St Bees Head is a headland on the North West coast of the English county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

and is named after the nearby village of

St Bees St Bees is a coastal village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England, on the Irish Sea. Within the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland and a Site of Spec ...

. It is the only stretch of

Heritage Coast A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife ...

on the English coastline between the Welsh and Scottish borders, and is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The sea off the Head is protected as part of the Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone. It lies on two

long-distance footpaths A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...

, the Cumbria Coastal Way and

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalking, fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial ...

Coast to Coast Walk The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, ...

. Both long-distance footpaths follow the edge of the cliffs, which rise to 90 metres above sea level and have views of the Cumbrian mountains and coast.

North Head

The true geographical head is the North Head, which is the most westerly point of

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

and is the site of St Bees Lighthouse. During WW2 a radar station was operated from here, and some of the buildings can still be seen adjacent to the lighthouse. The foghorn building is to the west of the lighthouse, but is now disused. The lighthouse is still operating, but is unmanned. Next to the coastal path north of the lighthouse is Birkhams quarry which is still in use for extracting St Bees sandstone. The rocks on the sea platform at the North Head are now a bouldering area used by climbers, and there are a number of bolted climbing routes on the cliff itself.

Bird reserve

The

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

maintains a reserve, which includes

kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red- ...

fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

s, guillemots,

razorbill The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus ''Alca (bird), Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinus impennis' ...

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

s, shags and

herring gulls Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of its species are abundant and w ...

. It is the only breeding place in England for

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s. Several other birds are known to use this site regularly for breeding and these include the tawny owl,

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the subfamily Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the Family (biology), subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 s ...

, peregrine,

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

and the rock pipit, which is known to breed in only one other site in Cumbria. There are observation stations on the North Head footpath.

South Head

The South Head is known locally as "Tomlin" and dominates the long sandy St Bees Beach. At the top of the footpath from St Bees are the remains of the coastguard lookout. This now has a viewing table in its ruins.

Fleswick Bay

Between the two headlands is Fleswick Bay. This is accessible only on foot or from the sea, and consists of a shingle beach on a wave-cut platform bounded by high sandstone cliffs. The Coast to Coast Walk descends to the bay en route to the North Head.

Flora

The rugged cliff face supports diverse flora mainly due to the nature of the rock formations. Species found lower down are sea pink or thrift ('' Armeria maritima''), common scurvygrass (''

Cochlearia officinalis ''Cochlearia officinalis'', common scurvygrass, scurvy-grass, or spoonwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. The plant acquired its common name from the observation that it cured scurvy. Description ''Cochlearia offic ...

''), sea campion (''

Silene uniflora ''Silene uniflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the carnation family known by the common name sea campion. Description ''Silene uniflora'' is a perennial plant that forms a mat with stems growing outwards to as much as 30 cm. The ste ...

''), sea spleenwort ('' Asplenium marinum''), rock samphire (''

Crithmum maritimum ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. The sole species, ''Crithmum maritimum'', is commonly known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. It is found in parts of the Old World and is edib ...

'') and the rare rock sea lavender ('' Limonium binervosum''). Near the cliff top is bloody cranesbill ('' Geranium sanguineum'') wood vetch ('' Vicia sylvatica''), orpine ('' Sedum telephium'') and soft shield-fern ('' Polystichum setiferum''). Along the cliff top, there can be found dyer’s greenweed (''

Genista tinctoria ''Genista tinctoria'', the dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Its other common names include dyer's whin, waxen woad and waxen wood. The Latin specific epithet ''tinctoria'' means "used as a ...

''), western gorse (''

Ulex gallii ''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...

''), heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'') and bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'', commonly called bracken, brake, pasture brake, common bracken, and also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North ...

'').

Physical features

The cliffs are composed of a red

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

and

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

sandstone about 200 Million years old. St Bees sandstone was created by water-borne sand and has a very small grain size, making it a very workable stone still much in demand for building. The mica in the stone gives it a sparkling effect. St Bees sandstone occurs as far north as

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, but it is named after its most prominent outcrop here at St Bees. The

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

citation carries a description of the interesting geological features. On the headland itself is evidence of erosional features, wave cut notch and a

wave-cut platform A wave-cut platform, shore platform, coastal bench, or wave-cut cliff is the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion. Wave-cut platforms are often most obvi ...

. On St Bees Beach to the south to lessen the effects of

longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...

, a row of nine

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...

s have been put in place. Further south, St Bees Beach is backed by small mud cliffs which are a common place to study the glacial moraines that formed them. The shingle both at St Bees and Fleswick bay show a huge variety of glacier-borne stones.

Gallery

Image:Fleswick bay from the St Bees path.jpg, The North Head and Fleswick Bay seen from the St Bees path Image:Fleswick bay St Bees head.JPG, Fleswick Bay, looking south Image:North cliffs at Fleswick bay.jpg, The north end of Fleswick Bay Image:Isle of Man seen from Fleswick bay.jpg, The

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

seen from Fleswick Bay Image:St bees head fleswick bay wave cut platform.JPG, Wave-cut platform at Fleswick Bay Image:Fleswick cave.JPG, A cave at Fleswick Bay Image:Sandstone Cliff Formation at Fleswick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 77300.jpg, Sandstone cliff formation at Fleswick Bay

References

*Lakeland Rocks and Landscape, a Field Guide. The Cumberland Geological Society. Pages 62–68, The Permo-Trias of St Bees Headland, by Tom Shipp. *The Lakes - Rock Fax 04. Vertical Brain Publications. (Climbing guide)

External links

Guide for visitorsRSPB reserveSt Bees village web siteSSSI citation for St Bees HeadThe Cumbria Directory - St. Bees Head Heritage Coast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bees Head Beaches of Cumbria Geology of Cumbria Headlands of England Landforms of Cumbria Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1959 St Bees