DAY 1 - Wednesday, 14th August 2002

Tina and I arrived at our friends’ house, Pat and Mary Handley who live at Langsett, South Yorkshire, at 12.15 p.m. After having coffee we left at 1 p.m. to commence our journey to St. Bees in Cumbria. A short while later we stopped at the Gun Inn, Tintwistle, for a leisurely snack (it turned out to be very leisurely because the service was poor). We left at 3 p.m. and arrived at the Queen’s Hotel, St. Bees at 6 p.m.

En route we had decided that it would be a good idea to start the walk that evening and try to do the 5 miles from St. Bees along the cliff top to the lighthouse and then to Sandwith. We went to the beach, dipped our feet in the water as instructed by Tina, collected a pebble and set off on the prescribed route at 6.40 p.m. The first 45 minutes was unbelievably difficult, far more than I had ever imagined, climbing the steep steps up to a height of 500 ft on a surface which was very uneven. Not being a walker, this was a real test of character and I can imagine that many would be cursing “Wainwright” (the originator of the Coast to Coast walk, who must have been a masochist) before they got to the top of the cliff.

This was a very tough start to the 190 mile walk and slightly unnerving. However, we survived, with Pat striding along confidently about 100 metres ahead of Mary and myself and we completed the walk to Sandwith at 8.40 p.m. with Tina diligently awaiting us in the village centre. Tina had already established that the only pub in Sandwith (Dog and Partridge) only served meals on Thursday to Saturday each week and we made our way back to St. Bees in Tina’s Vauxhall Corsa (which seemed to be suffering from the combined weight of the four of us, together with all the luggage we had brought for the expedition).

When we arrived at Sandwith, Tina was talking to a lady with a dog and she told us that the best restaurant in St. Bees was called ‘French Connection’ although it was rather expensive. After the day which we had had, the last thing on our minds was the cost, and we duly made our way to the recommended restaurant, parking on the Railway Station car park. It was a very pleasant evening in a restaurant which had been converted from the former Station Waiting Room, Railway Carriages etc. After eating and drinking, we went back to the Queen’s Hotel and to bed at 11.30 p.m.

DAY 2 – Thursday, 15th August 2002

The Queen’s Hotel, St. Bees, is not one of the better hotels which we stay at, and the breakfast left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless it provided nourishment to start the day. I had suggested that we should hold a “team meeting” each day with Tina in the chair, normally to be held on the evening prior to the following day’s walk. Obviously with arriving late afternoon the previous day and then breaking the ice with the 5 mile walk from St. Bees to Sandwith it was not possible to hold the meeting until this morning but, in any case, we were in no hurry to start as we had reduced the day’s exertions to approximately 9 miles by starting in Sandwith (at the point we finished the previous evening) in order to make our way to Ennerdale Bridge.

We started off at 9.40 a.m. and soon noticed a sign which stated “Robin Hood’s Bay 185 miles”. Pat took a photograph of this disconcerting sign and we then proceeded to follow the recommended route to Cleator Moor (app. 5 miles) where we arrived 2 hours later. About a mile short of Cleator Moor we had found a “Nike Jacket” on the floor, which we realised must have been dropped fairly recently. Pat picked it up and amazingly when we arrived in Cleator we saw three walkers having a rest and discovered that one of them was the owner of the jacket. He was very lucky as it was a good, expensive jacket.

Tina met us in Cleator and we had a lengthy stay, visiting a local shop to acquire drinks and cakes. John and Penny Freer, who had successfully completed the walk in June had advised us not to go over Dent, en route to Ennerdale Bridge, but to take the Fell road. This proved to be a wise recommendation as Dent rises to 1600 ft, whereas the Fell road, although slightly longer in distance, proved to be much less demanding.

We left Cleator just before 12.30 p.m. and arrived at The Shepherd’s Arms Hotel, Ennerdale Bridge, at 2 p.m. Tina had made all the arrangements at the hotel – our cases were already in the rooms, and we were able to relax quickly. We had bowls of soup together with the statutory beers and then went to our rooms to get a welcome bath or shower. The Shepherd’s Arms is a massive improvement on The Queen’s at St. Bees and the rooms and facilities excellent. We arranged to meet at 7 p.m. for the team meeting and Tina had arranged with the hotel restaurant for us to dine at 7.30 p.m.

We all agreed that it had been an immense benefit for us to have started the walk the previous evening and it certainly made today’s exertions much easier. The team meeting went well – Tina had met a local couple during the day and they strongly advised us to take the “left-side” route of Ennerdale Water tomorrow. Apparently one gets far more sun on that side of the Water (not sure why!) and it is a much easier route, we therefore decided we would accept the valued advice.

The evening meal was superb, quality and quantity excellent and our stay at The Shepherd’s Arms was proving to be most enjoyable – “heaven on earth” compared to The Queen’s at St. Bees. Our bathroom was self-contained and extremely spacious (even bigger than ours at home) with separate bath and shower unit. The bath was luxurious and especially welcome after our walk today, the sight of it probably made it seem better than it was but there is no doubt that The Shepherd’s Arms is better than some supposedly higher rated establishments which we have stayed at. Unfortunately, the present owners are retiring in three weeks but hopefully the new owners will maintain the high standards set.

