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St Bees Head


Coordinates: 54°30′14″N 3°37′56″W / 54.50398°N 3.63229°W / 54.50398; -3.63229

St Bees Head is a headland on the North West coast of the English county of Cumbria and is named after the nearby village of St Bees.

It is the only stretch of Heritage Coast on the English coastline between the Welsh and Scottish borders, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The sea off the Head is protected as part of the Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone. It lies on two long-distance footpaths, the Cumbria Coastal Way and Wainwright Coast to Coast. Both long-distance footpaths follow the edge of the cliffs, which rise to 90 metres above sea level, and afford spectacular views of the Cumbrian mountains and coast.

The true geographical head is the North Head, which is the most westerly point of Northern England 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 very popular bouldering area for climbers and there are a number of bolted climbing routes on the cliff itself.


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