Alfred Wainwright lived at Kendal on the edge of the English Lake District. The celebrated Coast-to-Coast walk across northern England was his creation and has become a classic, one of the world’s great hikes. It crosses 3 National Parks - which are not uninhabited wilderness areas as are some national parks in other countries, but regions of outstanding landscape value dedicated to outdoor recreation: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. According to Wainwright’s own principles, the Coast-to-coast hike has never become an official route or national trail, and many hikers make variations from his original route.

We at The Discerning Traveller have between us hiked this route 7 times, in both directions (west to east and east to west). However Wainwright’s original route was from west to east, starting at St Bees on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria and ending at Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea coast of Yorkshire. The route starts with a section of coastal path along the red sandstone cliffs near St Bees and also ends with a coastal section along high cliffs of Jurassic strata near Robin Hood’s Bay.

The total distance is about190 miles/305km and requires 2 full weeks for a fit hiker. Although some people manage it in 13 or even 12 hiking days, we recommend spending 14 hiking days, i.e. 15 nights to complete the crossing.

For those who do not have two weeks available a good option is to spend a week (7 nights) walking from St Bees to Kirkby Stephen, which is a little short of the half-way point, and has a train station enabling you to return to an airport or to your starting point. This leaves you with the possibility of returning on another occasion to Kirkby Stephen to complete the walk to Robin Hood’s Bay.

We grade this tour as ‘Demanding’ and you need to be both experienced hikers and very fit before starting the tour. It is especially important that your feet are in good condition and accustomed to the hiking boots that you will be wearing. On some days which cross high hills we also describe easy alternative low-level routes in case of bad weather. However you can encounter cold and wet conditions at almost any time of year. Very hot weather is also possible in high summer.

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Coast to coast – Wainwright’s walk - tour details 2008
A Discerning Traveller self-led hiking holiday
Duration. 7 or 9 or 15 nights. Tour code: J7 or J9 or J15.
Starting dates. May to end September.

Grade. Demanding. Some days are long – up to 20 miles/32km in a day – and some are strenuous – up to 2500 feet/760m ascent and descent in a day.

Airports. The most convenient international airport is Manchester. Another airport with relatively easy access from points on the tour is Newcastle. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham and London are less convenient but still possible.

Train stations. Start of tours J7 and J15 St Bees (on Sundays Whitehaven, then taxi 4 miles to St Bees); end of J7 and start of J9 Kirkby Stephen; end of tours J9 and J15 Scarborough or Whitby (bus from Robin Hood’s Bay to Scarborough train station about 45 minutes, to Whitby train station about 25 minutes).

Train service. From Manchester Airport to St Bees (journey time about 4 to 4.5 hours, change trains once or twice en route). From London Euston about 1.5 hours longer. From Manchester Airport to (or from) Kirkby Stephen (journey time about 4.5 hours, change trains twice, including change at Carlisle). From London King’s Cross to/from Kirkby Stephen about 1 hour longer, change trains at Leeds. From Scarborough train to Manchester Airport (about 3 hours, change trains at Manchester Piccadilly) or to London (about 3.5 hours, change trains at York). From/to Newcastle Airport journey times are similar to those for Manchester airport. From Newcastle Airport to St Bees or to/from Kirkby Stephen change trains at Newcastle and at Carlisle. From Whitby to Newcastle Airport or to Scotland change trains at Middlesbrough and Newcastle. Frequency and journey times subject to change. Trains tend to be slower and less frequent on Sundays, and at weekends rail routes are more often subject to engineering works. We can provide current train timetables nearer the dates of your tour.

Overnight stops. J7 (7-night tour): night 1 St Bees; 2 Ennerdale Bridge; 3 Rosthwaite; 4 Grasmere; 5 Patterdale; 6 Shap; 7 Kirkby Stephen. J9 (9 night tour): night 1 Kirkby Stephen; 2 Keld or Thwaite; 3 Reeth; 4 Richmond; 5 Danby Wiske; 6 Osmotherley; 7 Blakey Ridge; 8 Egton Bridge or Grosmont; 9 Robin Hood’s Bay. J15 (15 night tour): nights 1 to 7 as J7; nights 8 to 15 as J9 nights 2 to 9.

Accommodation. Specially selected guest houses or 'B&Bs', some nights in country inns. En suite or private facilities can sometimes be guaranteed throughout the tour on payment of a supplement. Please enquire for details.

Meals included. Breakfast each morning; other meals can be obtained locally without pre-booking.

Extra nights. These can be included at any point on the tour at the time of booking the holiday. However most Coast to Coast hikers, once they have started, do the hike straight through without taking a break anywhere. A few people add on a night at St Bees to recover from jetlag or, at the end of the tour, stay on at Robin Hood’s Bay to relax on the shore or make a visit to nearby Whitby.
Factsheet. These are more detailed information sheets, one for each tour, which should be obtained from The Discerning Traveller before booking. The Factsheet code for our Coast to Coast tour is FSJ. Enquiry form.

Coast to Coast – Wainwright’s walk - tour prices 2008

• J7 (7 night tour). £480. Single room supplement: £90.
• J9 (9 night tour). £560. Single room supplement: £110
• J15 (15 night tour). £800. Single room supplement: £170.
• Extra nights: £42 per person per night.
• En suite or private bathroom facilities cannot be not guaranteed throughout this tour, but are provided when available
• Prices quoted are per person on basis of two people in double or twin-bedded rooms. Included in the price are bed and breakfast each night, with baggage transfers, maps and route directions. When the booking is made for a party of 3 or 5 customers, a single room supplement is payable. Maximum one single room per booking. This tour is not available for single travellers.

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