Mile Zero - Arrival at St Bees
22.06.13
A safe but long drive from Bournemouth to St. Bees, broken by a surprise detour to Mum's in St. Helens. It was lovely to see her, even if it was just a flying visit. The last hour of the journey was through some splendid scenery, hugging the shore of the Irish Sea on one side and the hills and valleys of the western lakes on the other. Can't wait to hit the trail. As soon as we had checked in to our B&B (our room was actually a self catering flat, very spacious), we headed into the village to find the start of the walk. I hope the weather isn't a taste of things to come as it was very windy and raining heavily. The hilltops were shrouded in mist and black clouds loomed. Can only get better (famous last words!) It also noticeably colder than 'dahn sarf' and so I have prepared several layers and full waterproofs for tomorrow.
St. Bees is named for St. Bega, an Irish princess who fled her homeland somewhere between the 6th and 9th century to avoid an arranged marriage. St. Bega lived as a hermit and became renowned for the good deeds she carried out for the locals. Legend has it that she approached Lord Egremont for land to build a nunnery. He said he would grant her as much land as was covered by snow in the morning; a bit mean as it was midsummer's day. Miraculously the snow fell overnight and the nunnery was founded.
The village is dominated by the Norman priory and the Grammar School, set around an elegant quadrangle, which was founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury. Pete selected a pebble for me to carry to Robin Hood's Bay, which I will deposit in the North Sea in order to confound future geology students. We had a very tasty lamb shank dinner washed down with a pint of Jennings Summer Pale Ale, I swotted up on the maps for tomorrow and we headed back for a bath and an early night.
St. Bees is named for St. Bega, an Irish princess who fled her homeland somewhere between the 6th and 9th century to avoid an arranged marriage. St. Bega lived as a hermit and became renowned for the good deeds she carried out for the locals. Legend has it that she approached Lord Egremont for land to build a nunnery. He said he would grant her as much land as was covered by snow in the morning; a bit mean as it was midsummer's day. Miraculously the snow fell overnight and the nunnery was founded.
The village is dominated by the Norman priory and the Grammar School, set around an elegant quadrangle, which was founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury. Pete selected a pebble for me to carry to Robin Hood's Bay, which I will deposit in the North Sea in order to confound future geology students. We had a very tasty lamb shank dinner washed down with a pint of Jennings Summer Pale Ale, I swotted up on the maps for tomorrow and we headed back for a bath and an early night.