There are toilets on the beach front, handy before you set off on the walk. It is a nice, tidy beach front here with good views on to South Head which gives you an idea of the walking in front of you. But don't be fooled in to thinking that what you see is the only, or the highest climb of the day. The initial route heads along the seafront heading for the Lifeboat Station where there is a small footbridge over the Rottington Beck before heading up the hill.
As you rise up the hill the surrounding countryside gradually comes in to view. Looking South over the groynes on the beach you can see right back to the Black Coombe, approximately marking the mouth of the Duddon Estuary. Looking inward to the east are the Cumbrian Mountains and, on a good day looking out to sea you can see the Point of Ayre at the tip of the Isle of Man. This first run of sandstone cliffs heads from South Head via St Bees Head to North Head, before turning slightly north on to Saltom Bay.
As well as the soil run-off that you get on the cliff face, the effects of rain, wind, ice and saltwater, work on the natural faults found in the underlying bedrock with the consequence that huge slabs of rock detach from the cliff face and fall to the shore. Later on the walk you can see where large colonies of seabirds have colonised the ledges that are left on the cliff face after such a rockfall occurs. The area is an RSPB bird reserve.
St Bees village is located at the end of the geological feature known as St Bees Valley. Originally created during one of the glacial periods, at the mouth of the valley where the golf course has been created, the landscape is dotted with 'moraines'. These are like small hillocks, created when the glaciers deposited unconsolidated debris. They are now an important feature of the golf course. The moraine cliffs to the south are fundamentally different in their construction to the sandstone rock to the north of the village and so deteriorate at a different rate. The cliffs to the north will recede following rock falls, those to the south more by erosion.
The walking is good and there are sections that are reminiscent of other long distance footpaths I have walked including the South West Coast Path and the Pembroke and Ceredigion Coast Paths. In the main the countryside is very open, with only occasional sections where of gorse and fern interfere with the walking. Walking close to the fence you can see that the footpath has had to be moved to the 'other side of the fence' as a consequence of erosion. Once you have lost sight of the houses of St Bees there is a solitude to the walk that I thoroughly enjoyed.
There are good views of the geology of the cliffs on St Bees Head and some of the prospects were stunning, the cliffs bedecked by wild flowers, dazzling in their colour and situation. Looking down to the shore here, with the right tidal conditions, you can see the impressive red sandstone platforms.
There is a viewpoint at St Bees Head, on the north side of the bay, from which you also have grand views of the bird gantries. At different places along the cliff you can be lucky enough to see Razorbills, Guillemot (two kinds), Fulmar, Kittiwake and Cormorant. Flying just off or above the cliff are Ravens, Jackdaw and Peregrine Falcon.
From the lighthouse the path continues along the clifftop, the landscape and the walking similar to what has gone before. Along this stretch of the cliff there are a number of disused and part-time quarries, including Birkhams Quarry, above Saltom Bay, which was used on an 'as required' basis, with one or two rock faces available for continued abstraction. There are plans to allow the quarry to revert to natural wild land with some rock faces left 'open' to allow for further geological study. Information boards on site explain the workings of the quarry.
Along this route there was also a gypsum and alabaster quarry / mine (Barrowmouth), albeit much over-grown now. Gypsum is a basic ingredient in the plastering industry, as well as used for medical and surgical purposes, pottery, brewing and in paper industries. Alabaster is used for sculptures and in domestic ornamental and decorative activities. It can be processed in to plaster of Paris. It is not known when the quarry opened but the first reference to gypsum and alabaster work in this area was in 1794. Work ceased at the mine in the early 1880's, re-started in 1888, only to be finally closed in 1908 following flooding, roof collapse and contamination.
As you approach the final turn on the cliff there is a further geological feature to notice to the left front of the cliffs. The low platform that you can see is actually debris deposited here over many years from the mining activity in the area. With global warming and rising sea levels the likelihood is that this will gradually be eroded and the line of the shore will retreat once again to the line of the natural cliff. The line of the England Coast Path starts to drop down the hillside just below Greenbank, passing below the houses of the Kells district and taking you in to the area known as the Beacon. From here it is a short drop down into the marina and harbour area and, for us, a short walk to the railway station for the train to Seascale.
The last time we had seen Seascale it was pouring with rain, bleak and deserted. Today it was bright and sunny and there were lots of people in the village and on the beach. Still slightly weary from our earlier exertions, we were happy to take the footpath at the back of the beach, as opposed to walking on the sands.
It was a pleasant way to start walk, enjoying the wild flowers and the birdlife on the verges and the open views up and down the beach and across the Irish Sea. There was the occasional break in the landscape on the landward side and we would see the peaks of the Cumbrian Mountains peeking through. Looking back to Seascale we could see all the way back to the headland at the Duddon Estuary.
Sellafield is the largest nuclear site in Europe, specialising in a number of specific nuclear activities including nuclear waste storage, reprocessing of fuel rods and decommissioning of nuclear plant from other sites, as well as Sellafield.
The site was originally (1950's) involved in the production of weapons-grade uranium, before going on to become (1956) the first major nuclear provider of electricity to the national grid (Calder Hall). Calder Hall started providing electricity on 27 August 1956 and was closed on 31 March 2003. In 1962, a second generation of reactors was introduced (advanced gas cooled) and subsequently closed down in 1981. Plans for Activities continue on the site which has also been identified by the UK government as a suitable location for a future nuclear reactor. In 2009, a consortium proposed the construction of another nuclear reactor on land close to Sellafield but the plans were abandoned in 2018.
The new alignment of the England Coast Path now passes by the front of the Sellafield railway station and carries on to the railway bridge which crosses the River Ehen and which has been adapted for use by pedestrians. Once across the bridge we moved down on to the open expanse of the beach. With the tide coming in the room for walking on the beach was becoming very limited and we followed the landward path. From there we had really nice views back and from on the beach and out to the Cumbrian Mountains.
Too engrossed in our conversation we missed the path and continued along a road, only noticing our mistake when we passed the road end for the railway station. Rather than add to the miles by going back down we continued on the road until we found a public footpath that took us back down to the shore. From the road we had continued to have nice views to the mountains, but to be honest it a real drag walking on the road. At the head of the golf course we continued to follow the line of the railway which took us in to the town on the side where our hotel was located and we finished the day tired and hungry but dry.