Where to stay? Cumbria Coastal Towns

There is engineering work on the line on all days from 30 August to 21 September to drain old mine water from Bransty Tunnel at Whitehaven.

Trains will be replaced by buses between Sellafield and Workington, with some revised rail timings.

On Saturdays to 12 September the bus replacements will start back from Millom, and on Sundays from Barrow.

On the weekend dates the buses are unable to serve Ravenglass station due to bridge heights. They will instead serve Muncaster Castle.
Other non served stations will be Kirkby in Furness (stops on the main road), possibly Bootle, Parton (stops on the main road), Nethertown and Braystones (taxi only, due to narrow roads).

It is going to be good fun.

For Roman ruins and Muncaster Castle it has to be Ravenglass. It is a small village, not a town. But you want to at least make that a stop on your way north.
Muncaster Castle is about 30 minutes walk from Ravenglass station via the Roman ruins at Walls and through the woods. Forget taxis and ubers. A taxi would have to be ordered from Gosforth, Seascale or Sims Motors at Eskdale.

You can actually stay in estate property at Muncaster Castle , otherwise the Pennington Arms at Ravenglass.

St Bees is a decent sized village with good walking and the Priory Church. You could even walk the coastal way from there to Whitehaven in a fairly relaxed 3 hours. It is the obvious choice.

Maryport has the important Senhouse Roman Museum. The town is trying very hard to reinvent itself, and does have a good harbour and marina. Very limited accommodation.
If you stayed in Maryport- the Waverley Hotel is the one good choice I can think of- next day take the coastal bus up to Silloth, thence Wigton to join a train.

I'm not sure why you are missing out Whitehaven with it's museums, harbour and Georgian St James' Church.

The buses are also unable to serve Whitehaven station due to bad parking, so will be using public bus stops just down the street.

Are you particularly wedded to heading north up the Cumbrian coast? The quickest train routes to York would be heading south, either back through Manchester or more interestingly changing at Carnforth and Leeds. You may already have covered this direction or may have good reason to head north but if not you could look at Grange-over-Sands or Arnside as possible coastal places to stay a night. Unfortunately the option to make a once in a lifetime guided walk across the otherwise treacherous sands between the two isn't available in September - the last walk is on Sunday 31st August. But they are lovely small places to spend a night and Arnside would allow some fine walking in the Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape.https://www.arnside-silverdale.org.uk/discover

Thank you so much for the thoughtful replies! I won't be doing this trip till the 24th of September, maybe there will be new challenges for trains and buses then... it all looks so easy on paper.
I think Ravenglass looks the best. I would love to visit Grange over Sands, and the Morecambe area, but decided to take the train north just to be on the coast while I'm in the area.
Thanks again!

Every one will be very disappointed if the line is not re-opened on time, as the closure has been being planned like a military operation for months.
Unless something truly unexpected is found there shouldn't be a problem.
The taxi numbers you might need are-
Gosforth Taxis - 019467 25308
Eskdale Taxis (Sims) 019467 23227

Do get one of them to run you up to Hardknott Roman Fort. Given a choice my option would be Eskdale Taxis.

Ravenglass was the end of a chain of coastal fortifications which continued from the end of Hadrians Wall, and also a naval base. A Roman road then ran East to Ambleside (whose fort you will have seen earlier in the trip) and beyond.
The dramatically located Hardknott Fort was on that road, a key fortification.
So not something you want to miss.
Some of the stones from Ravenglass Fort were "robbed" to help build Muncaster Castle, and others to build Muncaster Church (usually open 24/7)

UPDATE - Preparatory work for the closure of Bransty Tunnel took place last weekend.
That found problems regarding the condition of the ground for the heavy plant which will be needed, which requires remedial work to be designed and undertaken.
The tunnel is now closed until further notice. Locally a date of 1 November is being floated.
Buses are now in place between Sellafield and Workington.
The service between Barrow and Sellafield is heavily amended and reduced. Between Workington and Carlisle some services are retimed.
This is a fast developing situation, the above is all that is known currently.

This has a heavy impact on the locals, and the tourist trade.

That does change things a bit! I do really appreciate the information about changes on the trains. I just finished listening to Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island, and the idea of the Settle to Carlisle rail sounds really interesting. Thanks again for the help!

Yes the Settle and Carlisle line would be a good option.
If you are starting from Barrow (I'm pleased if you are, as the Furness Peninsula is way under-rated on here) then it's a 4 train job.
Barrow to Lancaster, Lancaster to Carlisle, Carlisle to Leeds, Leeds to York.
For best value you would book that as 4 separate Advance Tickets.
Well worth the ride.

For ease I would usually go Barrow to Preston, Preston to York - scenic in it's own way but far less so than the S and C.
You would book that as two separate Advance Tickets.

A further update on the Cumbria Coast trains, which is NOT currently on the National Rail or even Northern rail websites.
This is local information, which came in overnight.
From this week the buses have been running from Whitehaven (not Workington) to Sellafield.
From 25 August (possibly sooner) trains will be able to run up the coast from Barrow to Corkickle, and north of Whitehaven. Buses will run for the 5 minute ride across the town of Whitehaven from Corkickle Station to Whitehaven Station.
A temporary rail timetable (to be advised) will be in force.
This will last for several months until the tunnel work is complete.

The delay is due to the need to install a temporary buffer stop to end the line at Corkickle and adapt signalling arrangements.

Thank you for the new information. I still haven't booked that night between the Lakes and York. I have the rail pass, and do want to really see as much as I can with it. A run up the coast seems more workable now, with maybe a stay in Whitehaven.

In the centre of Whitehaven there are basically 4 places to stay currently -
The Chase Hotel (just up the street from Corkickle Station) £81 that night, they have a new website having recently changed ownership, so you currently have to book through booking. com;
Lismore Guest House (just along from St James' Church) £64;
Read Guest House (one time home of the painter Matthias Read)- they have a web site, but you have to call them to book;
The Georgian House (one time home of one of the Titanic's Engineers) £130.

As it's name suggests it is in one of the town's grand Georgian Houses.

There are several properties out of town (a bus ride away), also the out of town Premier Inn at £115- an astonishing price for where it is, and out of season.

Two other guest houses have quite recently ceased trading- one has been sold, the other is up for sale.

A further update on the situation. Buses are still running between Sellafield and Whitehaven as the engineers still have line possession of Corkickle Station.
There is a written commitment from Northern Rail to reopen to Corkickle next Monday. However that date has now slipped to at least 15 September. From next Monday buses are actually extended to run between Sellafield and Workington.
From 16 September onwards it is anyone's guess except to say that the times in all journey planners, including National Rail are totally incorrect.

I sure appreciate the update! I will be sure to check and recheck all the train schedules going forward, and be prepared for changing to a bus if necessary.