St Bees

St Bees is a seaside village a few miles south of Whitehaven, tucked into a valley that runs down to a long shingle and sand beach. To the north rise the red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head, the most westerly point of northern England and the only stretch of high cliff on the Cumbrian coast.

The headland is an RSPB reserve and the only cliff nesting seabird colony in north west England, with guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars and puffins in the breeding season. The cliff path from the beach climbs over the headland to the lighthouse and on towards Whitehaven, with the Isle of Man and on clear days the hills of Scotland in view.

St Bees is also the start of Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk, which runs 190 miles to Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire, and walkers traditionally dip their boots in the Irish Sea here and carry a pebble across England. In the village, St Bees Priory, the church of a Benedictine priory founded in the twelfth century, has a fine Norman doorway. Come between April and July for the seabirds, when the cliffs are noisy with nesting colonies, or on a clear evening for the sunset over the Irish Sea.

It is a quiet place with a few pubs and a beach cafe. The beach car park is busy on sunny weekends. The cliffs are high and unfenced in places, so keep dogs and children close.