Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria

Grange-over-Sands

Map - Google
Map - Ordnance Survey - SD 408779

The promenade at Grange-over-Sands. Photo by Tony Richards.

Grange-over-Sands is a quiet seaside retreat on the Southern tip of the Cartmel peninsula, between the mountains and the sea, and only 7 miles from Windermere.

Grange is a pretty resort with an Edwardian flavour and a mild climate. It is on the shores of Morecambe Bay, and from the 13th Century until the 1850's, the major route from Lancaster was across the sands. In 1887, the coming of the Furness Railway encouraged the growth of Grange from a small hamlet to the town we see today. Wealthy industrialists from Lancashire and Yorkshire were quick to build large houses here.

Grange-over-Sands
The bandstand. Photo by Tony Richards.

The estuary and the countryside around Grange are fascinating places for nature enthusiasts. A tremendous range of birds can be seen, and there are several nature reserves and sites of special scientific interest. Grange has some of the finest parks and gardens on the Cumbrian coats - the ornamental gardens has a lake with many water birds.

Grange over Sands
Feeding the Ducks in the Ornamental Gardens. Photo by Tony Richards.

Grange-over-Sands Station. Pic N3151.
Grange-over-Sands Station.

Grange-over-Sands Station. Photo by Matthew Emmott.

Grange-over-Sands has a railway station on the Furness line designed, along with many others on the line, by the Lancaster architects firm of Sharpe, Paley and Austin.

Grange-over-Sands - St Paul' Church.
The clock tower, beside St Paul's church. Photo by Malcolm Minshaw.

According to Nikolaus Pevsner, the clock tower is the best building in Grange-over-Sands. It was put up in 1912, in the style of Manchester architect Edgar Wood, with diagonal buttresses, a small band of bell-openings, and a short octagonal spire.

Built in 1846 by the vicar of Cartmel, Hampsfell Hospice has provided shelter for travellers ever since. Just a half hour�s walk from from Grange, the Hospice boasts an outstanding view that takes in the Old Man of Coniston, Helvelyn, the Langdales and Morecambe Bay.

From Arnside Knott across the Kent estuary to Grange over Sands.
Photo by Tony Richards.

Grange-over-Sands
Aerial photo by Jonathan Webb.

Grange-over-Sands.
Photo by Roger Savage, ABIPP, Greystoke, Penrith
The new swimming pool is lower left. The railway, promenade, and 'beach' are lower right.