Our Walk Along Wainwright' s Coast to Coast Trail

“...looks to be bad weather to hike, but then again there is always going to be an excuse not to set out....”   Patron at Manor Inn, St. Bees   Morning in St. Bees When we woke in St Bees, a steady rain was already falling, and it showed little intention of letting up. It was not quite the first morning we had imagined fo r Wainwright’s Coast to Coast . In addition to this, despite the assurance of breakfast when we reserved our room, the owner had not returned, and no morning meal was forthcoming. There was still no hot water either, which made the prospect of a cold shower less than appealing on a morning already defined by rain. So instead, we opened our camping supplies, grateful we had purchased food the night before, and ate crumpets, peanut butter, and coffee in our room while watching the weather continue outside. Even after years of hiking, the first morning of a new trail always feels slightly awkward. The routines we know so well take time to return. Packs need to b...

About the Coast to Coast National Path National Trail “I want to encourage the ambition in others to devise with the aid of maps their own cross-country marathons and not be merely followers of other people’s routes.” Alfred Wainwright, A Coast to Coast Walk Hiking Across England with Curiosity There are walks that promise escape, and there are walks that invite attention. Wainwright’s Coast to  Coast   belongs  firmly to the latter. It is not a journey into wilderness in the North American sense, nor is it a route that asks walkers to disappear from the human world. Instead, it offers something quieter and perhaps more interesting: a slow crossing of England on foot, through landscapes that have been shaped, worked, inhabited, and reimagined for millennia. Stretching from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, this route does not lead into wilderness in the North American sense.  Roads are never far away, villages appear regularly, and the land is clearly worked an...

“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.”   Carl Sagan   Between Ocean and Trail Today was one of those necessary in-between days that does not belong fully to one journey or the next.  Only yesterday we had still been within the ordered, enclosed world of Queen Mary 2 , having crossed the Atlantic from New York to Southampton aboard the world’s last ocean liner. Now, after many wonderful hours of sleep in a hotel bed, we woke at 6:30 AM to the beginning of a very different kind of crossing. Ahead of us was Wainwright’s Coast to Coast, a walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, and beyond that – we hoped - an ambitious sequence of trails across Britain. But first, we had to bridge the gap between the ship and the footpath by train. When the alarm clock sounded, we both felt as though we could have slept all morning. Reluctantly, we got up, took our showers, packed our bags, and went down to a breakfast of cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, toast, and coffee....

Wainwright’s Coast to Coast National Trail The remarkable Wainwright’s Coast to Coast trail stretches from the Irish Sea at St. Bees to the North Sea at Robin Hood’s Bay, tracing a winding path through some of England’s most varied landscapes, including the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and North York Moors. Created by Alfred Wainwright and now officially recognized as a National Trail, this iconic route is a trek that demands both effort and endurance. For us, it became the first of a series of hikes in the UK between ocean journeys and two transatlantic crossings aboard Queen Mary 2. After arriving in the UK by sea, we stepped into the heart of England and walked eastward across three geological regions, alongside stone walls, and more sheep than we could count, before eventually reaching the surf of the North Sea. Along the way, we were rained on, humbled by tough climbs, inspired by mountain lakes and continually surprised by how much natural beauty could be contained within...