Coast to Coast

Coast to Coast

Stretching from the rugged Heritage coast of St Bees in Cumbria to North Yorkshire's picturesque east coast at Robin Hood's Bay, the Coast to Coast walk in England is a legendary hike that beckons adventurers from around the globe. This venerated long-distance trail, conceived by Alfred Wainwright, weaves through three National Parks, lovable villages and diverse landscapes, offering a rich tapestry of experiences for those who embark on this epic trail.
The Coast to Coast extends through 192 miles of England's countryside, from the west coast to the east coast, showcasing England's extraordinary natural beauty and historical landmarks.

The walk is divided into sixteen sections, of which seven lie within the Lake District and Cumbria, three within the Yorkshire Dales, two within the Vale of Mowbray and four within the North York Moors.

Coast to Coast Haweswater

  • Ennerdale Water

    Ennerdale Water

  • The Nine Standards, Hartley Fell

    The Nine Standards, Hartley Fell

  • Ellerton Lake, Bolton-on-Swale

    Ellerton Lake, Bolton-on-Swale

  • Beggars Bridge, Glaisdale

    Beggars Bridge, Glaisdale

Coast to Coast National Parks

Lake District

The Lake District contains high mountains, deep valleys, exotic lakes and stunning scenery. It is unrivalled for its beauty and tranquillity.

Yorkshre Dales

The Yorkshire Dales rivals the Lakes for its splendour, although at a lower altutude. Its mixed and varied scenery includes Swaledale and its exotic hay meadows.

North York Moors

The North York Moors has the largest area of upland heather moors in the country, with many secluded valley towns and a diverse wildlife.

Swaledale

Swaledale is midway along the Coast to Coast path. It starts near Keld and continues all the way to Richmond, its riverbanks exuberant with yellow flowering meadows and hay barns. There are two alternative paths in this section, the low level route through Swaledale and the high level route across the old mining moors.

National Trail Status

Whilst the Coast to Coast path is not currently a National trail, but rather an ingenious creation of the distinguished Alfred Wainwright's imaginative planning, linking together a series of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way, it was announced, on 12 August 2022, by the Rt Hon Lord Benyon the then Minister of State and of the DOE, Food and Rural Affairs, and by Natural England, that the path is to be given National Trail Status.

Upgrading to a National Trail will require considerable path improvements, signage and much other work, and accordingly the Authorities have agreed to set aside £5.6 million to cover the cost.
The Ministry have committed to complete the path upgrading within 3 years, and it is therefore expected to be completed by 2025.

So far as the original Wainwright route is concerned the Ministry have committed to retain the existing route as near as possible to that devised by Alfred Wainwright. Whilst considerable improvements will need to be made to the existing footpath, many sections of the route already share elements of existing National Trails and the like, e.g. the Coast to Coast path shares parts of the Cumbria Way, the Cleveland Way and the Esk Valley Walk, to name but three.

Riggindale

A view from Kidsty Pike near High Street across the Riggindale Valley to Riggindale Crag. The scenery along the Coast to Coast path is truly breathtaking.

Information Articles

This website is a support website for the author's trail guide "Hiking the Coast to Coast Trail Guide". The Trail Guide itself provides detailed directions, mapping, hundreds of colour photographs, the author's adventurous travelogue and significant further and essential information.

The menu at the top of every page of this website contains headings for each of the four sections of the Coast to Coast walk, i.e. Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Mowbray and North York Moors.
The menus then subdivide into the traditional daily walking sections (16 altogether), each of which contain many detailed educational articles about places, structures and relics seen or within close proximity to the walk. The menus are indexed and sub-indexed for ease of reference and are added to and updated with weekly constancy. They will enrich your knowledge of the structures, nature and countryside discovered as you walk the path.

Whitcliffe Wood Yorkshire Dales

In sunny weather Whitcliffe Wood is a remarkable place to walk during the Autumn, when the sunlight dapples the woodland floor and foliage. The Coast to Coast path passes through the woodland on its way to Richmond. The River Swale is a mere 200 metres away.

Statistical Facts - Coast to Coast

  • Length : 192 miles
  • Average time to complete : 16 days
  • Average Daily Walk : 12-14 miles
  • Counties Traversed : Cumbria and North Yorkshire
  • National Parks passed through : Lake District, Pennines (just), Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors
  • Highest Point : Kidsty Pike in the Lake District, near to Haweswater : 780 metres
  • Status of path : it is the most renowned long distance footpath and has now been given National Trail Status once the path is ugraded, expected to be in or abvout 2025
  • Founder of the Walk : Alfred Wainwright

End of the Coast to Coast

Robin Hood's Bay

The walk concludes in the same way it begins but on the opposite side of the country. You will follow the path along the coastal cliffs above the North Sea for about three miles. The walk finally ends in the seaside town of Robin Hood's Bay, which is just a few miles south of Whitby. the total distance walked from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay is 192 miles.

