Cumbrian Coastline Walk

18 May 2024, 09.45

Whitehaven

Bereaved parent and TCF volunteer Sheila writes...

Hi! I am Sheila and am looking forward to leading this walk from Whitehaven on the west Cumbrian coast, with my faithful spaniel cross Rosie. We invite bereaved parents, grandparents and adult siblings to join us, and well-behaved dogs are also welcome. It will be an opportunity to chat to others while benefitting from some exercise and fresh air in beautiful surroundings.

We will walk up a steep flight of stairs from the marina and then pass above the harbour where you will see the 2 recently refurbished lighthouses. From there we will follow the coastal path in the direction of St Bees although we are only going to walk as far as Birkhams Quarry near Sandwith. Other than a steep set of stairs and a short climb on a good path at the start we will follow relatively flat paths and tracks although some parts can be quite muddy. At the quarry we will stop for a “brew with a view” before retracing our steps back to Whitehaven where you are welcome to join us in a local café for some lunch or there are benches overlooking the marina if you would prefer to bring a packed lunch.

The walk is about 5 miles in length and at a steady pace, with a short break mid-way, it should take around 2.5 hours. Please remember this is a rural walk so you should have a reasonable level of fitness, wear sturdy footwear and bring waterproofs.

Once you book, we will share the exact meeting for the start of the walk with you about a week in advance. Please note that there are car parks close by the meeting point and Whitehaven train station on the Cumbrian Coast Line is a short walk away from our meeting point, too **

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Please note that our peer support is for parents bereaved of a child from one month old to an adult son or daughter, from any cause.

We are sorry but if your loss is within the last 3-4 months, we think it would be best to wait a little longer before accessing our support walks – new walk dates are added on a regular basis here. We hope to welcome you at a future walk.

We look forward to meeting those who have walked with us before, and also welcoming those who are new to our walks. 

If you haven’t yet walked with us, please don’t feel daunted or apprehensive about joining. You will very quickly find yourself in a friendly, supportive community of others who are similarly bereaved.

** We will be sending out a welcome email about a week before the walk to give you more information and meeting point details. This email comes from info@tcf.org.uk so please look out for it (please also be aware that it can sometimes go into junk or spam folders, so do check there if you have registered for the walk and haven't received details)

We ask that we stay together as a group for the duration the walk. Thankyou.