HE has walked the equivalent of twice around the world.

But Cedric Robinson, the Queen’s Guide to the Sands, has never left Britain.

The furthest the 80-year-old has been away from home is the Isle of Man - and the former fisherman ended up feeling seasick.

Cedric was persuaded to leave home to open a walking festival for the Outdoor Writers’ Guild.

“I’d never been on a boat before and this was a ship,” he said.

“Everything I need is here. Every morning I wake up and look out there and think what a wonderful place it is. I just love the sands and I never want to leave them.”

That dedication to his royal role will this year see Cedric celebrate his 50th anniversary leading walkers safely across Morecambe Bay.

He has never guided his ‘boss’ the Queen across the River Kent but he did take Prince Philip across in a horse and carriage.

“I think that was the most wonderful experience in my 50 years,” Cedric said.

“There were 7,000 people here all cheering and Prince Philip said: ‘Stand up Mr Robinson, it’s you they’re cheering, not me’. It was lovely.”

He may be celebrating his 80th birthday and 50th anniversary as Queen’s guide but he has no plans to slow down, still taking around 10,000 people across the sands each year.

Cedric added: “I think I’ve done pretty marvellous as I had a heart bypass 20 years ago as well as having disc trouble and sciatica.

“I never think of my age because I lead such a busy life.”

He probably gets that from his dad William who lived until he was 102.

Cedric was born and bred as a fisherman in Flookburgh Village.

He and his dad would go out cockle picking with horse and carts.

That was where he first learnt about the power of the water which would later take the lives of 23 Chinese cockle pickers caught by the tide in 2004.

Cedric remembers a near-miss when a horse could not be freed from its load due to a knot in the rope.

He said: “One of horses went straight out of its depth. It went down and disappeared and couldn’t swim because the rope was like an anchor.”

In his first year as a guide, Cedric also had a scare when he agreed to meet a group at a certain point at River Keer rather than guiding them the whole way.

Someone ended up getting stuck in quicksand.

Cedric added: “They just about managed to get this bloke out and I was annoyed because half of them had gone past where I was meeting them.

“It’s the only time I’ve been worried in my life because they were so late and the tide was on the move. I didn’t let it happen again.”

Cedric, who competes in Cartmel Agricultural Show with his horse Sandboy Charlie, now goes out the day before every walk to check conditions.

He said: “I always test the sands so all the danger is taken out on the day and then I’ve got no worries on my mind.

“I can read the sands as I go along the same way you can read a book but I can’t read what’s under the water.

“Where we passed a fortnight ago is now impossible to cross. It changes so quickly.”

Cedric was appointed in 1963 as the 25th guide since 1548.

He lives with his wife Olive in the 700-year-old Guide’s Farm which is owned by the Crown but receives no money for his role.

So why does he enjoy his job so much?

“There’s never two days alike,” Cedric added.

“You hear people say in conversation how beautiful it is and when it’s clear you can see all around.

“You get out there in the middle and it’s like a different world.”

- To take part in a cross bay walk, call Cedric on 01539 532165.