Whitehaven to Maryport
Distance: 25km (15.5 miles)
Height Gained: 210m
Public Transport: West Cumbrian Line trains roughly every hour between Maryport and Whitehaven (only trains on Sundays at 1447 and 1747). Bus 30/300/301 (Stagecoach, towards Whitehaven) three times an hour (every two hours on Sundays).
Parking: Pay car parks in centre of Whitehaven and Maryport. Free car parks on shorefront in Maryport.
A very surprising day through the industrial heart of West Cumbria, which is dominated by the unreal cliffs scoured from former slag heaps. A far nicer walk than one would imagine, the hills of Lowca Point giving way to the endless Solway shore.
Follow the main road south from the centre of Whitehaven and turn left up Bransty Road after the Tesco petrol station, then fork immediately left again to follow the railway line along the foot of the hill. At Redness Point and on round Tanyard Bay, the sandstone faces of Bransty Cliffs tower above. The cycleway joins the road again in Parton, turning left into the centre of the old village. Turn left at The Square and duck beneath the railway to follow the low shore around Parton Bay, where there was a quay until it was completely washed away in a storm in 1796.
After crossing Lowca Beck, turn right and join the road climbing the hill; to the right stands St Bridget’s church and the site of a Roman fort on the adjacent flat ground, but the onward route doubles back to the left. The path climbs steadily up above the slopes of Lowca Point, formed of molten slag from the iron smelting works in Lowca, to reach the remains of Micklam Brickworks. Drop back down through the bushes to the left and, after crossing Andrew’s Gill, join the vehicle track through the wind farm above Cunning Point. This joins another track heading steadily down the slope along the line of an old light railway towards Harrington. A WW1 pillbox stands on the last crest amid the eerily eroded shapes of Copperas Hill; these can be reached via a stile off the track and provide great views along this section of coast. The name copperas refers to iron sulphate or green vitriol, which was produced in an early 19th century chemical works nearby. Continue down the track and then road to the small enclave of Harrington Harbour, which was once surrounded by terraces and vast ironworks producing 60,000 tons a year. Later the site was used for magnesite works, which extracted magnesia from seawater for use in the brickmaking industry and covered the area in white dust.
Distance: 25km (15.5 miles)
Height Gained: 210m
Public Transport: West Cumbrian Line trains roughly every hour between Maryport and Whitehaven (only trains on Sundays at 1447 and 1747). Bus 30/300/301 (Stagecoach, towards Whitehaven) three times an hour (every two hours on Sundays).
Parking: Pay car parks in centre of Whitehaven and Maryport. Free car parks on shorefront in Maryport.
A very surprising day through the industrial heart of West Cumbria, which is dominated by the unreal cliffs scoured from former slag heaps. A far nicer walk than one would imagine, the hills of Lowca Point giving way to the endless Solway shore.
Follow the main road south from the centre of Whitehaven and turn left up Bransty Road after the Tesco petrol station, then fork immediately left again to follow the railway line along the foot of the hill. At Redness Point and on round Tanyard Bay, the sandstone faces of Bransty Cliffs tower above. The cycleway joins the road again in Parton, turning left into the centre of the old village. Turn left at The Square and duck beneath the railway to follow the low shore around Parton Bay, where there was a quay until it was completely washed away in a storm in 1796.
After crossing Lowca Beck, turn right and join the road climbing the hill; to the right stands St Bridget’s church and the site of a Roman fort on the adjacent flat ground, but the onward route doubles back to the left. The path climbs steadily up above the slopes of Lowca Point, formed of molten slag from the iron smelting works in Lowca, to reach the remains of Micklam Brickworks. Drop back down through the bushes to the left and, after crossing Andrew’s Gill, join the vehicle track through the wind farm above Cunning Point. This joins another track heading steadily down the slope along the line of an old light railway towards Harrington. A WW1 pillbox stands on the last crest amid the eerily eroded shapes of Copperas Hill; these can be reached via a stile off the track and provide great views along this section of coast. The name copperas refers to iron sulphate or green vitriol, which was produced in an early 19th century chemical works nearby. Continue down the track and then road to the small enclave of Harrington Harbour, which was once surrounded by terraces and vast ironworks producing 60,000 tons a year. Later the site was used for magnesite works, which extracted magnesia from seawater for use in the brickmaking industry and covered the area in white dust.
