St. Bees is named after St. Bega, said to be an Irish princess who landed here, about 900 AD after sailing across the Irish Sea to avoid an enforced marriage to a Viking chieftan. On the site of an earlier church now stands the splendid 12th Century Priory Church of St Mary and St. Bega. The church was a Benedictine Priory until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539.
St Bees Head, a red sandstone bluff, forms one of the most dramatic natural features along the entire coast of North West England. There are four miles of towering precipitous cliffs, of 'St Bees sandstone', the red stone used for so many buildings in Cumbria.
A clifftop path going north from St bees takes you to Fleswick Bay, (reknowned for it's precious stones) between St Bees and St Bees Head. This is the first part of the Coast to Coast Walk.
An RSPB nature reserve on the headland is home to England's only colony of Black Guillemots. Puffins, terns and other sea birds can also be studied. There are observation and information points all along the headland.
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