Back home! – the old Coast to Coast Board

In 2013, the rather tired-looking Coast to Coast board on the wall at the sea front at St Bees, marking the start (or end!) of the walk, was replaced by a new one paid for by the Society. In the Spring 2016 issue of Footsteps, its Editor, David Johnson, wrote about him having repaired and restored the badly damaged old board, which had been rescued from a skip. The restored original board, pictured here, is an iconic item and has featured in the photographs of thousands of Coast to Coast walkers.

This restored board was included in the two Wainwright exhibitions at Keswick Museum in 2015 and 2016-7, but David’s wish had always been for it to be on display in a permanent home. Initial enquiries to the Council at St Bees, which seemed an ideal location, were unfruitful.

In May 2019, David was in St Bees and visited the Priory Church for the first time. Wainwright wrote fondly of this magnificent church in A Coast to Coast Walk (a guide book to the walk) and in the later large-format Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk (see, for example, the quote below).

During that visit, David noticed that at the back of the church there was an area with local information, including some on the Coast to Coast walk. He wondered whether this might be a home for the old board and contacted Philip Barratt, Chairman of the Friends of St Bees Priory, to suggest this. He was delighted to receive a positive reply on behalf of the Rev. Becky Gibbs and the four church wardens. In October, when David was next in the area, he was able to deliver the board, together with an explanatory notice to accompany it.

It is very pleasing that the old board is now ‘back home’, prominently displayed in the church for the benefit of visitors including those setting off on the wonderful experience that Wainwright described as ‘a walk from one side of England to the other’.

In Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk (p.14), Wainwright wrote: “The Church has interesting features and of special note is the Norman doorway, fortunately preserved throughout the many desecrations and deterioration of the fabric. It remains one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the country. It is a joy to see, a thing of beauty, a work of art. It is an inspiring prelude to the walk.”

So, if you are visiting St Bees, please take time to visit the church and see the old board. For those who completed the Coast to Coast Walk when it was on the sea-front wall, it will be case of visiting an old friend and bringing back happy memories.