Photographs of the popular seaside village of St Bees on the West Cumbria Coast.
Whitehaven - Egremont and Beckermet - Gosforth, Drigg and Seascale
Guillemot - Uria aalge.
Guillemots on the red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head, St Bees, Cumbria.
Guillemot - Uria aalge.
Guillemots on the red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head, St Bees, Cumbria.
Razorbill - Alca torda.
Razorbills on the red sandstone cliffs of St. Bees Head on the west coast of Cumbria.
The start of the Coast To Coast Walk, St Bees Bay, Cumbria.
The 190 mile Coast to Coast walk to Robin Hood's Bay on the East Coast starts at this spot on the beach of St Bees Bay.
Receeding tide at St Bees Bay, St Bees on the West Cumbrian Coast.
South Head rises in the distance.
Groynes on the beach at St Bees near Whitehaven, Cumbria.
A view of South Head from St Bees Bay on the West Cumbria Coast.
Sea-washed pebbles on the beach at St Bees Bay on the West Cumbria Coast.
St Bees Bay on the West Cumbria Coast.
A southerly view down the sands of St Bees Bay from the pink thrift-edged cliffs of South Head.
St Bees Bay on the coastline of West Cumbria.
A southerly view down the sands of St Bees Bay from the cliffs of South Head.
South Head viewpoint, St Bees near Whitehaven on the West Cumbria Coast.
Viewfinder plates have been mounted on the remains of the old Tomlin Coastguard Lookout Station.
St Bees Head, St Bees, Cumbria.
The red St Bees Sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head are the most westerly point of Northern England. The 200 million year old sandstone cliffs are a Heritage Site and a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest for both geological and biological reasons). The cliffs are the only breeding site in England for black guillemots.
The sandstone formations at Fleswick Bay, St Bees near Whitehaven on the West Cumbria Coast.
The dramatic wave washed floor and cliffs of Triassic sandstones belong to the St. Bees Sandstone formation, laid down about 200 million years ago.
Sandstone fingers in Fleswick Bay, St Bees near Whitehaven on the West Cumbria Coast.
Wonderful rippling in the water-sculpted platforms of St. Bees Sandstone, formed in the Triassic Period about 200 million years ago.
"The stone is grained,
Smooth as walnut turned on a lathe,
Or hollowed in clefts and collars where the pebbles
Shake up and down like marbles in a bottle.
Here the chiselling edges of the waves
Scoop long fluted grooves, and here the spray
Pits and pocks the blocks like rain on snow
Slowly the rock un-knows itself."
Norman Nicholson.
From The seven rocks: St Bees’ sandstone’.
(Norman Nicholson, Collected poems. Ed. Neil Curry. Faber & Faber 1994)
St Bees Head, St Bees, Cumbria.
The red St Bees Sandstone cliff of St Bees Head is the most westerly point on Northern England. The 200 million year old sandstone cliffs are a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest for both geological and biological reasons). The cliffs are the only breeding site in England for black guillemots.
St Bees Lighthouse, St Bees, Cumbria.
There has been a lighthouse at this site on St Bees Head since 1718, but the foundation stone for this light was laid in 1865 and was first lit in 1867. It was autmomated in 1967.
A walker on the gorse-lined track passing St Bees Lighthouse to reach St Bees Head in Cumbria.
There has been a lighthouse at this site on St Bees Head since 1718, but the foundation stone for this light was laid in 1865 and was first lit in 1867. It was autmomated in 1967.
The old fog signal station on St Bees Head, St Bees, Cumbria.
The fog horn last sounded in 1987.
St Bees Priory, St Bees, Cumbria.
The former monastic chapel dating from 1190 and the early 20th century lych gate of the Church of St Mary and St Bega.
The West Door of St Bees Priory: The Priory Church of St Mary and St Bega, St Bees, Cumbria.
This magnificent West Door is thought to date back to 1160.
The 12th century Priory, standing on the site of an earlier church, was a Benedictine Priory until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539.
St. Bees is named after St. Bega, an Irish princess who landed here about 900 AD after sailing across the Irish Sea to avoid an enforced marriage to a Viking chieftan.
Ancient stone lintel and waymarker, St Bees Priory, St Bees, Cumbria.
This stone lintel with both Scandinavian and Celtic influence shows St Michael slaying a dragon, and is dated around 1120. It may have been from the first Norman church on this site. It was perhaps disposed of when the new West Door was built about 20 years later. The lintel was discovered in the 1800s during restoration work.
Below the lintel is a cross which once stood at the top of the hill on the main road to Whitehaven. It was probably a 'sanctuary cross', marking both the boundary of the parish, and a resting place on a coffin road. The coffin roads date from medieval times when many West Cumbrian parishes did not have the licence to bury their dead, and bodies needed to be carried to St Bees. Grade 1 Listed.
A 10th century Celtic cross in the old churchyard of St Bees Priory, St Bees, Cumbria.
This anglo-saxon cross is decorated with interlace and animals. At that time there would have been no individual grave markers and this one cross would have served for all in the graveyard. Grade 1 Listed.
The Sleeping Child Garden, St Bees Priory, Cumbria, England.
A poignant sculpture, the Adoration of the Holy Innocents by the renowned artist, Josefina de Vasconcellos.
Josefina wanted to create a tranquil space for all those who have suffered the loss of a baby or young child. She hoped that this tranquil little garden in the grounds of St Bees Priory would bring comfort to grieving families.
War Memorial, St Bees Priory, St Bees, Cumbria.
The 1919 war memorial in the churchyard of the Priory Church of St Mary and St Bega. This memorial was designed by the famous writer and artist, W G Collingwood, who worked with John Ruskin.
St George War Memorial, St Bees, Cumbria.
This 1920 war memorial, designed by local artrist J. D. Kenworthy, depicts St George slaying the dragon.
The Quadrangle, St Bees School, St Bees, Cumbria.
The north section (to the left of the photo) dates from 1587, the rest being 19th century additions.
The level crossing at St Bees, Cumbria.
St Bees level crossing and the 1891 signal box. St Bees Priory can be seen in the distance.