DAY 3 – Friday, 16th August 2002

After a sumptuous breakfast at The Shepherd’s Arms Hotel we set off from Ennerdale Bridge at 9.05 a.m. for what was supposed to be a 14½ mile walk to Rosthwaite. This was always going to be a testing day for me as it was the first time I had ever walked some distance on two consecutive days but nothing prepared me for what was to come. We took the advice of the couple whom Tina had met the previous day and took the left-hand side of Ennerdale Water. This was a fantastic walk with breathtaking views of the hills on the far side of the lake.

We had met three other walkers (all experienced) almost as soon as we set off and we mixed well and chatted to each of them in turn. Their names were Roger (from Bournville, Birmingham) a very experienced mountaineer, Joyce (from Slough) and her sister Audrey (from Middlesbrough). All are inter-related and had left their respective partners at home.

When we reached the other end of the Lake we joined the official “Wainwright” route but it was not too long before we hit a major problem. The Forestry Commission had put diversion notices up because of “logging” work being undertaken in the forest and this was the start of our problems. By this time Roger had left us, as it was a clear sunny day, to go and climb mountains on his own and he arranged to meet Joyce and Audrey in Borrowdale at about 3 p.m. This subsequently proved to be an impossible target for the two sisters.

At that time we were climbing, as a result of the diversion, one of the highest hills I had ever had the misfortune to stand at the foot of. When I was informed that there was no alternative other than to climb the wretched hill (called Haystacks) in order to reach our destination I was not at all amused. I had never climbed a hill of this nature before (I was told it was 593 metres high) and this did not fill me with any pleasure. I was told by the experienced lady walkers that we had to go over the top and down the other side. Looking up at “Haystacks” it seemed to be enormous and steep and I was not looking forward to this at all. Pat surprised me by showing a considerable aptitude for climbing, although he doesn’t like heights, and Mary was not far behind. Each time we reached what we thought was the peak we discovered there was a further peak behind it which required to be climbed. This demoralised me and exhausted me although I must say that when we looked down on Buttermere the views were fantastic.

Mary took photographs from about the third peak we had reached and these will undoubtedly be worth seeing. In the meantime we had picked up a partial message from Tina saying that she had had an horrific time with her little Corsa car on Honister Pass when she was trying to visit the Slate Mine and this concerned me as we were ascending Haystacks and it would be a long time before we would return to civilisation (if ever). Eventually we reached the highest peak of Haystacks and could not immediately see where we should go to descend on the other side. Fortunately, Joyce (whom we had met earlier) is a very experienced map reader and it is probably down to her and my friends Pat and Mary that I am able to write down the details of the day’s events.

Although the descent was “less hairy” than the ascent it was very tedious and time consuming. When we reached the bottom we met some other walkers who informed us that “Wainwright’s” ashes were scattered on Haystacks. I wish that I had known previously as I would have derived some pleasure in stamping my feet in certain areas in the hope that the masochist was underneath. He must be having a good laugh at us all today.

We eventually reached the Slate Mine via a disused railway at about 5 p.m. after we had been messing about on Haystacks for over three hours. Nevertheless we had conquered it – it was something I had never done before and never want to again. We did not arrive at Nook Farm, Rosthwaite, until 7.05 pm. and Tina was clearly getting worried. After a quick bath and showers we all went to Scafell Hotel for an evening meal which was good quality but expensive. A nerve racking day with no time for the team meeting.

DAY 4 – Saturday, 17th August 2002

Our 42nd Wedding Anniversary and if I had known what was really involved in this expedition there is no way I would have chosen to celebrate it this way. Tina and I exchanged cards and I had to make a decision as to whether I could carry on. I was also very concerned about Tina who had been clearly unnerved by her dreadful experience with the car on Honister Pass the previous day.

On consulting other walkers and the “Wainwright” literature it appeared that it would be sensible for me to take an alternative route to Grasmere (not suggested by Wainwright) – I decided to walk by road and public footpaths from Rosthwaite to Grasmere, a long way but rebuilding confidence. It also gave me an opportunity to spend an hour in the car with Tina reassuring her that there were no problems on the roads between Rosthwaite, Grasmere and, for the following day, Patterdale. We drove between these places and Tina appeared to be reassured and then we returned to Rosthwaite for me to commence the walk.

Tina left me to drive back to Grasmere and check in at the Thistle Hotel whilst I walked on the road towards Keswick. There is nothing really to report on this route, the footpaths either alongside the road or, if not available, by Derwent Water were adequate and there was a public footpath though which cut out Keswick and I arrived at Grasmere at just after 4 p.m.

It was a long day, hard on the leg muscles but I was still in the battle, and to me it is a battle involving willpower and pride. Pat and Mary, who had taken the official Wainwright route, arrived about five minutes afterwards and we had a quick drink before going to our rooms to have the best, most relaxing, bath I have ever had. In the evening we had planned a celebratory anniversary meal at the Hotel and the food was excellent. I had a long conversation on the telephone with Penny and John Freer and, although I didn’t let on at that stage that I had reached Grasmere by an unconventional route, they gave me some good advice about the following day’s walk and unwittingly reassured me enough to decide to rejoin Pat and Mary on the masochist Wainwright route tomorrow.