The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 1.1 miles (1.8km)
Time to walk: You could easily do this in 30 minutes but…if you take time to explore everything on this walk around a stunning village & just sit & admire the views, it could easily take you a few hours
Difficulty: Mainly around the village on hard surfaces. There are grassy areas on the cliff near the churchyard
Parking: Free public car park in the centre of the village. what3words: mull.narrow.insert
Public toilets: Cafes & pub in the village
Map of the route:
The name Heysham means ‘Homestead or village amongst the brushwood’
The wonderful village of old Heysham sits about 4 miles south of Morecambe overlooking the Bay, with great views across to the Lakeland Fells. It’s easily reached on foot via the hard-surfaced sea front path from Morecambe. We did this & then caught the bus back
The area of the village this walk covers is small where you’ll find woodland, open grassland, sandy beaches & deep rock pools. Heysham has won the ‘Britain in Bloom Gold small village award’ twice & it’s easy to see why
St Patrick’s Chapel, which we’ll visit, with its graves which have been featured in Black Sabbath music videos & various films. Dating back to the Stone Age, Heysham is home to one of the finest Anglo-Viking sites in the North-West & we shall see some Viking graves
The larger, more modern part of Heysham is more industrialised, being a ferry port & also home to two nuclear power stations
Let’s Walk!
1. This walk starts in the large free car park, where there are numerous information boards about the history of the village. Exit the car park & walk right, across to the small area near the bus stop where you’ll find several art works showing the pride the locals have in this area…
It really is beautiful
2. Walk across the square towards Main Street…
…passing the Heritage Centre which is actually one of the newer buildings on Main Street, dating back to 1897, when it was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee
3. Continue down Main Street. Take your time & look at all the beautiful cottages. Many have date stones showing when they were built – the oldest dates back to 1633
Some of these are available to rent. The cafe on the right’s particularly beautiful…
4. If you fancy a stop now or at the end of this walk we can recommend The Royal Hotel…
The oldest parts of this building date back to the 1500s when it’s thought to have been a tithe barn used for storing grain. There’s no record of when it actually became a pub. Out the back is a huge undercover seating area, so perfect if you have muddy boots or a muddy dog
In the early 1900s Granny Hutchinson lived in the cottage next door, now called ‘Nettle Cottage’. Many local people made & sold Heysham’s famous Nettle Beer, a non-alcoholic drink with a distinctive flavour
5. Continue past the cottages on the right. Have a look up the lane on the same side – there are some beautiful properties…
Back on Main Street look for the old pump in the alcove in the wall…
This is St Patrick’s Well which was one of several wells that supplied the old village with water. It’s also one of two Holy Wells in the village, the other being on private property & covered in. In the mid 1800s the bank above it collapsed, filling the well in, however it was rebuilt in the early 1900s & made safe
6. Turn left up the lane past the Parish Church towards Heysham Head. Go though the hole in the wall on the left & then bear right…
…to emerge into a wonderful spot overlooking the sea
7. The building on the headland’s St Patrick’s Chapel which dates from the 8th or 9th century & is built of sandstone rubble
According to legend, St Patrick came ashore here in the 5th century after being shipwrecked, & subsequently established a small chapel. The chapel you see today is thought to have been built at least two centuries after the original to encourage the act of pilgrimage
The original Anglo Saxon one is displayed below
8. Near the chapel is a group of six rock-cut tombs dating back to the 11th century…
…& a separate group of two rock-cut tombs
Each group is Grade I listed & each tomb has an associated socket, probably intended for a timber cross. They featured on the cover of Black Sabbath’s 2000 album ‘The Best of Black Sabbath’
In 1977 an excavation took place in & to the south of the chapel, which dated the site to the late 6th or early 7th century. This links the site to early Celtic Christianity when local people spoke native British. The buried skeletons uncovered were dated as no earlier than the 10th century. A further excavation took place in April 1993 on land below the stone coffins
No human bones were found, but more than 1,200 artefacts were recovered which showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years ago
9. Walk down the ruins to exit the chapel area…
…& walk back down the lane turning into the churchyard of St Peters…
10. It’s believed that a church was founded on this site in the 7th or 8th century. In 1080 it was recorded that the location was the site of an old Anglo-Saxon church. Some of the fabric of that church remains in the present church
Look for the Heysham Hogback…
This Viking artefact, believed to recount the story of Sigurd. is covered in carvings of wolves, deer, & men on one side &, on the other side, of a man next to a large tree with animals. It measures over six feet long
Come out of the church & walk around to the graveyard. There’s some ancient graves here & what a view over the Bay
11. Come back around the left side of the church &, before the gate, look for a gap in the wall on your left which leads to the Glebe Garden – the word ‘Glebe’ means belonging to the church
This is a beautiful, tranquil garden that’s been carefully restored by volunteers…
Look out for the ‘Red Rose of Lancashire’ plus numerous carefully placed statues & novelties
12. Come out of the garden & through the church gate, turn left & carry on along Main Street again…
…down to the Old Rectory on the left corner, also known as Greese Cottage…
This large building was used by the Rector until a new Rectory was built in the 19th century near the present Church Hall. The name Greese is thought to be derived from the Latin word for steps
13. Turn left & walk down to the shore…this is known as Lade End…
Until the early 1900’s mussels were collected from the rocks in the Bay. Horses & carts came up here to take the mussels to Morecambe to be transported by rail to the towns of Lancashire & Yorkshire. The view back to Morecambe across the Bay is spectacular plus, on a clear day you can see the Fells of the Lake District
14. Turn left onto the footpath marked Whinnysty Lane…
The coastal path links Heysham with its near neighbour Morecambe. The path which rises gently uphill…
15. After about 100 yards, turn right along the footpath which runs inland, where the path emerges at the road junction…
Turn right along Knowlys Road & walk down the hill until you reach the cross roads with Bailey Lane & St Mary’s Road
A village water pump stood in the middle of the junction until the 1930s when it was removed after it was damaged by a motor car, & re-sited opposite
16. Continue straight ahead up the hill to arrive back at the car & the start of this walk
So that’s it…another very short Walk outside Northamptonshire, but my goodness what a stunner in terms of a beautiful old village, so much history & just a special place
If you’re in the area…
Go Walk!