Coast to Coast Walk 2011 - Planning



A Coast to Coast Walk (c2c)
A walk in the Park, well actually three National Parks - The Lake District; the Yorkshire Dales, and the North Yorks Moors.
In 1972 Alfred Wainwright MBE (1907 - 1991), affectionately known as 'AW', devised a walk across the breadth of England, from St. Bees on the north-west coast to Robin Hood's Bay on the north-east coast.  While he described a route in detail, it was never his intention for there to be a definitive path.  He hoped would-be 'c2c-ers' might find variations over the different sections of the walk, indeed he suggested several alternatives - usually over higher ground.  The walk covers 190miles (305km), depending upon variations, and AW felt this could be accomplished in two weeks, an overview of his suggested route is shown below:

Coast to Coast Walk Map
                                Ordnance Survey copyright and courtesy of  http://www.walkingenglishman.com

I have wanted to walk the c2c for more than twenty-years since watching AW describe it on television.  I will be 70 in September, so it is now or never! This is to be my birthday present to myself, finishing just days before the big day.  As AW wrote ;
One should always have a definite objective, in a walk as in life - it is so much more satisfying to reach a target by personal effort than to wander aimlessly.  An objective is an ambition, and life without ambition is .....well, aimless wandering.
 Alfred Wainwright,  A Coast to Coast Walk (1973)

Well said AW!

In planning for my c2c there were numerous considerations;-
  • Not least, how to get from Vellano in Italy to St Bees and still be fit to start the walk and the return from North Yorkshire to Vellano.
  • How far I could walk each day over the varying terrain - ranging from hill ascents of 2500ft ((800m) to the interminably flat 23miles (37km) of the Vale of Mowbray.
  • Whether I would have the energy to tackle some of AWs alternative routes.
  • How much to carry, and the means of getting the remainder of my gear between overnight stops.  And er ... the means of transporting my wife, Mary, over the more difficult sections - we are hoping that she will be fit enough to walk some of the shorter, more level sections.
  • Accommodation along the route.
  • Finalising plans as early in 2011 as possible to get confirmed bookings
Plans for getting from Italy to an airport preferably in the north of England, for ease of accessing St Bees, floundered for a while towards the end of 2010.  Budget airlines had cut back on certain routes and timetables were not available for September 2011.  Flying to Manchester  was the preferred option as it has an excellent rail connection to Carlisle, and thence to St Bees.  Taking a chance on there being similar flights as 2010, I went ahead and started planning the walk - it had to finish on the weekend before my birthday.

The Plan
Breaking the route down into daily sections provoked a great deal of thought.  I had already been trekking around the local wooded hillsides and felt quite comfortable walking 15 miles (24km) across hilly terrain. perhaps even 18 miles (29km) while on level ground 25 miles (40km) would 'fill a day'.  Unfortunately it is not possible to break the route down into sections of equal distances, or effort, because of the topography, unless you are 'wild camping', so some days will be more arduous than others. So there is the commonsense need to balance a long day's walk with a shorter walk the following day wherever possible and possibly incorporating a rest day in the middle to 'recharge one's batteries' or attend to the blisters!  AW broke the route down into twelve sections, some of which he suggested could either be joined up into a longer day's walk or others to be split into two days.  I have more or less gone along with his suggested sections with minor variations.  To estimate how long each days walk would take I used Naismith's rule;
allow 4km/hour (2.5mph) walking for the estimated distance and add 30mins for every 300metres (1000ft) of ascent.  For example, 16km walk would take 4hours, if there is 600metres of ascent then (2x 30mins.) should be added making a total tine of 5hours.
In addition, time has to be factored in for enjoying the view, taking photos, eating and drinking, ... and getting my breath back!  The following is the provisional plan, starting on Friday 9th September and taking 16 days, including a rest day;

                                                                       miles  (km)        ascent*    total time
 Sept.                                                                                        (mtrs)        (hrs)  
 9th   St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge                 14.25   (22.80)     250         6.75
10th  Ennerdale Bridge to Stonethwaite          15.25  (24.40)      800         9.50
11th  Stonethwaite to Grasmere (Townhead)   8.50  (13.60)      450         5.50
12th  Grasmere (Townhead) to Patterdale       7.50  (12.00)      800         4.00
13th  Patterdale to Shap                                 16.00  (25.60)      600         8.50
14th  Shap to Kirkby Stephen                         20.00   (32.00)     200         9.50
15th  Kirkby Stephen to Keld                          12.75   (20.40)     500         6.75
16th  Keld  to Reeth                                        11.25   (18.00)     400         6.25
17th  Reeth to Richmond                                10.50   (16.80)     100         5.50
18th  Richmond - REST DAY
19th  Richmond to Ingleby Cross (Park Hse)  23.00  (36.80)          0        10.25
20th  Ingleby Cross (Park Hse.) to Urra          14.25  (22.80)       460         7.50
21st  Urra to Blakey Ridge (Lion Inn)               9.00  (14.40)       250         4.50
22nd Blakey Ridge to Grosmont                     13.25  (21.20)         50        6.25
23rd Grosmont to High Hawsker                     11.25  (18.00)       300        6.00
24th  High Hawsker to Robin Hoods Bay          4.25  (6.80)             0         2.00
*ascent = total ascent for the day


