St Bees Head

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.

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.

[1] The RSPB maintains a reserve, which includes kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, puffins, shags and herring gulls.

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), western gorse (Ulex gallii), heather (Calluna vulgaris) and bracken (Pteridium aquilinum).

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.

Further south, St Bees Beach is backed by small mud cliffs which are a common place to study the glacial moraines that formed them.