Exploring the Whitehaven Coast

Remains of industrial workings jut out from cliffs above a grey sea on the Whitehaven Coast, Cumbria — Remains of industrial workings on the Whitehaven Coast | © National Trust Images/Joe Cornish

Only 5½ miles from the border of the Lake District National Park, the Whitehaven Coast stretches south from the 18th-century harbour of Whitehaven towards the sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head. From carpets of colourful wildflowers to thousands of nesting seabirds, there's lots to discover when exploring this part of the world.

Autumn Highlights

Autumn is the time for migrating to warmer destinations but where is this warmer south? Believe it or not, for swans and geese, it's here in the UK. Even in this far north-west corner of England on the Whitehaven Coast (you can see Scotland across the Solway) it's still warmer than the places they're leaving.

Travelling vast distances of 800 miles or more, pink-footed geese and swans are first to arrive and rest in estuaries where they find flat ground to land on and plenty of food in the form of plants growing on salt marshes or in fields.

Rest stop at the Solway Firth

The Solway Firth is a vast area which spans from the Mull of Galloway in south west Scotland to St Bees head in north west England. It contains many small estuaries and is an ideal rest place for these birds such as the pink-footed goose. With such good views over the Solway, the Whitehaven Coast is a great place to spot vast flocks on the move, some of which may travel on further south to over winter in the Ribble estuary or cross the country to the Wash where there can be over 300,000 of them.

Swans too, mostly Whooper, also make the journey from Iceland and, like the geese, you can see them flying in V formations along the coastline to help them navigate their way to the south west of the country. However some stay locally in the Solway area, in a good year around 600 might stay put.

Later into October come the Barnacle geese from Svalbard, almost their entire population overwinter on the Solway, some 30-35,000 birds. A great place to see the birds resting and feeding is Campfield Marsh RSPB reserve at Bowness on Solway.

Single whooper swan in flight against a grey coastline — Whooper swan migrating south as the weather gets cooler | © National Trust Images / Derek Hatton

Skeins flying north for winter

You may see the V formations heading north, this can happen when the birds overshoot the Solway, with such long journeys to make, energy is key and food and rest is essential, as such these birds should not be disturbed when on the ground.

Why not do the walk from Whitehaven to St-Bees, along the Colourful Coast, and look out for the migrating birds on your way? You can catch the train one way and walk back along the cliffs. Wrap up warm and don't forget your binoculars.

Wildflowers on the Whitehaven Coast

Every autumn, between 3,000 and 10,000 bulbs are lovingly tucked into the soil around the entry and exit points to the clifftop site, so that, come spring, there is a riot of early colour to greet you.

The show begins in January and February with snowdrops, followed by crocuses and dwarf irises. Then, from March through to June, you'll see daffodils, Chionodoxa, Ornithogalum, Ixia, Anemone, fritillaries, hyacinths, tulips, bluebells, alliums, chives and Eremurus.

‘My personal favourites are the snowdrops. They're the first flowers of the new year, signalling the season to come and lighting up the dark ground. But I also love the exotic patterning on the snake's head fritillary.’

- Chris, Whitehaven Coast Ranger

Alongside the planted bulbs, wildflowers flourish on the old mining sites. On the Haig Colliery site, there's a pretty show of wildflowers to enjoy. Yellow primroses, cowslips and coltsfoot come in February and March, heralding the arrival of spring.

In April, the fritillaries are out, amazing visitors with their chequerboard-pattern flowers. By June, kidney vetch and bee orchid are among favourites to spot. August brings red bartsia and heather, along with many other fine blooms such as grass vetchling, a delicate pink flower that's a local rarity.

If you look closely, you’ll see bird's foot trefoil, hairy tare, black medic, and red and white clover, all of which fix nitrogen from the air to enrich the ground. Can you find the elusive scarlet pimpernel?

Wildlife spotting

Seabirds

The most reliable animals to spot when you’re taking a walk along the Whitehaven Coast are the seabirds that can be spotted from the harbour to the cliffs.

In the harbour, see the barnacle geese and swans that over-winter here. You'll probably hear the colony of jackdaws on Wellington Terrace, especially in spring as they make nests in the drainage holes in Wellington Pit’s old walls.

A stonechat sits on top of a gorse bush at the Solway salt marshes in Whitehaven — Stonechat on gorse at the Solway salt marshes, Whitehaven | © National Trust Images/John Malley

Thousands of nesting birds inhabit the Whitehaven Coast, including England’s only breeding colony of black guillemots.

At the Candlestick, train the available telescope onto South Shore and try to spot the red shanks, oystercatchers and cormorants resting on Tom Hurd’s Rock. If you head up to the meadow areas on the clifftops, you'll be able to see starlings and herring gulls regularly feeding. If you're lucky, you may even see a grey partridge or a goldfinch.

The old mine buildings provide homes for kestrels and barn owls, which you might just see hunting around the clifftops. And during the summer, watch the swallows swoop and skim the meadows for food.

Butterflies and amphibians

Look out for the common lizard on the Wagon Way walls, and slow-worms in the scrubby grassland next to Solway Road. Common blue butterflies can be found around Haig and on the cliff edges, wherever there are trefoils growing. And if you look out for creeping thistles, you can often spot orange soldier beetles hanging out, as well as creatures such as peacock butterflies and aphids.