St. Bees to Whitehaven via the cliff path with Brendan and Tom

Name of walk St. Bees to Whitehaven via the cliff path with Brendan and Tom
Date of walk 2021-08-22

On Sunday morning I skived off Sunday Service bell ringing to catch the 9.50am train up the coast to St. Bees to walk the 7 mile cliff path to Whitehaven with Brendan and Tom. The weather was due to improve. There would be no wind. I have walked the cliff path several times, once in a gale and it is quite exposed in places, so no wind is good! We arrived in St. Bees at 11am.

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Statue of St. Bega near St. Bees train station. The village was named after her. We head down to the sea.

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Brendan has a coffee at the cafe while Tom and I sit by the beach.

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The start point for the Coast to Coast walk.

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View back to St. Bees from the walk up to the top of the cliff.

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View out to the Isle of Man from the remains of the old coastguard lookout.

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View north along the cliffs to Fleswick Bay.

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Wild sedum.

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Looking down on Fleswick Bay, our next destination, with the lighthouse in view.

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On the beach at Fleswick Bay.

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A popular place with natural seating.

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We head up.

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View back down on Fleswick Bay.

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In spring these cliff edges are full of nesting birds.

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St. Bees Lighthouse. The current tower was built in 1822.

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The hills of Dumfries and Galloway are very clear today.

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The cliff edge building that contains the Fog Horn.

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Bits of purple heather with the yellow gorse.

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Whitehaven in the distance.

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Another view out to the Isle of Man, much clearer with the naked eye.

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Butterflies everywhere! Unfortunately my phone camera doesn't do macro, so I'll not bore you with anymore!

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Lots of wild flowers to see enroute. I pocketed some wild blue scabious seeds to add to my wild flower meadow.

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Tom and me on the stone chair.

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View back, the lighthouse is just visible.

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We head down past the quarry.

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This dinghy was in a garden at the signpost for the route to Sandwith.

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This is where the Coast to Coast route heads inland. We have a short break.

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Brendan spots an apple tree.

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For the next section we head on the inland path which takes us past the houses, and adds a bit of variety. Plus it is a very good path.

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Looking down on Saltom Pit Head, the first undersea coal mine in the world. Built in 1729 and worked until 1848. It was 146m deep and went out 2km under the sea. I have been down to it in the past, but today it is out of bounds and fenced off, with danger signs.

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We follow the footpath towards Whitehaven, passing the Haig Colliery, now a mining museum.

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On the final section to Whitehaven. This shaft was once the deepest in the world.

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The Candlestick comes in to view, as do the houses on the cliff side above Whitehaven harbour.

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Looking to the outer harbour and the Candlestick (an old chimney connected to the Wellington Pit).

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The inner harbour.

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Tom's panorama with me heading down on the right. Left click to enlarge, click again to return.

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Memorial to the Wellington Pit disaster. 136 men and boys died in the pit on the 11th May 1910.

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The map showing the walk we have just done. It has taken us 3hrs and 50 minutes from the train station.

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John Paul Jones led a naval raid upon Whitehaven in 1778 during the American War of Independence; it was the last invasion of England! Mildred Gale, grandmother of George Washington is also buried here in the grounds of St. Nicholas` church.

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Boats in the harbour.

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The Beacon Museum. The 3.10pm train has been cancelled, so we head for Wetherspoons to wait for the 4.19pm train back home.

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Sunset from the bottom of my garden.

Always a good walk, and the returning train was on time!

Jo.

 

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