It will be interesting to compare the above distances with that recorded on my Garmin Foretrex 401 as I walk each section.
I incorporated a couple of AW's alternative routes in the above plan. In particular, instead of walking along the Ennerdale valley I have opted to go up from Gillerthwaite to Red Pike, an ascent of 600metres over a 1.5km distance (so quite steep), then to High Stile, High Crag and Haystacks, then stopping off at Innominate Tarn to pay my respects to AW - this is where his ashes are scattered, it was his favourite spot in the Lake District - before rejoining the trail at Honister.  This alternative route should only be done in good weather, and I'm not going to take any risks!  The short walk on the last day, Saturday 24th, is so that my family, children and grand-children, can join me for the last few miles and help me celebrate.  Family and friends will also be joining me on some of the other days as well.
I will put more detailed maps of the individual sections on the Coast to Coast Walk page soon.

Accommodation
I had been warned that with the growing popularity of the c2c, with some push from the 'Julia Bradbury affect', accommodation was increasingly more difficult to find and that bookings should be made by January.  I used The Coast to Coast Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Guide by Doreen Whitehead.  Three of my first choice B&Bs were fully booked by January but I managed to find alternatives that didn't affect my plans too much.  All my accommodation is on the route so I don't have to add more miles to put my head down!
I settled with the following:-

St. Bees - Tomlin Guest House
Ennerdale Bridge - The Shepherds Arms
Stonethwaite  -  Knotts View
Grasmere  - Townhead Farm
Patterdale - Old Water View
Shap - Brookfield House
Kirkby Stephen - Fletcher House
Keld  - Keld Lodge
Reeth  - Springfield House
Richmond - Nun's Cottage
Ingleby Cross -  Park House
Urra  -  Maltkiln House
Blakey Ridge  - The Lion Inn
Grosmont - Ings Bank
High Hawsker - York House

And all are confirmed and booked - so no worries there!

Luggage
Traveling from Italy, and being away for over two weeks requires more baggage than I was prepared to carry  on my back!  In addition, Mary, my wife, wanted to accompany me on parts of the walk, preferably the shorter more level sections and as she doesn't drive, we thought we had a problem with transport for the other days.  That is until I found The Packhorse company, not only do they transport the luggage from B&B to B&B but they will also take a passenger for FREE, if you have luggage booked.  All we have to do is to inform them the night before if Mary wants to do the walk next day. otherwise they will pick her up each day.  And if we had managed to get our Border Collie's passport arranged in time they would have taken her as well.  All my dealings with them and comments made by the B&B owners suggest they are a very efficient, and friendly, company -

  www.c2cpackhorse.co.uk

As an Australian, Mary will have the opportunity of seeing some of the most beautiful parts of England for the first time - some of it chauffeur driven!

What to Carry
With the luggage transport sorted the amount that I need to carry each day is minimised.  I have a day sac, Lowe Alpine Airzone 35+10, which will contain my packed lunch, nibbling things, AW's guide, and phone, id, and whistle in zipped pocket, all in the top pouch and my wet weather gear, in the main compartment, easily accessible because of the side zips, along with spare socks, fleece, first aid kit, torch and the 'day's' full OS map.  The side mesh pockets will have water bottles and I also have a 2-litre hydration pack, which can be incorporated with the day sac, enabling me to sip water without taking the  day sac off my back.  In total it should be less than 7kg, including water, but will have final check nearer the day.  A copy of the OS map with the route marked on it,  a daily route card and compass will be carried in a map-case around my neck.


Getting to St Bees
Finally managed to get flights booked.  Only problem is that the flights into Manchester are on a Tuesday which means that we have to spend three nights in St. Bees instead of two - we wanted a day before the start of the walk in St Bees just to prepare.   The train connections to Carlisle and on to St Bees are good, even if the flight is delayed we will still have time to make our connections in Carlisle.  Not to worrying about the extra day in St Bees as I soon realised that I can use this to my advantage.  I will use one of the extra days to do part of my first 'official' section.  When AW devised the route, he headed west around the coast line from St Bees before heading eastward inland.  Consequently after walking about 6 miles, one will see signs St Bees 1.5miles. I propose to do those 6 miles on Thurs. 8th Sept, then on Friday morning pick up the trail at that point and continuing on to Ennerdale Bridge thus breaking myself in gradually.