St Bees

Transport & travel

By Rail to St Bees

St Bees, and indeed West Cumbria still has a rail link and we have both the steel industry and British Nuclear Group for that. The former because until recently, Workington on the West Coast line was the only place in the UK making rails for railways, and the latter because spent nuclear fuel is sometimes transported by rail to Sellafield.

The railway came to St. Bees in 1849 and, unlike all others in Cumbria (see (see Cumbria Railways)), the line still exists and the village is still well served with 14 passenger trains a day starting from Barrow-in-Furness or Carlisle. A survey has shown that a majority of Coast to Coast walkers use the train. Trains are run by Northern Trains and times and fares are available on 08547 48 49 50 (national phone line) or 0845 600 11 59 (Northern Trains).

Notes:
1.Trains are direct from Carlisle.

2.Penrith requires road transport to St. Bees

3.Change at Barrow or Lancaster for St. Bees.

See rail routes for overview of changing and termination

From the North (Glasgow Edinburgh, Newcastle)
Mainline train to Carlisle, then coast line train to St Bees. Some Carlisle trains terminate at Whitehaven (approx. 4 miles north, then taxi or bus to St Bees).

From the South
From the South travel via Barrow-in Furness, with some through trains starting from Lancaster. Otherwise change at Lancaster or Preston for Barrow. There are direct trains from Manchester Airport to Carlisle and Barrow.

Sundays
There are no trains direct to St. Bees on Sundays. Trains terminate at Barrow and Whitehaven.

The most picturesque route is via Barrow, the journey itself in an experience. The railway crosses the estuaries of southern Lakeland, and there are marvellous views of the Lakeland fells. Near St. Bees the scenery changes and the track is almost running along the beach for the last few miles. There are amazing seascapes from the carriage window. The down side is that there are fewer trains from barrow than from Carlisle.

St Bees Railway Station

Some train times are shown below as a general guide.

PLEASE NOTE - THESE ARE TO GIVE YOU SOME INDICATION OF TRAVEL TIMES.
THEY ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN AS DEFINITIVE TRAIN TIMES, AND ON YOUR HEAD BE IT IF YOU TAKE THEM AS GOSPEL!

For full and up to date information on train times, fares, etc. see

The train Line - Virgin trains - Railtrack - UK Public transport

What is a reasonable proposition for someone arriving on an overnight flight? By the time you collect your luggage, clear customs and wake up (probably in that order), have a coffee (to complete the process) it will be early to mid-morning. So reasonable trains to catch are listed below. These are times for Mondays to Saturdays (Saturday times usually are slightly different). Sunday trains are less frequent. To check these times and look for alternatives, use the links above for more details. Please make sure you search from wherever to Whitehaven or St Bees.

I must repeat - do NOT take these times as accurate. They are given as a guide using time tables available at the time of writing this page in 2004. I found them all by searching on The train Line and selecting the appropriate departure and Whitehaven as a destination.

Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

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