- 2 nights
- Wildcamp at Blakeley Moss
- Campsite at Seacote Park
A weekend of sea kayak training meant another trip to St Bees. This time I went solo, heading up late on Friday night after work. I had a wild camp spot in mind, but trying to find it without my navigator in the dark led meant I got super lost and ended up driving up a farmers track up the side of a mountain! I finally found the quiet spot and quickly fell asleep. I woke to fantastic views of the lakes hills & the coast. After porridge and coffee I drove down into St Bees to meet the other paddlers.
The forecast was bad for Saturday, with strong winds and choppy water all day. We drove to Whitehaven, hoping to to find shelter, but the conditions were even worse so we ended up driving back to St Bees. When we finally got on the water we paddled out to the headland, and practised turning our boats in the wind. We then paddled South down the coast with a tail wind. When we turned North to paddle back up, the headwinds were really strong, and paddling into the force 5 winds was hard going. The landing at St Bees was my first attempt at a surf landing, and I was very happy to get back on dry land. After lunch, most of the paddlers had had enough paddling for one day, with only 3 hardy souls heading out for another session. I checked in at the campsite and warmed up with a hot chocolate. Paddlers Nic & Steve were staying at the same site, and so I popped around for a cuppa and chatted with them for an hour or so. I managed a short walk along the headland to catch the sunset, before cooking tea and going to bed.
The next morning conditions were much better, with low winds and a calm sea state. We paddled North toward Whitehaven, stopping at Fleswick bay for a coffee. We realised we wouldn’t make it all the Whitehaven today, so stopped at Saltom Bay for lunch and then turned back to St Bees.
Once we’d loaded the kayaks, we had a post-paddle icecreams and coffees at Hartleys Beach Shop. I broke up the long drive back with a traditional chippy tea at Windmill Fisheries. A tiring but fantastic weekend with some lovely people.