St Bees Station House : Review

Be aware, be very aware, when taking your children on holidays, it might start the beginnings of an adventure larger than intended. When Joan's parents took the kids on holidays in the Lake District like many families did in the sixties, they travelled by train to St Bees beach.

Lake District, Western Lakes, St Bees, Family Friendly, Short Breaks, Historic Retreats, Railway Carriages, Stations, Unique Conversions

Now Joan is a grandmother but her childhood memories kept bringing her back to St Bees. So when the station house went on sale, she had to buy it.
So there you have it, the Victorian waiting room converted to a home in the thirties is now her holiday cottage and it is part of the rather special Host Unusual collection. 

Family Friendly, Short Breaks, Historic RetreatsRailway Carriages, Stations, Unique Conversions

Perfectly situated, 10 minutes away from the beach and its RSPB reserve, not far from pubs and even closer to the medieval priory. It's a 15 minutes drive away from the shops at Whitehaven, sadly St Bees doesn't have any food store worth mentioning.

Short Breaks, Historic RetreatsRailway Carriages, Stations, Unique Conversions


Let me take you on a tour of the cottage:
The first thing you notice is the attention to details and the quirky little reminders that this was once..... a waiting room. The shape of the house: long and low. A lounge at one end and the main bedroom at the other. There are plenty of sweet little touches dotted here and there.

Lake District, Western Lakes, St Bees, Family Friendly, Short Breaks, Historic Retreats, Railway Carriages, Stations, Unique Conversions

My favourite room was the kitchen. No surprise there. Situated just off an out-a-room where it's possible to leave umbrellas and shoes. It's fully equipped and very functional.
                                                                                           picture courtesy of station house
There are two lounges and a terrace, so plenty of room for a family. Being the start of April and still chilly, there was no opportunity to use the patio. Both bedrooms are warm and comfortable.

St Bees Station House

Readers of Pebble Soup will know that I love new experiences but I would add a word of caution.

The Station House is off a platform. This is a working station with its, unique in the country, control room. This implies that trains will stop, people will alight and sometimes trains can stay stationary, engine running for up to 10 minutes and if that will warm the heart of train enthusiasts it might be disturbing at 6.45am.

On the other hand, the line connects with the lovely heritage steam train of Ravenglass and Esdale, and you would have to have a heart of stone not to fall for the miniature steam locomotives.

 Eskadale Heritage Train, Copyrighted Picture, Solange Berchemin

Fact Files:
Address: St Bees, CA27 0DN, United Kingdom
Tip: Ravenglass 'n Eskdale Steam Railway, Wasdale, Muncaster Castle, Buttermere and Wastwater are situated less than 15 miles away
Price varies expect to pay from £105/night with a minimum of two or three nights depending on the time of the year.

Disclaimer: Words are my own, I stayed 2 nights at discounted press-price. My thanks to the owners for their care and attention.


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