place mainly inside one of the houses and we were not restricted in our movements.  After the disappointingly wet weather of the past few weeks we were greeted by sunshine which stayed with us for the day.

We lunched soon after our arrival on the banks of the River Lune, where we were entertained by good numbers of swallows hawking overhead, before making our way around the rocky shore of the headland to the salt-marsh area of Morecambe Bay. The main attraction of Sunderland Point is the easy access to the many seaside plants to be found there and we were not disappointed as Alice recorded 95 species in flower or fruit which included on the saltmarsh: abundant quantities of glasswort, common seablite and sea aster and in the drier areas: sea campion, sea radish and sea beet and the minis: sea milkwort, both the sea spurreys, strawberry clover and sea lavenders. The bird numbers were dominated by hundreds of lapwings but there were also many little egrets about and a small flock of linnets was good to see as was a pair of common terns and a few dozen mute swans. There were lots of butterflies on the wing, especially gatekeepers and holly blues, but a common blue was also seen together with three whites and a lovely fresh small copper which made a total of 7 species on the day.

Since our last visit in 2017, the memorial to an old West Indian slave, Sambo, has been renovated and the area rebuilt to include a bird hide and a stone artwork, the Horizon Line Chamber. The public toilets are voluntarily maintained in excellent order by the villagers on a rota basis in a fine public spirited gesture particularly so given the fact that there are no commercial enterprises in the village.

Sunderland Point is a quaint, unique place with views over to Ingleborough and Lancaster Castle to the north-east, Blackpool tower to the south-west, the Lakeland fells to the north-west and the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay which dominates the view to the west.

We rounded off our visit to the area with a stop at the Golden Ball pub at Snatchems, a village further upriver, where we took the opportunity of a drink and a few more minutes’ bird watching before setting off back home in the safe hands of Julia and Kevin.  An excellent day out.

Stuart