St Bees - A Cumbrian Coastal Village
St Bees is a popular coastal holiday destination, thanks to its long sandy beach and the nearby cliffs of St Bees Head; the only Heritage Coast between Scotland and Wales and home to a large RSPB sea bird reserve. The beach has a promenade, toilets, play park, camp site and hotel, shop and cafe. It is the start of the 182-mile Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk to Robin Hood’s Bay. It’s only a few miles from the Lake District National Park, making it an ideal base to explore the Western Lakes.
The village’s history goes back over 1,000 years. It has a large Norman church dating from 1120 dedicated to our own Saint Bega, and an Elizabethan school founded in 1583. The charming Main Street curves up from the railway station, and has pubs, a shop and a railway museum.
See us on “Villages by the Sea” – First broadcast on BBC 2 December 2024. – Click here for link to episode on iPlayer.
Visitor information
How to get here? – What to do? – where to stay?
Beaches & Heritage Coast
There is a large sandy beach, with car park, cafe and play park at the north end.
Walking
Wainwright Coast to Coast, the England Coast Path, and other walks
Sport & Leisure
Indoor, outdoor, dry or wet, opportunities are many
St Bees village web site was created over two decades ago and now has over 500 pages. The site is continually improved and comments are welcome to sbwebmaster@stbees.org.uk .
The domain name stbees.org.uk is owned by St Bees Parish Council, and the web site is written and maintained by volunteers.
