Wednesday, May 5, 2010

COAST TO COAST, A WALK ACROSS ENGLAND



Photo by Brian Downing


In 1972, Alfred Wainwright, a renowned fell-walker and author of numerous guidebooks about the Lake District, finally completed a project that he had wrestled with for many years -- the establishment of a coast-to-coast walking path across England, from St. Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea.  Since its creation, the path has enjoyed immense popularity and is now commonly referred to as "Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk."  The term "walk," however, can be misleading for Americans, who generally use the term to describe a leisurely stroll of a few miles, at most, across relatively flat or slightly undulating terrain.  As Henry Stedman notes, however, in his excellent book, Coast to Coast Path, "let us be clear: the Coast to Coast is a lengthy and in many places tough trek."  


According to Wainwright, the official distance of the trek is 191.5 miles; more recent surveys, however, have declared that it is closer to 220 miles. From the departure point of St. Bees, the path proceeds northwards along the edge of coastal cliffs for a short distance and then moves westerly, eventually crossing three national parks: The Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.  According to Wainwright, "the countryside traversed is beautiful almost everywhere, yet extremely varied in character, with mountains and hills, valleys and rivers, heather moors and sea cliffs combining in a pageant of colorful scenery."  Who can resist that? I certainly can't.


Photo by Brian Downing

I first read about the coast-to-coast walk -- called the "C2C" by aficionados -- several years ago.  I made a copy of the article and placed it in a file, where it remained until last August, at which time I retrieved it, looked at my watch, and discovered to my amazement that I was considerably older than I had imagined.  At sixty-six (now a year older), I knew that the trek was not going to get any easier in the future, and, therefore, the time had come to seize the proverbial bull by the horns.  In any event, I needed a new challenge to placate my pesky old companion, Goethe, who slumbers in my brain each night, mumbling his now-famous dictum:  

    Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. 
    Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Pressed into action, I made my reservations and committed myself to hike at least 1,000 miles before beginning the C2C.  As of today, I have completed 975 miles of that goal  and will complete the remaining miles within the next few days.  A good start, I believe, but it remains to be seen whether there will be "a slip between cup and lip." I have prepared well; I have purchased reliable gear; I have a strong commitment to completing the trek; and, thus far, I have resisted the advice of those who suggest that it might be more prudent to take a short walk through Burgundy, punctuated, of course, by frequent stops at patisseries, bistros, and vineyards that offer free wine samplings. This is a tempting recommendation, without question, but a walk through France will have to wait for another day.  I love walking, I love the prospect of challenging terrain, and I plan to press on from St. Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, come hell or high water. As for those recalcitrant volcanoes in Iceland, we will just wait and hope for the best.

Photo by Brian Downing

So, here's the plan.  I will be leaving in early June for Manchester, England, from which I will take a train to St. Bees, a small coastal village to the north.  On June 5, after the traditional dipping of a toe into the Irish Sea, I will head up the coastal cliffs above St. Bees and veer westerly toward the Lake District.  Assuming that all goes according to plan, I should reach my destination of Robin Hood's Bay thirteen days later.  At that point, I will dip my toe into the North Sea -- also in keeping with tradition -- and promptly report to a convivial pub to join my fellow trekkers in lifting a few pints.

Wainwright's Hand-drawn Map of Coast-to-Coast Walk

When I return, I will be posting several blogs to cover my experiences on the trek.  I will also be posting some photos that, hopefully, will encourage others to embark upon the C2C or some other long-distance trail.  The world is waiting for us, and Goethe is right: Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Since I have yet to make the trek, I have illustrated this posting with photos taken by Brian Downing, who, accompanied by his wife, Gail, completed Wainwright's coast-to-coast walk in 2005.  For those who wish to see the beauty of the trek in all of its daily detail, I suggest that you go to Brian and Gail Downing Photo Diary,   http://www.byron.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Brian and Gail have done a great service for all who wish to walk the C2C, either literally or vicariously.



