I'd been planning and putting off a trip to this cliff top walk and RSPB reserve in Cumbria for a couple of years now and had determined that today was going to be the day.

I was up at 5am and set off shortly after, for the 3½ hour trip from Blackpool to the village of St Bees.

The train station is a 10 minute/½ a mile walk to the beach, from where the cliffs meet the shore and provide egress for the ascent.

The weather men and women had promised clear skies...