The Coast to Coast Walk

In 1972 Arthur Wainwright, a walker and retired accountant, laid a ruler across the map of England and a route from coast to coast almost chose itself: from the most spectacular point of the western seaboard (St. Bees on the Irish Sea) along the same latitude to the east coast, ending at the quaint village of Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. In between lay three National Parks -- the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. Little did Mr. Wainwright know that this walk of 190 miles would become one of the 10 Best Walks in Europe and would become a modern classic among walking tours.

This walk takes in England’s finest scenery, prehistoric ruins, medieval towns and churches, cozy pubs and inns, stonewalls and fields and fields of lamb and sheep. We walk past Lake Ullwater, an inspiration for Wordsworth, past stonewalls in the haunts of beloved veterinarian/author James Herriott and through the bleak plateau of heather roamed by Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional man-eating hound. This is the authentic Coast to Coast in its entirety, not an abbreviated version with van support. Doing less than the designated mileage and having van support is just not the same as walking every mile and the feeling upon completion would not be the same.

We will begin by wetting our boots in the Irish Sea at St. Bees, picking up a small stone to take with us, and heading west into Lakeland. We go over passes, through valleys and over mountain tops. From here we head into Swaledale and the Yorkshire Dales, then onto the North York Moors. After 15 days of walking, we reach the coast and follow the cliff top path to Robin’s Hood Bay where narrow streets plunge down to the harbour and tiny red-roofed cottages huddle for safety from the North Sea. We take out the stone we have carried from the Irish Sea and throw it into the waters of the North Sea before we dip our boots, beginning our celebration of this journey from one coast of England to the other.

While covering all 190 miles of this tour, we will have four hotel bases so that we will not have to pack and move each day. At the end of each day’s walk we will be picked up by minivan and taken to our hotel. The next morning we will be taken to where we finished the previous day’s walk and thus begin a new day, but on the same trail. Not changing hotels every day means we will not be living out of a suitcase. On the days we do change accommodations, our luggage will be transferred to our new hotel. All we will carry is a daypack with raingear, lunch, water bottles and a camera to record this epic journey!

This is a strenuous walk and needs to be done by people who are able to walk about 14 miles per day for 15 days. It is the most strenuous of all Southern Treks tours and is best enjoyed by people who have done walking tours of moderate/ strenuous rating and are very fit. These will be energetic days of walking but we will have lovely evenings in good hotels and inns that provide a warm welcome, comfortable accommodations with private baths and an excellent dinner.