Heading to St Bees

Today we headed off to St Bees in preparation for our Coast to Coast walk.

When the alarm went off a 6 this morning I could cheerfully have rolled over and gone back to sleep.

After showering and dressing we headed over to Euston Station to get breakfast. There were a number of places open before 7 although the places doing cooked breakfasts were opening a little later. Today it was coffee and pastries.

Back to the hotel for a final pack and for me to process the results from the last of the winter development meets. I sent Trevor out to have a walk as he was getting under my feet.

Our train departed at 8:30 and we actually pulled out a minute early. Anto, that would never do in Switzerland, would it? On time ... not early!




On the run up to Lancaster we had reserved seats and we both had window seats, in separate rows. I spent the time doing swimming result processing before enjoying the countryside.




We had a half hour change over in Lancaster. It took time to change platforms dragging our luggage. A quick, well it should have been quick, purchase of lunch and the train had arrived for the next leg of our journey.

From Lancaster we seemed to hug the coast. There were inlets and estuaries along with salt marshes. Cliffs, hills and ridges abounded. There were castle ruins and the lighthouse dottted the landscape. Many of the ridges boasted wind turbines. The Brits have obviously embraced wind power.

There is a lighthouse on the top of the hill (according to Trevor)

 The train stopped at numerous settlements, chugged through others where no passengers were getting on or off and finally deposited us at St Bees.

We are staying at Stonehouse Farm, which is both a B&B and a working farm, which was only a stones throw from the station.

Stonehouse Farm B&B

Having dropped our bags we headed out to check out St Bees.

Looking towards the Irish Sea from a highpoint over St Bees

The local church has loads of history and we spent some time looking inside it and reading its history. We then headed down to the beach where our walk will officially commence tomorrow.

St Bees headland

Trevor at the starting point for the Coast to Coast walk ... we will be back here tomorrow

We stopped and had a cup of tea at a tea house overlooking the bay. Very pleasant. 

At 5 oclock there was a meeting of the walking party. There are 6 Aussies, 2 Americans and the rest are Brits. Most of the party are men in their 60s and beyond.

Tonight we will be eating at the Queens, just up the road from our B&B.