|
What is the Coast to
Coast?
 |
The Coast to
Coast walk was devised by Alfred Wainwright, author of the
famous Pictorial Guides to the Lakes, and stretches over 190
miles from St Bees Head on the Irish Sea coast to Robin Hood's
Bay on the North Sea coast, passing through the Lake District,
Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors. He first drew up the
walk in the early 1970's, linking existing footpaths
and rights of way. Most people undertake
the walk from West to East as recommended by AW himself, taking
advantage of the prevailing weather conditions.
Update: The Wainwright Society
and Striding Edge, which produces the DVD of the walk, have
launched a campaign to have the Coast to Coast officially
recognised as a National Trail, although this seems at odds with
AW's wishes and his reasons for creating the walk in the first
place. The link to more information can be found
here.
|
We Need Your Help
We would like to create a pictorial guide to
the Coast to Coast walk - ideally at least one picture for every
few hundred yards along the route - and we would like to publish
them on the site here. This gallery of pictures could help
people during their planning stage, helping to identify
potential hazards, or areas of navigational difficulty, but
mainly just to celebrate the greatest walk in the UK!
| You can help us by sending in your
photos, which we will collate into geographical order.
Use the button on the right to submit your picture -
ideally the size should be either 1024x768 or 1280x1024,
but if they are bigger, don't worry. Also include your
name, where you're from, a small amount of detail on
where the photo was taken and the subject of the photo
(if this is not obvious). If you wish to retain the
copyright to the photo, please let us know and we will
make this clear when it's published. |
 |
Coast
to Coast Weather
Here's an idea of what the
weather is going to be like for the next few days on three
separate sections of the C2C route.
Lakeland
section: High Street
Yorkshire
Dales
section: Richmond
North Yorks
Moors section: Whitby
Ordnance Survey Coast to Coast Strip
Maps
For those who may
be wondering what all the fuss is about (with copies going for
£30 each on ebay!) we have attached small thumbnail views
of the C2C strip maps that used to be produced by the
Ordnance Survey. For some inexplicable reason, these are no
longer being printed, despite an obvious demand for them.
OL33 covers the western section and OL34 covers the eastern
half.
The cynical among you may have
decided this is to encourage us Coast to Coast'ers to buy
the full set of eight 1:25k maps (see below) at an approximate price of
£56 UK, we couldn't possibly comment.
St, Bees to Rosthwaite |
Rosthwaite to Keld |
Keld to Richmond |
Richmond to RHB |
Clicking on these
small thumbnails will take you to a much larger version of the
map in PDF format. Each map is approx 4Mb in size and will
automatically open in a new window if you have Adobe Acrobat
Reader (or other PDF reader) installed. If you would rather save
them to disk, then right click the map and select "save target
as..".
Interestingly, it seems that
people booking C2C holidays with
Contours
are provided with a set of OL33 and OL34 as part of their
documentation set.
Update: We recently received
this information relating to the OS strip maps from John Daly,
who had emailed Ordnance Survey to ask why they had discontinued
the maps:
"The
maps that covered Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk were
published as a joint venture with Michael Joseph (part of
Penguin Books) as a compliment to their Wainwright guide book
series. However in 1999 Ordnance Survey made the decision to
withdraw from this type of co-publishing activity, and in
consequence the publishers jointly decided not to invest in
developing the products or in printing any new stock. Both of
the existing stocks were allowed to run until they were
exhausted, which occurred in March this year (2002). Neither
Michael Joseph or Ordnance Survey have any plans to resurrect or
continue with these products."
Thanks to John for sharing that
with us.
Memory Map Route Cards
Memory Map route cards (you don't
need to have MM to view these route cards) give a
summary of the route for each day of the walk, including total
distance, height gained, estimated time to complete, a height
profile of the route and a map of the route. We have created
one of these for each of the traditional 12 days of Wainwright's itinerary and these
can be seen using the links below.
- Day 1 - St. Bees to
Ennerdale Bridge -
click here
- Day 2 - Ennerdale Br. to
Rosthwaite - click here
- Day 3 - Rosthwaite to
Patterdale - click here
- Day 4 - Patterdale to Shap -
click here
- Day 5 - Shap to Kirkby
Stephen - click here
- Day 6r - Kirkby Stephen to
Keld (Red route over Nine standards) -
click here
- Day 6b - Kirkby Stephen to
Keld (Blue route over Nine standards) -
click here
- Day 6g - Kirkby Stephen to
Keld (Green route over Nine standards) -
click here
- Day 7 - Keld to Reeth -
click here
- Day 8 - Reeth to Richmond -
click here
- Day 9 - Richmond to Ingleby
Cross - click here
- Day 10 - Ingleby Cross to
Clay Bank Top -
click here
- Day 11 - Clay Bank Top to
Glaisdale - click here
- Day 12 - Glaisdale to Robin
Hood’s Bay - click here
All of these can be downloaded as
a single ZIP file, so you will need
Winzip (or
something similar) to unzip these files. Even when zipped, this
file is 5Mb, so those of you still on dial-up may want to wait
until you're at work :) -
click here to download
Coast to Coast Journals on the Web
We've scoured the
web for Coast to Coast journals and diaries, to save you the
job! There are a number hosted here on Walking Places, but we've
also included a huge number from elsewhere too. If you want to
add your journal to this list, drop us an email using the link
on the right hand side of this page.
