From Maryport the next fourteen miles are a mix of cycle track next to the railway line, and a bit of road, passing through a succession of places, largest being Workington, with a big port although I couldn't detect any activity. It is Sunday, I suppose, but I got the impression that the port may be in decline.
Workington marked the end of the flat part of the route and the start of hills. A very steep, very rough cycle track out of Harrington came as a nasty surprise. Whitehaven was the next large town, with a busy harbour but, surprisingly, no cafés, apart from Costa and Gregg's. I ended up in a bistro type place, where I had a started and a dessert in place of cake.
Took a risk and went over the cliff path from Whitehaven. Very steep to start, and then on a disused railway line climbing to the top, before descending to Sandwith, and inner to St. Bees. A very enjoyable route, which can't be said about most of the previous section.
St. Bees has happy memories for me. In August 2004, Tim, Ed and myself walked the Coast to Coast walk, 192 miles to Robin Hood's Bay. It poured with rain and we had to wade along flooded roads in Swaledale. Tim was 14 and Ed was just 13, so it was a big adventure and a huge achievement for them. And me!
I'm camping this time. Arrived after they closed again so it's £10 through the letter box if I leave early. I took a few pics of the start of the C2C and over a lovely curry I read my diary from our walk in 2012. "..Boys seem very friendly up, although they still like to hold my hand...". Happy times.
Wow. I had forgotten how young Tim and Ed were when you did the Coast-to-coast. Quite an achievement for them and quite a challenge to take them.
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