Coast to Coast Guided Explorer - 17 Days

Make your own way to the starting point of the Coast to Coast walk in St Bees. It's located on the edge of the Irish Sea with views across to the Isle of Man (where we offer a walk as well). If you have time, visit the Abbey church, which has features on the local history and has a display on a mummified knight that was discovered in a lead coffin from the graveyard. If you have an extra night here, you can walk the coastal path or quiet inland roads to the attractive town of Whitehaven with its marina and great museum. It is famous in the annals of the US navy as the site of an elaborate raid on the British mainland by one John Paul Jones during the American War of Independence. This evening you will meet your fellow walkers and guide for a trip briefing.

Today is our first day walking the Coast to Coast! We start with a climb from the beach taking a footpath along red sandstone coastal cliffs of St Bees Head. It has England’s only breeding colony of Black Guillemots (until July). We then move inland over hilly ground to the edge of the Lake District National Park. Dent Hill is the first real fell that we encounter and will give you some indication as to whether you are fit enough for the following days! The path descends to Nannycatch Gate and Beck. It is a delightful stroll which brings us to the final descent to leafy Ennerdale Bridge. The day’s total ascent 780m / descent 665m.

Walk on a quiet and scenic footpath along the shore of Ennerdale Water, with a bit of an easy scramble under Angler’s Crag at Robin Hood’s Seat. A long walk on a forest track then continues to Black Sail Hut, which is the smallest youth hostel and originally a shepherd’s hut. A steep climb follows up the Lowther Beck before traversing some of the Lakeland fells, perhaps with views down to Buttermere. Finally you reach the ‘drum house’, which marks the descent path to the Honister Slate Mine workings & cafe and Borrowdale. This is perhaps the most delightful valley in the Lakes with its crags and broadleaved trees. Borrowdale is a delightful ensemble of hamlets: Seatoller (Close to the wettest place in England), Longthwaite, Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite. Delightful riverside paths connect these places and their pubs together - if you have sufficient energy left for the evening. You might be interested to know that ‘thwaite’ is old Norse for paddock. The day’s total ascent 765m / descent 785m.

Enjoy classic Lakeland scenery on the traverse over Greenup Edge to Easedale and Grasmere. Its a stiff 500m climb up to the edge via Lining Crag where you may get great views back down into Borrowdale. The once boggy trail over the pass has been improved with the laying down of hundreds of Flagstones. After the pass the trail becomes rough and descends steeply into the flower meadows on the ouskirts of Grasmere. Grasmere is one of Lakeland’s most celebrated villages and hopefully there is time either this afternoon or tomorrow morning to visit the poet Wordsworth's home at Dove Cottage and drop into the famous Ginger bread shop! The day’s total ascent 750m / descent 760m.

A great walk over Grisedale Pass (609m/2000ft) and around the small mountain lake of Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale. In good weather and if our group is reasonably strong, we recommend that we take the detour route up St Sunday Crag. It will give some exceptional views down across Ullswater on the descend to Patterdale, possibly the most breathtaking of the trip. The day’s total ascent: 900m / descent 805m (via the optional route over St Sunday Crag, less if we avoid this). *Add 1½ hours for the detour of St Sunday Crag.

After completing today's walk, some would say this was the most difficult stage on the Coast to Coast walk. The day starts with a steep climb up past pretty Angle Tarn. We'll then hike up and onwards to a critical cairn where we turn off the route to High Street. It will take us up and over Kidsty Pike (780m / 2560ft), the highest point on the Coast to Coast, and then descend steeply to walk along Haweswater. This is a huge body of water that was conceived in 1929 to supply Manchester with drinking water, drowning a couple of villages in the process. We then undulate through fields to Shap Abbey, the most easterly point of the Lake District National Park. This was the last abbey to be founded in England (1199) and the last to be destroyed (1540). It nevertheless is a pretty place to take a break with some new interpretation signs. After this, we continue into Shap, the old granite mining town with several pubs and shops. The village offers an interesting insight to the history of the area. The day’s total ascent 1174m / descent 1009m.

There follows a hilly section across Limestone Moors with limestone pavements in places strewn with ‘erratic’ boulders moved there by glaciers. Finally we drop into the gentler climes around Orton. From here, a diversion of about a mile can be made to this quaint picturesque village that is home to Kennedy’s Chocolate Factory shop to lead you into temptation. Walking now between Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales, there is a lot of attractive farmland to cross with a section of moors around Sunbiggin Tarn - an important site for birds. A steep descent to the Scandal Beck at Smardale Bridge makes for a nice afternoon break stop. Then ascend over Smardale Fell for the pretty descent into Kirkby Stephen's attractive market town. Its St. Hedda’s Church contains the 8th Century Loki stone relating to Norse Mythology. The day’s total ascent 808m / descent 950m.