Coast to Coast Guidebooks
(If you want to submit a book review, send
it to us
here)
 Alfred
Wainwright – A Coast to Coast Walk: A Pictorial Guide
Our view:
The original, but unfortunately probably not the best any
longer. It still needs to be purchased and carried with you
though, no-one should be without a little bit of Wainwright
while they’re doing the walk. The maps although a work of art
are a little too fiddly, this and their rendition in black and
white makes it difficult to identify the track from the
surrounding detail at times. Make sure you have a modern
revision if you intend to follow the route description as many
things have changed in 30 years.
Official
synopsis: Originally compiled in the 1950s early 1960s, the
Wainwright walking guides are perhaps the most distinctive and
unusual such guides ever devised. The result of research by
their namesake and author over a period of 13 years, the guides
have retained their original format and design to this day. The
books contain intricate hand drawn sketches by the author,
detailing routes of ascent, and gradients of the hills in and
around the Lake District and outlying regions. "A Coast to Coast
Walk" was devised by Wainwright himself and stretches across 190
miles from St Bees Head on the East coast to Robin Hood's Bay on
the West, passing through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and
North York Moors.
 Henry
Stedman – Coast to Coast: St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay
Our view:
If you could only carry one book, this is the one to take. Over
100 large-scale, clear, concise and easy to follow maps,
including details of all of the towns and villages that are
encountered en-route. The description of the route is not as
detailed as Hannon or Marsh, but the maps are almost enough to
follow the path on their own. also includes useful information
on refreshments available during the day, including opening
times. Also an extensive list of accommodation at each location.
The first edition (2004 edition), could do with an update as we
found one or two anomalies.
Official
synopsis: Features 5 town plans and 103 large-scale walking
maps. This title includes itineraries for all walkers. It
provides practical information for all budgets, as well as
public transport information.
Martin Wainwright - The Coast to Coast Walk (Recreational path
Guide) NEW!
Our view:
We've not actually seen a copy of this book yet, so we have no
opinion. If you've bought it, let us know what you think.
Reader's view
(courtesy of Milwalks): The book includes 1:25k OS maps of the
terrain, with the route marked with "yellow highlighter".
Comparing with the "real" Wainwright each evening, these seemed
far clearer than the hand-drawn maps he (and successors) use,
and give similar levels of detail - contours and fences etc.
There is also an OS key inside the cover, for those unfamiliar
with the symbols. We took the OS 1:50k maps as backup, but only
needed these once, when we went seriously off-route (and hence
off the strip map). Commentary: the text (and
maps) draws attention both to tricky navigational spots, and
interesting scenery. Also includes a healthy smattering of local
and natural history, written in an engaging style.
Planning: the text draws attention to pubs etc that
might otherwise be missed en route, and there is a useful info
section, for pre-planning before you travel up to St Bees.
Overall: one of the Aurum series, designed for
use on the trail (rounded corners to the book, so it doesn't get
quite so dog-eared!) and OS map-sized, to fit in cagoule map
pocket. I think it's the best book out.
Official
synopsis: The Coast to Coast Walk is unique among Britain's
long-distance footpaths in that it was the invention of one man,
the legendary Alfred Wainwright, and enjoys no official status
like, for example, the National trails in England and Wales.
Nevertheless, it has become one of Britain's most popular
long-distance walks, which is hardly surprising as it traverses
some of the finest walking territory in the country. As well as
the main route, there are also alternatives available at several
points. Martin Wainwright's description of the route is divided
into fifteen chapters, each covering one day's walk (though
alternative stopping places are identified for those who wish to
spread their journey over a longer period) and each section of
the route is described in detail with accompanying Ordnance
Survey 1:25 000 mapping and colour photographs. There are also
brief feature essays on features or places of particular
historical or landscape interest and a Useful Information
section at the end which gives details of organisations which
provide advice or information on matters such as travel and
accommodation.
