St. Bees Head
Posted 29-04-10 at 12:27 AM by alanjns
Tags cumbria, gannet, guillemot, st bees head, stonechat
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 and plenty of sunshine - I got white clouds, rain and wind! Fortunately the rain was minimal - very light and was over and done with in about 10 minutes. The cloud was not an issue, I often prefer birdwatching if it's cloudy, the sun can obscure too many views and often hurts my eyes. it was the wind that was the issue. It was blowing a bloody gale on the day I was preparing to go up a cliff for the first time!!!!
Ok, I grant you, ropes and pulleys were'nt involved, but a steep, narrow footpath going up 300ft without a fence on the cliff-edge side was a bit of an issue, especially when you had to shout to hear the person next to you!!
Just in case there is anyone reading this who is deciding to go to the cliffs, let me be a bit clearer. There is a fence that goes along the cliff path, which encloses farmland. The path is on the other side of this, exposed to the edge. However, there are places where the path goes close to the edge and it is necessary to go through a kissing gate or over a stile onto the other side of the fence. In places, there are also parts of walls and embankments that are possible to lean on and look over - at your own risk.
Having said all of that, I reached the top and began the walk in relatively little time - panting like an asthmatic on 40 a day!!
There's isn't really anything much more to say about the walk - farmland on the right, the Irish sea and certain death on the left!! The edge of infinity and beyond adorned with gorse and grass and the wind of the Gods making your eyes water.
My sightings for the day were:
The Village:
Magpie
Blackbird
Collared dove
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Starling
The Cliffs:
Pied Wagtail
more Crows
Raven
Stonechat
Gannet - a lifer
Herring gull
Cormorant
more Jackdaws
Meadow Pipit
Lesser Black-backed gull
great Black-backed gull
Guillemot - a lifer
Linnet
Sand Martin
Yellowhammer - a lifer
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 and plenty of sunshine - I got white clouds, rain and wind! Fortunately the rain was minimal - very light and was over and done with in about 10 minutes. The cloud was not an issue, I often prefer birdwatching if it's cloudy, the sun can obscure too many views and often hurts my eyes. it was the wind that was the issue. It was blowing a bloody gale on the day I was preparing to go up a cliff for the first time!!!!
Ok, I grant you, ropes and pulleys were'nt involved, but a steep, narrow footpath going up 300ft without a fence on the cliff-edge side was a bit of an issue, especially when you had to shout to hear the person next to you!!
Just in case there is anyone reading this who is deciding to go to the cliffs, let me be a bit clearer. There is a fence that goes along the cliff path, which encloses farmland. The path is on the other side of this, exposed to the edge. However, there are places where the path goes close to the edge and it is necessary to go through a kissing gate or over a stile onto the other side of the fence. In places, there are also parts of walls and embankments that are possible to lean on and look over - at your own risk.
Having said all of that, I reached the top and began the walk in relatively little time - panting like an asthmatic on 40 a day!!
There's isn't really anything much more to say about the walk - farmland on the right, the Irish sea and certain death on the left!! The edge of infinity and beyond adorned with gorse and grass and the wind of the Gods making your eyes water.
My sightings for the day were:
The Village:
Magpie
Blackbird
Collared dove
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Starling
The Cliffs:
Pied Wagtail
more Crows
Raven
Stonechat
Gannet - a lifer
Herring gull
Cormorant
more Jackdaws
Meadow Pipit
Lesser Black-backed gull
great Black-backed gull
Guillemot - a lifer
Linnet
Sand Martin
Yellowhammer - a lifer
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Well done with the three lifers and for tackling the cliffs!
A head for heights is a must I would say.lol!!
A brill read and brill photo's to compliment the report!
Thanks for sharing, Alan.
Posted 29-04-10 at 10:13 AM by Little Sparrow
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Nice one Alan. Sounds an exciting walk. Well done - 3 lifers - your determination was rewarded.
IanPosted 30-04-10 at 02:24 PM by ijwilki
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A good report Alan. I have been to St Bees a few times and your report sums the place up. Pity you never got any Puffins or Black Guillemot.Posted 30-04-10 at 08:11 PM by JONNY74
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A nice report Alan,and I'm pleased that your efforts were rewarded with 3 lifers!
We'd already decided that this reserve wasn't suitable for me so gave it a miss last week and now that I've seen your pics am glad that we did!!Posted 04-05-10 at 07:04 AM by Twitcheruth
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Thanks for your comments everyone - it's an exhilarating place in more ways than one.
Ruth, I think you did the right thing. There is one section where you have to walk down into a gorge and then back up the other side. The path here is just wide enough for your feet and there are no fences or rails. I took a few pics of it and felt really unsteady holding the camera - I had to lean against the face of the gorge and take the pics one handed - it was the worst part of the whole thing. Don't look down when you're on a ledgePosted 04-05-10 at 10:19 PM by alanjns
Updated 05-05-10 at 05:48 PM by alanjns -
Thanks Alan,it's definitely not the place for me!!!Quote:Originally Posted by alanjns
Thanks for your comments everyone - it's an exhilarating place in more ways than one.
Ruth, I think you did the right thing. There is one section where you have to walk down into a gorge and then back up the otherside. The path here is just wide enough for your feet and there are no fences or rails. I took a few pics of it and felt really unsteady holding the camera - I had to lean against the face of the gorge and take the pics one handed - it was the worst part of the whole thing. Don't look down when your on a ledgePosted 05-05-10 at 07:45 AM by Twitcheruth
