FAQs

Morecambe Bay stretches from the south west coast of Cumbria to Fleetwood in Lancashire. It is easily accessible from all over the UK and is well served by international airports, ferry ports, main line rail and road.

Travelling by road, the M6 motorway runs through Cumbria and Lancashire and, depending on your destination, exiting from junctions 34, 35 or 36 will provide access to Morecambe Bay. In less than an hour from Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds you could be exploring the countryside on our accessible routes. To plan your route, click here.

Local public transport is operated by a range of bus and train providers. The West Coast Main Line rail service between London, the West Midlands, the North-West and Scotland stops at Lancaster. Once at Lancaster there are local services which provide rail or bus journeys to destinations including Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston, Grange, Arnside and Morecambe. For more information, click here for train services or click here for bus services

The main port of Heysham has regular services to and from the Isle of Man. For more information on ferries, click here.

Manchester Airport is well served with international flights and John Lennon Liverpool Airport has frequent flights from Europe.

One of the best and most convenient ways of exploring Morecambe Bay is by train.  Compared to car, it’s often quicker and easier to take the train and it’s a great experience too with viaducts across the bay and amazing views. The coastal railway line connects Barrow with Morecambe (via Lancaster).  Lancaster is a stop on the West Coast Main Line rail service linking London, the West Midlands, the North-West and Scotland. For more information on rail travel around Morecambe Bay click here.

Travelling by car, junctions 34, 35 and 36 on the M6 provide access to Morecambe Bay. Once off the M6, the A590 (junction 36) provides access to Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston, Roudsea and Grange. Junction 35 or 36 offers routes, mostly on B roads, to Arnside. Morecambe can be accessed from junction 34 and the A683.

Stagecoach operate bus services around Morecambe Bay. A combined bus journey of the 555 or 755 and X6 will provide a links from Morecambe to Barrow. For more information on bus travel around Morecambe Bay click here.

Morecambe Bay has a wealth of visitor accommodation, food and drink establishments and places to visit.  For more information about general facilities visit:

Visit Lancashire

Cumbria Tourism

For each of the More to Explore routes there is an accompanying map/guide that has details of local facilities available – accessible toilets, parking, cafes etc.

• Westfield Greenway = 3.5 km (2.2 miles) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 3 hours.
• Ulverston Canal = 2.25 km (1.4 miles) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 1.5 hours.
• Roudsea Wood Bog Trail = 1 km (0.6 miles), so round trip would take approximately 45 mins.
  Roudsea Wood Woodland Trail = 3 km (2 miles), so round trip would take approximately 2.5 hours (longer time allowance owing to off-road conditions).

  Grange Prom = 2 km (1.25 miles) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 1.25 hours.
  Hampsfell approach = 2.5 km (1.6 miles) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 2.5 hours (longer time allowance owing to steep gradients).
• Arnside Embankment = 1.6 km (1 mile) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 1.5 hours (slightly longer time allowance owing to uneven ground).
• Morecambe Prom = 8 km (5 miles) each way, double there-and-back, so round trip would take approximately 5 hours.

Colour code explanation:

Green = Routes that are likely to require little by way of physical improvements to enable access by mobility scooters and should afford good quality experiences for such users.

Amber = Routes that, while offering the potential to offer good / very good quality experiences for mobility scooter users, are likely to require modest physical improvements to enable this.

Red = Routes that should offer great potential for access by mobility scooter users, but require quite significant development outside the timeframe of the present MBP accessible trails project.

Black = Routes that offer great potential for experiences by mobility scooter users, but that could / should be adopted and developed by third parties, owing to their location and / or land ownership issues.

Description of route grading categories

Grade 1: Suitable for manual wheelchairs, as well as powerchairs and scooters. Routes are predominantly flat with largely smooth, bound surfaces. There is a good level of supporting services nearby.

Grade 2: More undulating than grade 1, best suited to scooters and powerchairs. Routes are generally on good tracks, although there may be stony or soft going stretches with shallow ruts. Gradients are limited to less that 1 in 10 with a maximum climb of 50 metres. There are usually some supporting service facilities en route or nearby.

Grade 3: Similar to grade 2, but with more height gain (up to 100 metres), and / or unavoidable stretches of more difficult ground. Supporting facilities are often available nearby, or within a short distance.

Grade 4: Routes that involve height gain up to 200 metres, including some steep pitches and / or rough and technical sections. Consequently, few ‘town’ scooters or powerchairs are suitable and a more robust off-road model is usually necessary to ensure safety. Supporting facilities may not be available en route or very nearby.

Grade 5: Routes that are some distance from roads on exposed hillsides over rough tracks with significant slopes, cambers and climbs. The routes involve longer stretches of rougher going than other grades, with steeper slopes (up to 1 in 5) and greater height gain (over 200 metres). Only suitable for robust models of powerchairs and scooters designed for off-road use. Supporting facilities are unlikely to be available en route or very nearby.

More to Explore is looking for new hire points, volunteers to help train users and accompany them on the routes, people to help promote the initiative, research new routes, and fund-raise.

Please contact: info@moretoexplore.uk or more information on how to get involved, or complete a Feedback Form.