 Paul
Hannon – Coast to Coast Walk: 190 miles across Northern England
Our view:
The best route descriptions of the non-Wainwright books, but the
use and modification of Wainwright's maps make this book
difficult to navigate by. The original maps created by
Wainwright were, as already mentioned, a little difficult to
decipher at times, in our view the modifications made by Hannon
do nothing to improve this situation. If you are more
comfortable following a written route guide then this book
should suit you, if you prefer to navigate by maps then consider
Stedman.
Official
synopsis: From the Cumbrian coast to the Yorkshire coast,
this long distance walk encompasses over 190 miles, crossing the
Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
Packed with information, this guide will appeal to keen walkers.
 Terry
Marsh – Coast to Coast Walk
Our view:
The only reason to get this book, in our opinion, is for the
East to West route description. There are certainly not enough
maps in this book to guide you visually and we found the route
descriptions were not always easy to follow. The lack of any
supporting information such as refreshments available en-route
means it doesn't stack up against Stedman.
Official
synopsis: Cicerone's guide to the Coast to Coast trail
popularised by Wainwright. The guide includes an accommodation
listing. The guide is in three sections. The first gives the
route description, from west to east, annotated as appropriate
with notes of geological, historical, industrial, sociological
and natural history interest. The second section gives the route
description only in an east to west direction, cross-referenced
to the points of interest. The final section comprises a
description of variant routes and lists useful addresses.
Other Coast to Coast Strip Maps
Harvey’s Maps
(Coast to Coast - West)
Becoming
the de-facto standard strip map now that OL33 and OL34 are so
hard to get hold of.
The scale of 1:40,000 is not very popular and you may struggle to
calibrate your compass measure with these maps.
Harvey’s Maps
(Coast to Coast - East)
Becoming
the de-facto standard strip map now that OL33 and OL34 are so
hard to get hold of.
The scale of 1:40,000 is not very popular and you may struggle to
calibrate your compass measure with these maps.
 Footprint Maps (West)
Footprint Maps (East)
1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps
If you are not
relying on the various strip maps available for the C2C, then
you will need the following 1:25,000 scale Outdoor Leisure and
Explorer maps:
1:50,000 scale Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps
If you can settle
for the loss in detail of things like walls and fences, then you
can carry one less map by going for the Landranger series, you
will need the following:
Coast to Coast Other Books
 Novel:
Coast to Coast – Jan Minshull
Official
synopsis: Annoyed at yet again being taken for granted,
fifty-year-old Linda refuses to accompany her successful,
executive husband on a Rotary trip. The more Jim tries to
manipulate the situation, using friends and their adult children
to persuade her to go, the more she digs in her heels. Instead,
she sets off on her own to walk from East to West coast. The ups
and downs and climatic changes of the walk, across wild open
moors, fertile dales and the mountainous Lake District, provide
time and space in which to reflect on her life and consider her
future. Her outlook is totally changed when she meets Nick,
another lone walker. But the walk, like life, is not a clearly
defined path. Full of challenges and decisions, it is sometimes
an easy stroll, at others a hard climb for little reward;
sometimes it offers dangerous diversions, or is shrouded in the
mist of past experience. As the walk progresses Linda discovers
that life offers more than one route to happiness.
The author's
words: There is a saying to the effect that life is a
journey and that the journey is more important than the
destination. The idea for COAST TO COAST came to me on a walk. I
had walked to the top of a mountain and although I could see for
miles, my starting point had become obscured by the ups and
downs of the ground I'd covered; my finishing point was
concealed by the challenges yet to be faced. I knew where I was
heading but the route I had planned had already undergone
changes to overcome obstacles. Just like my life, really. So, I
plotted my story to fit the landscape. It's about a woman in her
middle years, with all the joys and regrets of half her life
lived and a future ahead, but for whom recent events have caused
doubts about her chosen route. To a greater or lesser degree, I
think most women have been there
 Personal
Account:
Coast
to Coast on an In-Growing Toenail - Mike McKever
Official
synopsis: Follow a diary of one couple's progress
through the magnificent scenery of Lakeland and North Yorkshire
- landscapes that have made this one of the most popular
long-distance walks in the world. And then see how quickly the
sublime can be reduced to the ridiculous as they get into all
sorts of scrapes, or entertain us with numerous comic asides,
witty reflections and grumpy old rants - not to mention amusing
portraits of their fellow 'Coasters' and the people who offer
accommodation along the route. A perfect gift for all successful
or would-be 'Coasters', an ideal travelling companion for
first-timers, or a delightful memory-jogger for experienced old
hands with a sense of humour.
GPS Waypoints and Memory Map files
The GPS waypoints for the Coast
to Coast walk can be downloaded from
here. A lot of work has gone
into these and thanks must go to; John Ledger, Guy Wilson,
canmal, Rick F and Tim McKenzie for all their efforts.
Memory Map routes
for the Coast to Coast can be downloaded from
here, courtesy of Lone Walker
|
