Wainwright's Coast to Coast

Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast is England's most iconic long-distance trail — 309 km from the Irish Sea at St Bees in Cumbria to the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire, traversing three National Parks (the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors) and a chain of villages and market towns in between. Conceived by the great Lakeland fell-wanderer Wainwright in 1973, it stitched together existing public footpaths into a route that has now been walked by hundreds of thousands. In August 2022, Natural England officially upgraded it to National Trail status, releasing £5.6 million for improved signage, gates, and trail surfaces.

The walk is conventionally west-to-east — the prevailing weather at your back, and the symbolic two-sea tradition of carrying a pebble from St Bees to throw in at Robin Hood's Bay. The first week through the Lake District is the trail's hardest and most photogenic: high passes between named fells (Helvellyn's east side, the Kidsty Pike ridge above Haweswater), with daily climbs of 800–1,000 m. The middle section eases through the Yorkshire Dales' limestone country and the historic market town of Richmond. The final week crosses the bleak North York Moors, climaxing in the dramatic clifftop descent into Robin Hood's Bay. Total climb is around 6,100 m across 14 days.

The trail is walkable April to October, with peak season May–September. Booking ahead in summer is essential — B&Bs in Lake District villages fill weeks out. Baggage-transfer services (Sherpa Van, Coast to Coast Packhorse, ~£10–12 per bag per day) carry your kit between accommodations so you walk with a daypack. The trail is well-marked since the 2022 National Trail upgrade but still uses a mix of public footpaths, bridleways, and B-roads — Cicerone and OS guidebooks remain the standard reference. Most walkers take 14 days; faster fitness-walkers do it in 11–12; slower walkers split into 16–18 stages.