The Fylde

The Fylde is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile (20-kilometre) square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east. The eastern boundary is approximately the location of the M6 motorway.

It is a flat, alluvial plain; parts were once dug for peat. It is the western part of an area formerly known as Amounderness.

The name 'Fylde' (pronEng|ˈfaɪld) is of Scandinavian origin, meaning "field".

The west coast is almost entirely urban, containing the towns of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Blackpool and Lytham St Annes, with Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde not far inland. This area forms the Blackpool Urban Area. The central southern part of the Fylde includes the smaller towns of Kirkham and Wesham. The rest of the Fylde is rural, containing smaller villages such as Freckleton, Warton, Wrea Green, Great Eccleston, Hambleton, Knott End and Pilling.

The River Wyre meanders across the Fylde from Garstang on the eastern edge, westwards towards Poulton and then northwards to the sea at Fleetwood. The area north of the Wyre, known as Over Wyre, is a quieter and more remote area. The Fylde peninsula is roughly bisected north and south by the M55 motorway.

The borough of Fylde is a local government area covering the south of the Fylde plain. The rest is covered by the boroughs of Wyre and Blackpool. The local justice area covering all of the Fylde is called Fylde Coast.