Alternative Coast to Coast Routes

Wainwright laid the foundations for the best long distance walk in Britain, but even he did not prescribe the route; he suggested one particular way of walking coast to coast across England, but always suggested that people should find their own variations, as long as they did not trespass upon private land.

Over time, new routes have become open to walkers, new fells and new areas of open land; the Countryside Rights of Way Act of 2000 being the most significant of these in recent years. This has meant that new paths are available to walkers and consequently the Coast to Coast path has many more options than it ever had before. This sections explores some of the more obvious deviations, alterations and diversions that the Coast to Coast walker could consider when planning their route.

Wainwright himself offered some alternatives to the standard route and these are not covered in the route descriptions that follow. The Wainwright guide book covers these as do the better Coast to Coast guide books. We will concentrate on the other alternatives.

Each individual map shown below can be downloaded by clicking on the map thumbnail to the left of the description. The resulting map will only show the route variation, so will need to be used in conjunction with the standard map for that section, so you know where to leave the usual path and where it joins back up again. You can download a ZIP file of all the maps by clicking the icon to the left. Note: you will need a program like Winzip to extract the maps from the ZIP file.

Day Two - Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite

1. River Liza Alternative

Not a major diversion by any means, but we happen to think the path on the south bank of the Liza is much nicer than the traditional route on the north.

Instead of cutting left across the fields at the end of Ennerdale Water, keep to the forest track and cross Woundell Beck before picking up a path to the right of the river. Follow this track for 3km until you see a bridge, crossing the river to your left. Ignore this bridge and carry on along the track for another 1000m where you will find another bridge. use this to cross the river and return to the northern path. If you are heading up Scarth Gap (see below), you will rejoin the path just prior to the Scarth Gap route, unless you wish to visit Black Sail, in which case, stay on the traditional path.

2. Scarth Gap Alternative

The reason Wainwright did not suggest this as the preferred route out of Ennerdale valley is probably due to the tricky scramble on the way up to Haystacks, but other than that this route stands head and shoulders above the traditional Loft Beck exit from Ennerdale.

There is a clear path cutting across the face of the hill beneath Seat and also beside the wall if you have stopped in at Black Sail, both tracks lead up to the col between Haystacks and Seat, called Scarth Gap. Then follow the narrow rocky path to the right, up to Haystacks and along to Innominate Tarn, the place where Wainwright's ashes were scattered. There is an obvious path past Blackbeck Tarn, across Little Round How and on to the Dismantled Tramway that takes you down to Honister.

3. Great Gable Diversion

This is a big diversion, for dedicated fell walkers and will add something like two hours to the route back to Rosthwaite, however it crosses some of the best Lakeland scenery there is, including the beautiful Stockley Bridge. If you want to squeeze the most out of the Lake District sections of the Coast to Coast, consider this.

Instead of turning left after Black Sail and heading up Loft Beck, continue straight ahead and follow the beck (that eventually becomes the River Liza), up Tongue. There is no defined track on the ground, but you can follow the lie of the land easy enough. The climb is steep in places and later becomes a scree of red stones, so ascent can be tricky. Pass over the col of Windy Gap and drop down the other side to Styhead Tarn. From here follow the clear path beside Styhead Beck, which soon becomes a fine stone-laid path to Stockley Bridge. You can then follow the Allerdale Ramble back through Borrowdale to Rosthwaite. 

Additional alternatives will be added in the next few days, please check back