Can anyone tell me anything about Whitehaven?

Looks like a really quaint place from what I can see from internet research - but not too busy. I'm wondering what people generally do for a living there?

Can anyone recommend a decent B & B but not too expensive?

Thanks for any info.

Yeah, I've been and refer you to the 'Where is the armpit of England' thread.

I went there last July to do a C2C bike ride and its a strange place.

A bit rundown and someone tried to break into my 10 yr old Polo without sucess. Mind you I did leave it on the street all week while I went biking.

Try this B&B - may seem a bit pricey, but it was extremely friendly and the breakfast was lovely.

Glenfield Guest House
Address: Back Corkickle
City: Whitehaven
Phone: 01946 691911

We visited Whitehaven about five years ago on a day out from our lakes holiday. I see no reason to go back there and cannot imagine having to spend a week there...YUCK!

I am from Cumbria and have been to Whitehaven loads of times - if you're going on holiday I'd recommend somewhere else

My mum and dad live near there. Although the surrounding areas are really nice, Lake District, coast etc, the towns in that part of Cumbria are very run down.

Whitehaven is probably the best of them, but isn't very nice really. Workington is even less attractive.

As for work, most people work at Sellafield, but they're not taking on people now and are making people redundant. There basically aren't many other employers in the area apart from shops etc and tourism. Unemployment is pretty high and there just aren't the employers in the area.

Can anyone tell me anything about Whitehaven?

Looks like a really quaint place from what I can see from internet research - but not too busy. I'm wondering what people generally do for a living there?

Can anyone recommend a decent B & B but not too expensive?

Thanks for any info.

I can see from the above postings that I'm not going to add anything too controversial! :D

It's a complete dump. It just happens to be a complete dump next to great countryside and the sea. The name sounds lovely, but the town aint. :gag:

I read somewhere recently that Whitehaven was the cheapest place in England to buy a seaside property. It's the cheapest for a reason, and that ought to convice you not to stay there!

Pop there for a couple of hours if you want to see the sea, but please stay somewhere else!!

Surprised by what a bad press Whitehaven's got on here - I lived in Egremont for a few years (about 10 mins away), and found it to be a nice little place really. It's not typically a holiday type town but the harbour is decent for a walk round, as are the cliffs nearby. Quite a lot of regeneration money has been spent there the last few years so there are a couple of attractions around the harbour (one's called the Needles Centre I think...?).

I would probably recommend visiting but not staying there. If you fancy a seaside trip to the Lakes then St Bees is the best place to go. It's a 10 minute drive from Whitehaven and has a really nice big pebble beach, lovely cliff top walks and nice little pubs. Always stayed at the Manor House when visiting back up there and that's a really nice little B&B:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g499561-d618070-Reviews-Manor_House_Hotel-St_Bees_Cumbria_England.html

I echo everyone else's sentiments - nice sounding but awful place. I went earlier this year and it just looked like Rotherham town centre at night.

I used to work with a teacher who came from there, she hated the in-bred, dark-ages, backward mentality of the residents (so many forumers will feel right at home if they go!)

The waterfront is quite nice and undergoing redevelopment, but it's mainly apartments.

Cockermouth is much nicer, has a gorgeous town centre and some great pubs and restaurants.

I went there for the day earlier this year on a warn sunny day and walked part of the coastal path. Found it to be a lovely, bright and clean place that looks like it's really trying to modernise itself and shake off its bad reputation. I think a lot of people slag it off because it's a working town rather than a resort, but I couldn't see anything particularly wrong with it.

Another bonus is that it's on one of the finest coastal rail lines in the UK, so if you don't drive it would be a good base for exploring places further down or up the coast.

If I'd not approached it from St Bees, or visited Cockermouth first I might have been more impressed. But I came in through a part of town littered with those modern small supermarket builds. I passed a Kwik Save, Netto and Lidl all within a few hundred yards of each other.

Things improved a little when I reached the harbour, but access was limited because of Heras fencing surrounding the new builds so I couldn't get near.

The main entertainment street - Swingpump Lane / Strand Street consisted of takeaway upon takeaway and grotty pubs.

But if you look at the pics here (http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/whaven.htm), you get a different impression of a Whitby-eske little fishing town.

Thank you everybody for your replies. :)

I didn't expect so many responses and all very helpful to my research.

Went there 2 yrs ago to St Bees Came home early.
Whitehaven terrible
Workington if you go make certain it's not closed and them there's Skaryport

Before moving to Sheffield about a year ago I lived in Whitehaven town centre for 5 years and I'm surprised at the bad press it's been given above. It's not perfect by a long way but it's hardly the ****-hole people are making it out to be.

The Marina and harbour are nice, it has a couple of decent attractions (The Beacon, The Rum Story) and a clutch of decent pubs and serving good food (I'd recomend Zest and The Mariners Way) all set in a pretty Georgian town centre with easy access to some sublime countryside. The person citing Swingpump Lane / Strand Street was at the wrong end of town and should have walked down to the harbour and market place where most of the pubs are.

I think it's a problem of perception. It's not a typical Lakeland town that people come to the Lake District looking for and is very much a working class place with a working harbour and a population mostly employed in heavy industry (Sellafield). As a result of this it can seem a bit "warts and all", compared to the more genteel towns like Cockermouth (where the white collar Sellafield workers all seem to live).

If you're planning to stay in the area for a week, I'd recommend St Bees over Whitehaven as it's a bit more idyllic, but Whitehaven would be fine for a weekend and definitely worth a day trip. I can't recommend a B&B though as I always stay with friends when I visit!

Avoid Workington, Maryport, and above all Cleator Moor, at all costs.

It's really strange along the coast there, I didn't dislike certain areas of it.... but I'd stay somewhere further into the lake district where it's much prettier.

Thanks for all the feedback.

We have decided to go elsewhere!

Haha, Cleator Moor - what a place! Frizzington's pretty pleasant too...

I went to Whitehaven about 15 years ago but can't remember anything about it.

I went to Whitehaven about 15 years ago but can't remember anything about it.

And today's prize for Most Valuable Contribution To A Thread goes to.....
:P

I went to Whitehaven about 15 years ago but can't remember anything about it.

I think it is probably for the best!

What about Penrith, my friend comes from there and it seems very nice, a good central place, for going sightseeing.

Silloth has a cracking Golf course!!!!

There's a lovely flock of sheep in a field near Wigton!