Fleswick Bay — Attraction in St. Bees

Lovely spot for lovers of nature. Guillemots, gulls and kittiwakes nest on the red sandstone cliffs. Beautiful shale beach where one can find semi precious stones such as agates, jaspers and garnets. Engravings over a hundred years old (apparently) can be seen carved into the lower cliff faces. The bay used to be very popular with smugglers! We visited on a Tuesday in the summer holidays and only came across one more family on the beach, so it appeared fairly secluded. You can only reach the cove by foot or boat - it's just over a mile from the south at St Bees Head, and just slightly less the from Sandwith in the north. Handy tip: There's a little farm house up a single track lane from Sandwith towards the lighthouse, where parking is available at a small charge. We chose to set off from here as we'd already been to St Bees Head previously (where there is ample parking, cafe and kids playground), and because there a a couple of good viewpoints from which to see the birds. We could have spent an entire day there - the kids loved climbing the sandstone, looking for semi-precious stones and jumping the (fairly impressive) waves. Would highly...

This is one of West Cumbria's hidden gems. Beautiful and peaceful in equal measure with some stunning sea views as you walk to get to it. Not for anyone who has walking difficulties as there's a few difficult and slippy rocks to manage on the way down into the bay but nothing dangerous for anyone fit and sensible. Once down there though - wow! Just amazing. Take a picnic or barbecue and nice bottle of something and watch the sun go down in what feels like your own...

If you can manage the climb down and little scramble over some potentially slippery rocks, this is an astonishing oasis of paradise on the west coast. Take a picnic hamper with you on a sunny day and bask in a little cove which feels like your own private beach. As close to perfection as you'll get in Cumbria...