In Wainwright’s day it appeared to have been perfectly acceptable to knock on a door in small village and ask for a bed for the night. On more than one occasion AW describes doing just this after a long day in the Lakes. Unfortunately, those days are long gone and a Coast to Coast walker must now plan his accommodation well ahead of the walk as the good accommodation is booked up months in advance.
When planning the walk, it may be advisable to book places like Keld first, to ensure you have a place, before booking the rest of the accommodation. Keld is a very small village in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, it has limited accommodation; only three of four places and to complicate matters it also happens to be a stop along the Pennine Way, the cross roads of two of the most popular paths in the UK. If you can’t find accommodation in Keld, then places like Muker and Thwaite may be able to help.
Clay Bank Top is another difficult place to find accommodation, especially if you don’t want to have to rely on a lift from the B&B owner at the end of the day. Book these locations first and then the more populous places later.
Where To Stay
This site cannot hope to do justice to the constantly changing world of accommodation along the Coast to Coast path. B&Bs come and go; new places are opening all the time as the popularity of the walk increases. Places change hands as proprietors retire and new owners no longer wish to carry on the business and this makes it very difficult to maintain an up-to-date repository of useful information.
And the great thing is, we don’t need to. Coast to Coast Guides have been running an accommodation directory for 25 years, originally started by Doreen Whitehead, who used to run the famous Butt House B&B in Keld. The list covers hundreds of properties along the walk and should be considered the definitive guide to accommodation for the Coast to Coast. We see no reason to try and re-invent the wheel.
Find the Accommodation Guide here: Coast to Coast Guides – Accommodation
The Message Forum associated with this site has also collected a number of accommodation reviews over the last few years, from members who have stayed in B&Bs, hostels and hotels along the route and been good enough to share their opinions with the forum. Unfortunately the reviews are in no particular order and this can make it difficult to base your selections on this resource. However, it may be useful to view the opinions on a particular property.
You can find these reviews here: Walking Place Forum – C2C Accommodation Reviews
Brigantes Accommodation
A brand new accommodation service for the 2010 walking season is now available from Brigantes. These are the people that will carry your luggage and indeed book your complete C2C vacation for you. Now they are offering a complete “all inclusive” Coast to Coast package – that’s baggage transfer, accommodation and meals.
This innovative package uses mobile accommodation (caravan, trailer-tent or regular tent), which is moved from stop to stop each day – dismantled after you set out in the morning and pitched again ready for you to arrive in the afternoon. It includes all your bedding, food for continental-style breakfast, packed lunch a cooked evening meal and accommodation is located on campsites, with full facilities.
See full details on their website: Brigantes Economy C2C Package