Grange Over Sands station and Promenade
An attractive Cumbrian gateway to the Lake District
(Photos/words © urban75, 1st Sept, 2008)

Serving the town of Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, this is a wonderful station to arrive at.

Featuring ornate cast iron and glass awnings, the buildings date back to 1864 and were designed by Lancaster architect Edward Paley for the Furness Railway Company.

The station was extensively restored in the late 1990s, receiving a Heritage Trust Award in 1998.



Unfortunately, the promenade is currently rather devoid of river views after the River Kent switched its course to the Arnside side of the estuary, with the stranded mud flats rapidly turning into a vast swathe of grass meadow, which is often grazed by small flocks of sheep.

It appears that as a result of sustained easterly winds last year, the river is slowly switching course again, so walkers may once again enjoy a promenade with river views.



The railway through Grange was originally opened in 1857 by the Ulverston & Lancaster Railway, carrying heavy freight to support the iron and steel industry of the Furness area, including coke from County Durham.



The line is located on the Furness Line from Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster and is currently operated by TransPennine Express - we found our trains to be clean and punctual.

The station is a pleasant place to tarry awhile, with the up platform affording panoramic views over the distant Morecambe Bay, with the Grange-Over-Sands Promenade running behind the west platform.





Morecambe Bay can be seen stretching out from right behind the station. It must be freezing here in the winter!





The light brackets are made from intricate wrought iron work.



The only freight you'll see on the line these days is the daily transportation of nuclear waste flasks from Sellafield reprocessing plant. These hurtle along at high speed with horns blazing - least the one we saw was!



Roof detail. The station is now a Grade 2 listed building and stands in a conservation area.



The back of the station building which faces Morecambe Bay.



Squirrel detail on bench.





Looking at the station from the Promenade.



In this view a little further away, you can see how the river has vanished and been replaced by grass.



There was an art market stretching along the northern part of the promenade.



The rain soon returned.











There used to be an open air swimming poll on a short pier jutting out into the 'sea' on the promenade at Grange over Sands.

It doesn't look like it'll be coming back any time soon.



We spotted quite a few of these tiny little mice snacking on the promenade.





Looking over the 'river.'







The Derwent Court Art group relax.







Attractive Crossing Cottage, a little north of the station.

Note the upper quadrant semaphore signal in the distance. Much of this line is still mechanically signalled.





Station exterior.



A last look at the station before we headed back to London in the rain - note how far the water has come in compared to the first photo on this page!

My hugely expensive Nikon zoom lens decided to pack in just after I'd taken this picture which was mighty annoying - but not half as annoying as if it had broken on the first day of my holiday!





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