About the Coast to Coast Path
The Coast to Coast Path runs 190 miles across England, from St. Bees on the Irish Sea coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. The ‘walk’ was devised in the early 1970’s by the legendary fell walker and guide book writer Alfred Wainwright. His handwritten and illustrated ‘A Coast to Coast Walk: A Pictorial Guide has inspired thousands of walkers to make this route the second best walk in the world, according to Country Walking Magazine.
The path traverses three national parks, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North Yorkshire Moors, providing some of the most dramatic scenery in England. Although popular with thousands of walkers every year, the Coast to Coast is not an officially promoted route and is not waymarked. Maps, guidebooks and compass skills are essential. The terrain is varied: rocky mountain paths, limestone plateaus, county lanes, rolling green hillsides, farmland and barren moorlands. The flora and fauna to be seen are equally abundant. The path winds through picturesque villages and market towns. In the Lake District one walks in the shadows of such illustrious poets as Wordsworth and Coleridge. The history of England unfolds in the stone circles, ruined abbeys and abandoned lead mining quarries along the way until the fishing village(with a smuggling past) of Robin Hood’s Bay is reached.
Walkers generally complete the route in 12-18 days, depending on mileage per day and whether any rest days are taken. Although it is possible to pack your own gear, many choose a baggage service to bring their luggage to their destination each night. Accommodations range from campsites, hostels, B&B’s, guest houses and hotels.
Most walkers choose the west to east route, as Wainwright suggests, to have the wind at one’s back. Some choose the east to west route to have the more dramatic scenery of the Lake District as the climax of the walk.
For samples of the scenery on the route, visit the photo diary of an English couple who completed the walk in May 2005. www.byron.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
For more information contact Connie Beall at cabeall@earthlink.net