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Whitehaven! Why on earth would anyone want to visit Whitehaven?

To borrow a response from mountaineering: Because it's there. Yes, years ago, the town was a bit down on its luck (and looks) but for the last couple of decades, things have changed for the better.

In fact, some would say that the former port has undergone a renaissance. In 1993, a company was formed to refurbish the harbour and parts of the town. Old buildings were demolished, a 40-metre tower, called the Crows Nest, with a viewing platform, was built, a sea lock was constructed to enclose the harbour and a marina was built.

Whitehaven, the dirty old coal town stuck out on the north-west coast, in Cumbria, has now become something of a visitor attraction. It doesn't try to flaunt itself; it just manages to combine its past with its present to make a very presentable picture.

Unfortunately, at the moment it is still probably better known for its yesterday than for its today.

From being a small fishing village, 17th-century Whitehaven suddenly found itself expanding. Coal meant wealth, the town was rolling in it, and the demand grew. So, too, did Whitehaven's population. With its booming port, which, in the late 18th-century could boast an impressive fleet of 448 ships, it also became a big importer of Virginian tobacco and Caribbean rum and sugar.

The link with America goes deeper. Mildred Warner Gale, the grandmother of George Washington is buried in the grounds of St Nicholas' Church.

In 1778, during the American war of Independence, a ship captained by John Paul Jones attacked the port. Some claim his raid was a success; others decry it as a damp squib. Whatever, it made Whitehaven the last British port to be attacked during that particular colonial contretemps.

And Whitehaven, the most complete example of planned Georgian architecture in Europe, is believed to have been the blueprint for the New York City street grid.

Fame indeed.

But back to the present.

All the millions of pounds spent in the last 20 years or so are paying dividends. More people are visiting; even if it's for just a couple of hours before or after a pleasant walk in nearby Wasdale. More come via train on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line.

Whitehaven's port area now has a continental feel; if the sun is shining and the wind is just a breeze, it's the perfect place to sit and take in the scenery – the marina and the Beacon museum, which tells the history of the town and its harbour, including the development of coal mining and its disasters.

The riches taken from the ground and beneath the Irish Sea – Whitehaven had the first and, ultimately, the largest undersea mine in Britain – were paid for in blood, sweat and tears. In the beautifully kept, and award-winning gardens of St Nicholas' Church is a small monument to all the children who died in Whitehaven's mines before the industry finally ended when the Haig Pit closed in 1986. It's now a mining museum.

St Nicholas' Church is, in fact, only a fraction of what it once was. A fire in 1971 destroyed the entire fabric of the church. Only the clock tower and main entrance survived.

Now it contains a small chapel, a resource centre used by local schools and youth groups and a splendid little caf run by volunteers.

Again, the perfect spot for a cuppa and a cake before a stroll around the glorious gardens.

Whitehaven has more than 250, mostly Georgian, listed buildings, many colourfully restored. They include the more substantial St James' Church, once described by architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "the finest Georgian church interior in the county". The tourist information centre, in the Market Place, is itself one of the town's many listed buildings. Whitehaven is also the starting point of the popular 140-mile-long C2C Cycle Route which travels along the Whitehaven-to-Ennerdale cycle path, through the scenic delights of the Lake District and on over the roof of England to the remote North Pennines before reaching the North-East coast.

And for those few who don't know, just around the corner, on the vast beach of St Bees, is the start (or finish, depending on which way you tackle it) of Wainwright's coast-to-coast walk.

Even if you're not feeling that energetic, it's worth the few-minute drive from Whitehaven over St Bees Head to the village itself for a walk on those endless sands.

And if it's raining...Well, this is the North-West. Make the most of it.

Whitehaven's new image

Haig Colliery Mining Museum, Solway Road, Kells, Whitehaven, Cumbria. CA28 9BG. Tel: 01946 599949. www.haigpit.com email: [email protected]

Tourist Information Market Hall, Market Place, CA28 7JG. Tel: 01946 598914. email: [email protected]

The Beacon Museum, West Strand, Whitehaven, Cumbria. CA28 7LY. Tel: 01946 592302. www.thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk. email: [email protected]

YP MAG 25/9/10