This small market town, serving the livestock farmers of the upper Eden Valley, is not quite the halfway point of the Coast to Coast walk, but it is a good place to pause and perhaps take a day’s rest before tackling the Yorkshire Dales. There is a good choice of places to eat, some shops, and a wide choice of accommodation of various degrees of comfort, including a youth hostel. The town’s train station is a mile and a half away up a steep hill, with several trains daily in each direction, which could be useful if you are returning to St Bees from this point. Alternatively you could use the train service from Leeds to start the second half of the Coast to Coast walk at Kirkby Stephen.