Walk · North Yorkshire

Whitehaven clifftop to Haig Pit and Saltom Bay

Whitehaven · CA28 9BA
N 440 YD
3.2MILES
1h 45mON FOOT
150mCLIMB
Out & backSHAPE
Off-road 85% 15% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 60%Lane & track 25%Road with traffic 15%

Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.

Starts at
The Candlestick, Wellington Terrace, above Whitehaven harbour CA28 9BA
Parking
Free roadside parking on Wellington Terrace and Bransty Row, plus a free car park at the Haig Colliery site partway along; Wellington Terrace fills with residents' cars by early evening
Directions to the start →

South out of the town on the England Coast Path, climbing from the Candlestick along the edge of Kells to the winding house at Haig Pit and then on above Saltom Bay, where the ruins of Saltom Pit sit on a shelf below the cliff. The path is wide grass and cinder track with the drop fenced most of the way, but the last section down to the Saltom shelf is steep and loose and is better done on a lead. Wind off the Irish Sea is the defining feature; there is no shelter and no water on the route, so carry some. Turn round at Saltom and come back the same way, or carry on to Sandwith.

THE SMALL PRINTOn the England Coast Path and its coastal margin, Natural England's published rule is that dogs must be kept under effective control at all times and on a short lead of no more than 2 metres at all times near livestock. The clifftop fields above Saltom are grazed. Kells Play Area (CA28 9BA) beside the start is a Schedule C dog exclusion area under Cumberland Council's PSPO.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
REGION · NORTH YORKSHIRE
GRID · 54.5470, -3.5947
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.GOV.UK/GUIDANCE/OPEN-ACCESS-LAND-MANAGEMENT-RIGHTS-AND-RESPONSIBILITIES
Also in Whitehaven
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Stay DOGS WELCOME

Moresby Hall

CA28 6PJ
No reviews yet

A Grade I listed seventeenth-century house with walled gardens at Moresby, two miles north of Whitehaven and a mile inland of the Parton shore walk. The hotel's own site states that it is a dog-friendly hotel and that you can bring well-behaved dogs to stay, so dogs are taken in the bedrooms as well as the public rooms. Rooms start around one hundred pounds a night for a double, super king or twin, with four-poster rooms, a lodge and a studio apartment above that. There is a restaurant open for dinner every evening and Sunday lunch, and the grounds are large enough for a last walk before bed.

VERIFIED 30 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
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Pub DOGS WELCOME

The Anchor Vaults

CA28 7JB
No reviews yet

A drinking pub on Market Place in the middle of Whitehaven, two minutes from the harbour and on the line of the Coast to Coast walk. The pub's own site states that it welcomes well-behaved dogs into the whole pub, not just one room, which is unusual for a town-centre bar and makes it the easiest stop in Whitehaven if you are coming off the cliffs. It is a bar rather than a kitchen, so treat it as a drink stop rather than a meal, and there is step-free access from Market Place.

In the bar Treats
VERIFIED 30 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
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Restaurant SOME LIMITS

The Peddler

CA28 7XE
No reviews yet

A day-to-night cafe, bar and restaurant in the converted bus station on Bransty Row, a minute from Whitehaven station and the start of the walk north to Parton. Its own site says your dogs are welcome in the bar area, and does not extend that to the restaurant, so the bar is the place to sit. Food runs from breakfast at half past nine through to nine in the evening Wednesday to Saturday, with shorter hours on Monday and Tuesday.

In the bar
VERIFIED 30 JUL 2026 VIEW ›

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