I was greeted in the morning by a steady stream of walkers passing me as they set off from St Bees to do the “coast to coast walk” this finishes in Robin Hoods bay 180 odd miles away on the East coast.
Interestingly there was a big party of Dutch
walkers. Apparently the coast to coast path is greatly liked by the Dutch.
I chatted with them and they maintained their nation’s reputation for directness. “You are walking round the coast, are you not too old for this?” “Do you use sticks because you aren’t fit enough without them” were two that stood out.
However they were a good bunch and I shared my binoculars with them to look at the Guillemots on the cliffs of St Bees.
There were some English walkers too and I had some good chats before they turned off inland on their path and left me to push on to Whitehaven.
Whitehaven revived me with a Wetherspoons and then it was a steady plod along the railway line to Workington along a mercifully flat bit of coast after the hills and cliffs round St Bees.