Heylan one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Heylan here.

The route heads due north from the railway station, crosses the tracks on the first bridge then turns sharp left to head for the river across the sportsground (quay Meadow). It crosses the River Lune using Carlisle railway foot bridge, via steps up and down, and picks up the Lancaster to Morecambe cycleway/walkway. A fingerpost then directs the route left to follow the line of the river. There are lots of wild flowers on the cycleway/walkway. It should be noted that this section and the following road section past the Golden Ball Hotel are liable to flooding at Spring high tides so a check on the tide tables is worthwhile. There are good views of the River Lune. After passing Lythe Bridge a path to the right is taken. A signpost, well off road, is the best clue to the path which ascends via stone steps and then descends to a low gate into a field. The route is between to 2 lines of hedges and is clear to follow. We now come to two options:
(a) As per the original Slow Ways route there is a farm track passing under the dual carriageway road. The second gate on the path to the left was tightly tied shup but the 2 field gates to the right were easy to open. The track continued to meet an unclassified road but entry was barred by a locked gate. This track is not a Public Right of Way.
(b) Follow the Public Right of Way parallel to the dual carriageway and take the signposted stile and steps up to the main road. Note the OS map takes you round to the left to join Moss Road from where you need to walk back to the main road. Take care crossing the dual carriageway road by the roundabout. There is a traffic island in the centre which makes it easier. Continue along Moss Road (unclassified) to pass the locked gate mentioned in (a). This is the preferred option.
Pass North Farm and continue on the road to Downlands Farm where the road ends. The path continues through solid gates between 2 buildings which were wet with mud and slurry. The owners don’t recommend taking this route (and neither do we) so bear left and right round the large building, go straight on through 2 very narrow open spaces in the fences and into the field which was rather muddy at the time of our visit. Head across the field to a small bridge over a dyke then bear left to cross a larger footbridge, not in the best condition – watch out for the hole near the entrance. Continue west on the well-made track past Heysham Moss Nature Reserve and cross the railway (via bridge). Continue west along estate roads and paths and follow the estate roads to the centre of Heysham and the finish. A pleasant walk but muddy in parts after rain.

My husband and I walked this twice recently, once from Heysham to Lancaster (the port to be precise, meeting up with the start point of the route in Heysham village) and then in reverse a couple of weeks later.

It was a useful route for us to kill some time while travelling and we did enjoy it. The section along the river was full of birds, with migrating geese flying overhead, and beautiful dragonflies and The Golden Ball pub was doing a great trade on the sunny Saturday afternoon when we passed by.

Minor issues found as follows (written as if heading from Heysham towards Lancaster):

A wide wooden footbridge leading into the field at Downlands Farm is looking unsafe in places (a large hole and quite spongy underfoot in places). A low metal gate has been attached to one side of the bridge which must be stepped over but is no more problematic than a stile.
Downlands Farm itself has a small gap between the metal fence posts to gain access through the farmyard but the ground was impassable (liquid mud and other farm related brownness) so we had to go along the fence a little and duck under instead.
The road after North Farm to the roundabout is not marked as a public right of way but there's nothing preventing you from walking it. There are a couple of cattle grids around this area which don't have usable pedestrian access so you need to be prepared to balance your way across them.
The gate to the left just before the roundabout is padlocked. This route leads to an underpass beneath the main road. We saw the farmer using this to move sheep from one field to another so I suspect this is what it's for, not for public access, hence the padlock. You can instead walk up to the roundabout, go a little way to the left and cross over the road with an island between lanes to assist crossing, but beware as it's a very fast road. There's a set of steps down to rejoin the track and a stile. The farmer had blocked this off with an old metal gate tied on with a piece of rope - he explained this was to stop sheep escaping to the main road. He kindly unblocked the stile for us but if he hadn't been there at the time it would have involved some clambering over.

Aside from that it's a simple route to follow and the majority of the route is problem free.

The initial suburban section has some excellent views, between the houses, towards Lancaster, the Forest of Bowland, and Ingleborough. The route crosses a bridge over the railway then follows well-used but narrow lanes before crossing farm fields (with unclear paths, but fairly easy to spot points to aim for), then passes through a couple of farms. The route out of North Farm to the A683 bypass is a short, surfaced road, although it is not marked as a public right of way. The gate onto the farm track to the farm underpass was locked. I climbed it anyway to follow the Slow Way, but it may be necessary to cross the bypass at the roundabout, where at least there is an island between the fast road carriageways.
There were cows close by in the next section. I had to shoo them away, to get through the next gate. The flood-protection ridge is crossed via a staircase, to give a lovely view of the Lune Estuary and into Lancaster. This section of road is sometimes flooded by the high spring tides. I was going to include The Golden Ball/Snatchems pub as a food/toilets/accommodation stop on this route, but it is currently (spring 2021) closed and for sale.
The next section (tarmacked) goes round the back of the tip, which is now grassed over and grazed by horses and it is very quiet and pleasant with great views across the Lune into Lancaster, and the hills beyond. (It is heaving with blackberries in late summer!). The route then goes past the back of the sports centre, and joins onto the main Lancaster-Morecambe Greenway. There is a footbridge over the river alongside the West Coast main railway line, with many steps up and many steps down! The route passes between the railway and some housing and through to a meadow, then onto a cycle track, under a dark bridge below the railway and up another cycle track to the station.
Despite a couple of small challenges, I found this a very enjoyable route.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.