Coast to Coast Path, May 1–16

Earlier this month, my wilderness ranger friend Lynn and I walked across England—that's right, straight across, from coast to coast (as the trail is known). Though the route was anything but a straight line, curling and curving as it did around this lake or over that ridgeline—or charging right up a hill, if that was its mood. It was a path pieced together in the 1970s by fellwalker Alfred Wainwright, who coined the phrase "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing." Fortunately, we didn't have to seriously test that adage.

Wainwright wanted people to explore, to follow their own inclinations, to be able to continue walking even if the weather was poor, so his route includes various alternative stretches—which makes the distance difficult to pin down: 190 miles? 197? 215? It traverses three national parks—the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors—and incorporates stretches of existing paths, including some of England's second officially named "national trail," the Cleveland Way (1969). In 2025, the Coast to Coast Walk will become the 17th such path with heightened status.

Wainwright divided his trail into twelve sections, but Lynn and I did it in sixteen. We just weren't up for 20-mile days. We stayed in inns and B&Bs and had our luggage transported each day, which allowed us to carry only what we'd need: water, lunch (a hunk of cheese, rye crisps, and Mars bars), and rain gear. We had maps, but relied heavily on GPS tracks our outfitter provided us. 

It was a great walk, with so much diversity. I'm super glad we did it. It truly felt like an accomplishment! Here we are at the end-sign:

As I've done before, I'm going to post here the links to my daily Facebook travelogue, to keep them all in one place. The photos include explanatory captions.

Arrival in St. Bees

Day 1: St. Bees–Ennerdale Bridge (o/n Cleator Moor)

Day 2: Ennerdale Bridge–Seatoller

Day 3: Seatoller–Grasmere

Day 4: Grasmere–Patterdale

Day 5: Patterdale–Bampton

Day 6: Bampton–Tebay

Day 7: Tebay–Kirkby Stephen

Day 8: Kirkby Stephen–Keld

Day 9: Keld–Reeth

Day 10: Reeth–Richmond

Day 11: Richmond–Danby Wiske

Day 12: Danby Wiske–Osmotherley

Day 13: Osmotherley–Clay Bank Top (o/n Great Broughton)

Day 14: Clay Bank Top–Blakey Ridge

Day 15: Blakey Ridge–Egton

Day 16: Egton–Robin Hoods Bay

Our final day: Robin Hoods Bay and back to Heathrow

On the way home