Climb out of town to the cairns of Nine Standards Rigg (661m / 2170 feet) with its array of obelisks. This is an ancient, possibly, boundary feature that no one has any real knowledge of. It marks the Watershed of England. Next you cross squelchy moors down to Keld in Swaledale. The trail from the Nine Standards, once the most notorious of the Coast to Coast, has been much improved once again with the placement of hundreds of flagstones. Passing the farm at Ravenseat, where they breed prime rams, the moors then become increasingly gentler as you walk into Keld with its many waterfalls and old stone barns. /// The day’s total ascent 780m / descent 575m. | . The day’s total ascent 780m / descent 575m.

There are two options today. >> The first is the slightly longer & higher alternative over wild moorland with long-abandoned lead mines, a magnet for the industrial archaeologist. >> The second option is the pretty route via Swaledale, which is a lovely option if we have unfavourable weather or we just prefer a lower level walk. There is a really nice pub in Gunnerside on this second route. Our day finishes in Reeth an attractive green village which flourished at the height of the mining age and today does well out of tourism, hence a collection of pubs and tea shops. The day’s total ascent 838m / descent 911m (via the higher route).

Our morning walk is through pretty Swaledale up the Nun's Steps to Marrick and across farm land to the hamlet of Marske and its attractive church of Edmund the Martyr. The route continues along a valley side lined with limestone crags and through forest reaching Richmond with plenty of time for shopping (note most shops closed Sunday) & sightseeing. This extremely picturesque North Yorkshire town, with its cobbled market square and Norman castle, is an ever-popular destination for visitors. You can also follow the Swale to Town Falls, which are quite impressive when the river is in spate. The day's total ascent 395m / descent 510m.

A gentle rural day, walking out from Richmond beside the River Swale and across the fields to Catterick Race Course. We'll then be threading our way to Brompton on Swale, an ideal lunch stop in the churchyard. We then trundle along beside tiny streams and quiet country roads reaching the village of Danby Wiske with its village green and single pub where they do some great home cooking. The day's total ascent 104m / descent 200m.

Today has road walking and cross country sections. Then with the North York Moors pressing ever closer you have to carefully cross the main A19 road into Ingleby Cross, which has a popular coffee shop. From here you take a steep but lovely woodland footpath up into the old Flax industry village of Osmotherley. On the way you may want to visit the restored Lady chapel in its tranquil setting. Osmotherley is a quaint hill village with three pubs to choose from plus Britain’s oldest functioning Methodist Church (1754) - John Wesley came to preach here. The day's total ascent 261m / descent 132m

This is a roller coaster walk. A steep stretch from Osmotherley introduces our group to the North York Moors and its sandy, heather-clad hills with areas of forest. After coming off Scarth Wood Moor, our guide leads you to a long ascent up Live Moor and Carlton Bank (408m) before we descend to Lord Stones Café. It's almost hidden in an off-road embankment and comes at the right time for coffee. There then follows the succession of Cringle Moor, Broughton Bank and White Hill - all at or over 400m. We loose and then re-ascend 100-200m between each one. White Hill has an area of sandstone boulders called The Wainstones that we thread through on the way up. Great views in clear weather, incl. Roseberry Topping, Vale of Mowbray and back to the Pennines. We come off the ridge at Clay Bank Top and you will get a transfer to your accommodation (included) from the car park at Clay Bank Top to Great Broughton. The day's total ascent 104m / descent 200m.

Our group will be transferred back to the car park (included). Today, the walk follows a moorland ridge up over Round Hill (454m) and the track maintains its height as it follows the line of the old dismantled Rosedale Railway line. The moor can be bleak in bad weather and is punctured in places by standing stones, some marked with inscriptions. There are enticing views at times into the fertile upper valleys of Farn and Esk dales, but our arrival at the ancient Lion Inn at Blakey can be a great relief. The day's total ascent 251m / descent 128m.

After a bit of a road perambulation past a white cross called Fat Betty, we follow an easy undulating descent down to beautiful wooded Eskdale. We also get some views opening up to the sea. The latter part of today's walk follows a pretty path through the woodlands on the banks of the River Esk. We come across the ‘Beggars Bridge’ a parabolic stone structure that has a story of love lost and love refound! Egton Bridge features a church with relics of the Catholic martyr, Nicholas Postgate. A really pretty setting, the river is famous for fly fishing and has some interesting stepping stones, which enables you to hop between the two pubs faster than using the road! The day’s total ascent 265m / descent 616m.

We follow a delightful, private road to Grosmont, where we might get in time to see a steam train pull out for Pickering. We then follow a very steep pull up across heather moors with views down to Whitby and its Abbey. But the sea and journey’s end is still tantalizingly far as the route abruptly changes course to visit the May Beck valley with its Falling Foss waterfall. A last area of high moor brings us to the coast, where the last 5 km/3 miles are spent on the coastal cliff path to Robin Hood's Bay. It will appear almost by surprise as we near it. This is a village of red roofed houses clustered around its harbour on the North Sea coast marking the end of this 190 odd-mile crossing of England. We celebrate with a drink at the Bay Hotel and as tradition states, dip our toes into the sea. The day’s total ascent 775m / descent 770m.

Your Coast to Coast walking holiday concludes in Robin Hood's Bay after breakfast.