Walk · Cumbria

Whitehaven Harbour, the West Pier and the Candlestick

Whitehaven · CA28 7LR

2.4MILES

1h 15mON FOOT

90mCLIMB

CircularSHAPE

The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland

Off-road 45% 55% shares tarmac with cars

Field & moor path 35%Lane & track 10%Road with traffic 55%

Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at

West Strand, Whitehaven harbour, by the Beacon Museum CA28 7LR

Parking

Pay-and-display on West Strand and Harbourside, roughly 200 spaces between them; fills on summer Saturdays and during harbour events, with free on-street parking up on Irish Street as the fallback

Directions to the start →

The town's own short circuit: out along the West Pier to the little lighthouse at the harbour mouth, back round the Old Quay and the Sugar Tongue, then a pull up Wellington Terrace to the Candlestick, the tapered chimney of the old Wellington Pit that stands over the town. Underfoot it is pier stone, quayside setts and pavement, so it works in any weather and at any state of the tide, and the harbour rails mean a dog can be off the road the whole way along the water. Cumberland Council's PSPO puts no restriction on the harbour, the piers or the streets; the restrictions nearby are on the grass, not the quay. Finish down Duke Street and Lowther Street back to the Strand.

THE SMALL PRINTThe quays and piers are unrestricted. Under Cumberland Council Public Spaces Protection Order (No. 1) 2024, Castle Park (CA28 7AL) and Trinity Gardens (CA28 7DG), both a few minutes off this route, are Schedule B dogs-on-lead areas, and the play area at Castle Park, Flatt Walks and St Nicholas's Gardens (CA28 7DG) are Schedule C dog exclusion areas. Breach is an offence liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

REGION · CUMBRIA

GRID · 54.5498, -3.5931

SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.CUMBERLAND.GOV.UK/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/2025-05/APPENDIX%201%20PUBLIC%20SPACE%20PROTECTION%20ORDER.PDF

Whitehaven Harbour, the West Pier and the Candlestick

Abby's Café

Akash Tandoori

Ali Taj Tandoori Takeaway

Cottages you can book near Whitehaven

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