Why West Cumbria has stolen my heart this summer.

Why has the West Cumbrian Coastline captured our attention?

The Hiking Household loves nothing more than to explore the Lake District. We have spent hours, days and even weeks exploring the Lake District fells and enjoying the buzz of reaching that summit. However, recently our work commitments have led us to explore more of West Cumbria and we have been incredibly surprised.

Having been born, and bred, here in Cumbria I am now wondering why it is I haven’t explored the west coast of Cumbria in more depth? Why is it that so many of us feel compelled to head into the Lakes, leaving the stunning west coastline abandoned? My family and I are guilty of it and when we were invited to carry out some work over in Whitehaven, I will admit at first I was sceptical. Below I have listed a few of our favourite walks over on the west coast of Cumbria. I hope that you too decide to change one of your day trips this summer to head over to enjoy the beauty that you will find on this west coast. We all know how busy the Lake District will become in the coming months, why not head west for a quieter family walk, I assure you your children will not be disappointed.

Whitehaven Harbour:

We were required to lead a group walk around the recent Tale Trails route of Whitehaven Harbour. For anyone unfamiliar to the Tale Trails work please do visit their website and view their fantastic easy to follow maps and stories for children.

On this occasion The Hiking Household led a group of eager, and very excited families, on The Cormorants Tale around Whitehaven Harbour. WOW! Why had nobody told me this walk was so breathtakingly beautiful? We spotted Long Tom’s rock, where the children were searching hard to see a cormorant bird, and we learned of the incredible mining history of this town. Most of the families were shocked to hear children as young as FIVE were required to work in the mines for twelve hours a day! We then headed off in search of Fairy Rock to make a wish before heading back to Whitehaven Harbour.

What a walk! The route was approximately 3km in length, with an added option to walk a further 3km to Barrowmouth Bay. Whilst this route is pram friendly it can be steep at the beginning, please do take care. At the time of writing (April 2022) there is construction work being carried out possibly restricting pram access. Please see a full review of the walk here.

Fleswick Bay

Wow, wow, wow! Please tell me I am not the only one who has only just found out about this hidden gem? Fleswick Bay can be found close to St Bees, a village situated on the west coast of Cumbria between the towns of Whitehaven and Egremont. Fleswick Bay offers breath-taking views out to sea and on a clear day you can see the Isle of Man! The escapades you will have finding this hidden bay are sure to keep your children of all ages entertained. Don’t forget to check the tide times before embarking on this adventure to ensure you can reach the bay, and look out for a few hidden caves!

Again, there is a wonderful Tale Trails map starting from St Bees promenade marking out a lovely cliff top walk, whilst following the story of The Kittiwake’s Tale. Click here for further information.

On this occasion we took a shorter route to reach Fleswick Bay and our route description and further details can be found here.

Coulderton to St Bees

This is yet again another fantastic path to explore along the west coast of Cumbria. Follow the freshly made English Coastal Path and walk along the coast until you reach the village of St Bees. This three-mile route offers some beautiful views; as well as getting some much needed sea air. My children always sleep so much better after being outside in the sea air. For full route details please click here.

St Bees is another village that often gets overlooked. Did you know that St Bees is the start of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk, devised be Alfred Wainwright in 1973! Considering there are many conversations about Alfred Wainwright in our house, I can’t believe it has taken us so long to visit this village! Please do take a visit here this summer; it is a beautiful little village with a promenade offering ice cream, fish and chips and of course the opportunity to head down to the beach for your children to enjoy more of that sea air!

We have mentioned only three of the many walks along the west coast of Cumbria. We are making it our mission over the coming summer months to explore more of this beautiful, yet overlooked, part of Cumbria. Please do keep an eye out on our webpage, or instagram, for more walks along this stunning coastline.