Geographical Facts Coast to Coast

  • Lakes walked around : (west to east) Ennerdale Water, Grisedale Tarn, Angle Tarn, Haweswater
  • Lakes within 1 mile but not walked around : (west to east) Longlands Lake, Buttermere, Easedale Tarn, Lake Grasmere, Ullswater, Hayeswater, Blea Water, Small Water, Sunbiggin Tarn, Cow Dub, Birkdale Tarn, Moss Dam, Bolton-on-Swale Lake, Ellerton Lake, Cod Beck Reservoir
  • Major rivers crossed : (west to east) River Ehen, River Derwent, River Rothay, River Lowther, River Eden, River Swale, River Esk
  • Named Waterfalls encountered : (west to east) Galleny Force, Tonguegill Force, Thornthwaite Force, East Gill Force, Kisdon Force, East Grain Waterfall, Hard Level Force, Falling Foss
  • Major Mountain or Hill Summits bagged (height in metres) ("AR" = alternative route) : (west to east) Dent Fell 283m, Red Pike 755m (AR), High Stile 806m (AR), High Crag 744m (AR), Seat 561m (AR), Lining Crag 500m, Seat Sandal 736m (AR), Fairfield 873m (AR), St Sunday Crag 841 (AR), Birks 622 (AR), The Knott 739m, Kidsty Pike 780m, Smardale Fell 362m, Nine Standards Rigg 662m, White Mossy Hill 659m, Buzzard Scar 445m, Scarth Wood Moor 258m, Live Moor 315m, Carlton Moor 408m, Cold Moor 402m, White Hill 398m, Round Hill 454m

Coast to Coast - Daily Walk Itinerary

Hiking the Coast to Coast Trail Guide

"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The Trail Guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of high resolution colour photographs, details of the route, and detailed research notes relating to places of interest along the way.

Navigation

1 Digital Map : Ordnance Survey
2 Paper Map
3 Waterproof plastic wallet
4 Compass
5 Guidebook : Hiking the Coast to Coast. This guidebook, as well as describing and showing the route, lets you see it and describes hazards, weather and the path
6 Torch and whistle
Navigating the Coast to Coast is one of the most exciting parts of the walk, or at least it was for me (see Planning Menu). I have always enjoyed, since childhood, (as I suspect thousands of others have) finding somewhere new to walk or cycle, and finding my way back using a map or compass.
You should always take a GPS enabled cell phone with you, together with a paper map with waterproof protection. If your phone ever fails you for whatever reason then you have a backup paper map.

You should also take a Silva compass, which can be invaluable if you have to navigate in mist with a paper map, and of course you should know how to use it.

Coast to Coast Trail Guide

Hiking the Coast to Coast

"Hiking the Coast to Coast" is a digitally enhanced eBook available from Apple Books for all people who have either a Mac, an iPhone or an iPad, and is designed to accompany you on your walk of the Coast to Coast path. The trail guide contains Ordnance Survey maps and other advanced mapping features, step by step directions, hundreds of colour photographs, details of the route, its conditions in different weather and research snippets relating to places of interest along the way.

Coast to Coast Trail Guide

Quick Snippets

Where is the Coast to Coast Walk?

The Coast to Coast Walk starts at St Bees on the western shores of Cumbria, about 3 miles south of Whitehaven. It commences as a cliff top walk and heads inland through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Vale of Mowbray and the North York Moors to finish on the east coast of North Yorkshire at Robin Hood's Bay, 5 miles south of Whitby.

How long does it take to walk the Coast to Coast?

The Coast to Coast trail guide is traditionally divided into sections, each section to be walked one a day. Altogether there are 16 sections. Most people spend the first day travelling to St Bees, where it starts, then walk for 16 days and travel home the day after. So, a Coast to Coast walking holiday is normally 18 days.

How long is the Coast to Coast Walk?

The Coast to Coast walk is 190 miles long if you follow the traditional Wainwright route. People often vary this as Wainwright intended, e.g. some people walk on road only and some omit mountainous or boggy sections. So the distance will be modestly increased or decreased depending on how the route is followed, but the base guide is 192 miles.

What is the Coast to Coast Walk Like?

All of the Coast to Coast walk is scenic and awesome. The beginning and end follow pleasant and safe cliff top walks, for about 3 miles each end. The Lake District involves mountain and valley walking, some watersheds and some isolation; the Yorkshire Dales offers a choice of pleasant flowering meadows or upland mining moors, Mowbray is pleasant farming land and the North York Moors consist of ups and downs, on rolling table top hills.

Is the Coast to Coast Walk Safe?

The Coast to Coast Walk is safer to walk in the spring and summer and in good weather, but many people walk it in poor weather and still enjoy it. So long as you are prepared with suitable navigation tools, suitable clothing and spare food you would normally be safe. As always you should acquaint yourself thoroughly with the route before setting off. It is unwise to walk the route alone in poor weather.