There are medieval tower houses, ancient British forts, historic settlements, ancient field patterns, cairns and tumuli, industrial remains and not a few unsolved puzzles scattered around the AONB.

The Romans came here, and just about everyone else has too, though it was not always so easy to venture into the lands around Silverdale as it is now. The area was a maze of streams and ditches, saltmarsh and mosses, reedbed and fen more than capable of trapping the unwary traveller. 

There have been finds of human bones in some of the caves of the AONB, dating to the Romans. Grizzly reminders of how we once lived and died in the wilder parts of the countryside.

When the railways arrived in 1857 - things started to look up - Arnside became the charming Victorian seaside resort we appreciate today and Silverdale saw a property boom, that probably will never be equalled. The landscape became more devoid of trees as increased pastoral grazing was introduced. The railways were a social and economic lifeline to many in the area and the foundations of the AONB were being laid.