At a car park the far side of the marina, join the onward path – it is possible to bear right to follow a path along the top of the low bluff her, but the signed route stays along the shore. It is lined with ironstone defences made out of slag and arranged along the shore during WW2 against possible invasion. Nearing the striking white cliffs beyond Moss Bay, one starts to question their very nature; Jurassic-looking and riddled with caves and arches, they are actually formed entirely of spoil from the adjacent steelworks. Molten layers of heat-fractured metal, quartzite and slag were tipped into the sea and flowed into contorted waves, which the waves have exposed in patterns I find all the more haunting for their origin. The path on along their crest is soon obstructed by the vast site of the former Moss Bay steelworks on which Workington was built. The unique haematite ore, coal and limestone meant that the town was perfectly suited to the development of Henry Bessemer’s new converters for producing high quality steel, and from 1877 until its final closure in 2006 made the rails for tracks across the world.
Ducking back across the railway, follow a gravel path along its side past Salterbeck Resser and the edge of the steelworks’ site. You eventually emerge at a road and re-cross the railway, before turning left then immediately right on the edge of Derwent Howe Industrial Estate. Head up the steps beyond to climb up onto the whaleback slag heap of The Howe which stands proudly above the town. The spoil of the steel industry is now being mined for aggregate here, while the cliffs beyond are further startling precipices formed out of these waste products. Descend towards the car park on the headland, where you get a great view of this stretch of artificial coastline, white to the south and black to the north.
Ducking back across the railway, follow a gravel path along its side past Salterbeck Resser and the edge of the steelworks’ site. You eventually emerge at a road and re-cross the railway, before turning left then immediately right on the edge of Derwent Howe Industrial Estate. Head up the steps beyond to climb up onto the whaleback slag heap of The Howe which stands proudly above the town. The spoil of the steel industry is now being mined for aggregate here, while the cliffs beyond are further startling precipices formed out of these waste products. Descend towards the car park on the headland, where you get a great view of this stretch of artificial coastline, white to the south and black to the north.
Join the cycleway heading inland along the River Derwent to join the attractive quayside that leads into the centre of Workington. Keep left on the roads beyond, then turn left again by an old forge to skirt around the back of Derwent Park, home to Workington Town RLFC. Rejoin the main road to cross Northside Bridge, rebuilt after it collapsed in the floods of 2009 killing PC Bill Barker. Descend some steps the other side and turn right out towards the dock. At present, the route is signed right along the cycleway before crossing the railway, but it is a tedious 3.5-mile trudge along the tarmac all the way to the far end of Flimby. Turn right again just before the port and fork left to reach the striking black clifftops amid the Siddick Wind Farm; it is no surprise by now to learn that the sinister arch ahead is formed entirely from coal spoil, another ephemeral feature in a shifting coastline. Follow the path right over the headland then on round the bay beyond. Several paths weave across the undulating slag heaps until the shoreline flattens and you are squeezed between railway and new sea defences.
It is an unglamorous stretch to Flimby, dominated by chemical works, factories and the old workings of St Helen’s Colliery, whose spoil makes up most of the strange rocks on the beach. The paths are sandy and hard-going in places, but eventually the low cliffs of Risehow emerge as a welcome distraction. The path along the soft cliff edge here has worn away in places, so the route stays along the railway, joining the shore beyond. Stay along the low shore through the Maryport Coastal Park until the dock wall forces you inland to the dockside road. The route is not signed through Maryport, but stays along the pleasant marina-side to reach the bridge that leads over the River Ellen and into the town itself. Originally Ellenfoot, Maryport was renamed in 1749 after George Senhouse’s wife when he redeveloped it as a new port; its attractive Georgian marketplace at Fleming Square dates from this time.
It is an unglamorous stretch to Flimby, dominated by chemical works, factories and the old workings of St Helen’s Colliery, whose spoil makes up most of the strange rocks on the beach. The paths are sandy and hard-going in places, but eventually the low cliffs of Risehow emerge as a welcome distraction. The path along the soft cliff edge here has worn away in places, so the route stays along the railway, joining the shore beyond. Stay along the low shore through the Maryport Coastal Park until the dock wall forces you inland to the dockside road. The route is not signed through Maryport, but stays along the pleasant marina-side to reach the bridge that leads over the River Ellen and into the town itself. Originally Ellenfoot, Maryport was renamed in 1749 after George Senhouse’s wife when he redeveloped it as a new port; its attractive Georgian marketplace at Fleming Square dates from this time.
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