Cedric Robinson is the Moses of Morecambe Bay. Although the cold waters of the Kent and Winster don't exactly part for this 68-year-old fluke and flounder fisherman, only a fool would attempt the eight-mile crossing without him to guide them.
"There's only two people you can put your faith in when crossing these sands," says Cedric emphatically, "God and the Sand Pilot."
Morecambe Bay's 120 square miles of swirling currents and constantly-shifting sands include some of the most treacherous quicksands in Britain. When the old coach route from Lancaster to Kendal used to take this perilous shortcut, as painted by Turner, several coaches were either sucked under by the sands or overtaken by the incoming tide, which rushes in at up to 3ft high and at the speed of a galloping horse. A memorial in Cartmel churchyard to 140 victims starkly testifies to the dangers of underestimating the sands.
Cedric is the proud holder of the title of Sand Pilot - officially the Queen's Guide to the Sands, an ancient honour dating back to the 14th century. He became the 25th royally-appointed Guide in 1963. Since then, he has successfully guided more than a third of a million people across the bay, an average of 10,000 a year. And in all those years, his salary as Queen's Guide has remained constant at a modest £15 a year, although he was awarded an MBE for his services on a rare visit to London last year.
The 2000 crossing season has just ended early because, according to Cedric, it was just "too dangerous" to continue. "The summer and autumn rains have made this the hardest season ever for route-finding," he says. "The channels have constantly changed and the areas of quicksand in the gulleys have been terrible - the biggest I have ever seen. When the rain comes off the fells and drains into the bay, it has to go somewhere, so the sands get saturated, just like the fields do."
Cedric demonstrated the dangers by stepping out on to an apparently-innocuous area, which wobbled and quaked like a jelly, threatening to suck him under at every step. "The rule is," he explained, "if it bends, it'll bear; but if it breaks, get out!"
Much careful preparation goes into making each crossing safe. Cedric goes out the day before, testing the sands, checking the tides and marking the safest, zigzag route between Arnside and Grange with laurel-branch markers known as "brobs".
Even so, walkers attempting the route should expect to get rather more than their feet wet. As well as splashing through a number of shallower "dykes", you need to cross the channel of the River Kent, whose icy waters can come up to thigh level.
The eight-mile walk usually starts from the esplanade in front of The Albion public house in the charmingly-unspoilt Victorian seaside resort of Arnside.
Although the safe route can change from day to day, it usually starts by heading south west across the flat, wave-worn limestone rocks of the foreshore to the shingle bay of White Creek. This is where you remove your shoes and socks ready for the actual crossing. Your destination at Kents Bank is clearly visible, a mere two miles away as the oystercatcher (known locally as a "sea-a-pie") flies. But Cedric's route can be up to four times as long, as it zigzags between the sand banks and gulleys.
If you are lucky, the sun will be shining and the sands will shimmer and live up to their name as the "wet Sahara". This is how Cedric likes it. Leaning on his trusty staff, he looks north towards the Lake District fells which feed the estuary and remarks: "It's a magical place, and I just couldn't imagine living anywhere else."
After some time walking almost due south, apparently straight out into the Irish Sea and away from your destination, Cedric turns west towards the highlight of the trip - the crossing of the Kent channel.
The last time I was here, early in the season, Cedric had warned us that it would be cold, and the ochre-coloured river water took the breath away. But the crossing is soon over, and you wade triumphantly out on to the firmer, rippled sands on the Cumbrian side.
It is now a few hundred yards to dry land, and you make your landfall near to Regional Rail's Kents Bank station. A superb, scenic way back to your starting point is to catch the eastbound train across the long, low Arnside viaduct.
The practicals
All crossings of Morecambe Bay must be made in the company of the Queen's Guide, Cedric Robinson, whose wife, Olive, makes the bookings from their home at Guide's Farm, Grange-over-Sands (tel: 015395 32165). The crossing season usually runs from April to October, but is entirely dependent on the weather and the state of the sands.
The eight-mile route takes about three and a half hours and is easy walking, but be prepared to get wet. The area is covered by the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger No 97, Kendal & Morecambe, but don't be tempted by the public byway route marked across Warton Sands from Hest Bank to Kents Bank. It wisely warns that crossing Morecambe Bay can be dangerous and that you should seek local advice.
The nearest tourist information centre is at Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands (015395 34026). Details of train times from Regional Railways (0161-228 5906). Recommended pubs with good local food are the appropriately-named Guide over Sands at Allithwaite (015395 32438) or the Kent's Bank Hotel, near your landfall (015395 32054).
• Sand Walker by Cedric Robinson is published this month by Great Northern Books at £9.99.