23 comments:

  1. Oh my ... how exciting! It's wonderful how you have prepared for such an inspiring adventure. I will look forward to hearing about it in your future posts.

    No doubt there will be a zen component in your walking. Will you carry a tent for sleeping, or are there waystations that accomodate you along the way? Will you walk alone or in a group? Excuse me if I am a bit nosey ... perhaps it is the adventure lust in me ... I'm sure you will be blogging before you leave, but I wish you all the magic your planning has promised.

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  2. Me again. I meant to mention how much I like your art in the sidebar. Orange and turquoise are two of my favourite colour combos. Great composition and eye for colour!

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  3. Bonnie --

    Thanks for the note. With respect to the coast-to-coast, I am joining a group of about ten people that has been put together by a small outfitter out of the Lake District, Northwestwalks. We will trek with daypacks carrying food, water, raingear, etc., but a van will move the remainder of our luggage from village to village each day. No camping, just small hotels and B&B's.

    Thanks for the comments on the paintings. I still love painting, but I recently gave up my studio and stopped showing my works. Creativity is central to my life, and I do not want it to be corrupted by some of the less attractive aspects of "the business of art."

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  4. Your walk across England has me anticipating great photos, Brian Downing's photos were of wonderful scenes!
    Last year I followed a fellow blogger's pilgrimage across northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago. She posted a little along the way.
    ...Wanda

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  5. The C2C is a very fine and lovely trail. You will enjoy it immensely, of that I'm sure. (Burgundy also sounds good - but the excellent Northern real ales will be more than adequate compensation for that vinous Gallic stuff..!)

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  6. Thanks, SW. I'm sure there is no better advice. By the way, I have obtained the Hillaby book, as well as two books on Richard Long's work. Great stuff! Thanks so much for broadening my world.

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  7. To Wanda,

    Glad you enjoyed the photos. Check out Brian and Gail Downing's site and you will find 209 more. Hopefully, I will have some good photos when I return from my trip.

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  8. Sounds brilliant, well worth missing the patisseries for. Enjoy!

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  9. George
    I am sure that this walk will inspire you and Goethe to some interesting posts.
    I need a long walk to defog my thinking a bit.
    Good luck
    Tramp

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  10. To Linda and Tramp,

    Thanks, Linda, I know I will enjoy it, especially if I can get a little cooperation from those Icelandic volcanoes.

    Yes, Tramp. Go for the long walk to defog the brain or anything else. "Solviture ambulando," said St. Augustine, "It is solved by walking."

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  11. I will be on my own trek across Spain while you are trekking across Britain, but will look forward to reading of your adventures and observations upon my return.

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  12. To Oran Mor,

    Good luck on your camino. I look forward to hearing about your experiences. While I am trying to concentrate on my coast-to-coast, I must confess that I am already dreaming of other adventures, including a camino.

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  13. I hope you have a wonderful time, I'm sure you will love the scenery and I shall look forward to seeing your photos and hearing about your adventures. It's a challenging walk but what an achievement when you reach the end. Buy plenty of Kendal Mint Cake, it's pure sugar and wonderful for an energy boost - it accompanies a great many UK walkers:) There was a series of programmes on BBC about Julia Bradbury doing Wainwright's Coast to Coast and she's also done many other Wainwright Walks programmes, I imagine they are available on DVD though whether there would be a US Region 2 version I'm not sure. Think you'd enjoy them.

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  14. To Rowan,

    Thanks so much for the good wishes, and especially for the advice on Kendal Mint Cake. I'm quite sure that I will be needing every energy boost I can find. I haven't seen the Julia Bradbury DVD's, but I've read about them and plan to order some.

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  15. I'm doing the C2C this June also...with an organized group and a sherpa service! but I still think it'll be sufficiently challenging! I'm getting nervous as I haven't really been training much...But it is exciting! Good luck! I'm going to add you to my blog reading list! :)

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  16. Kirsten--

    Good luck, Kirsten. I'm sure that we are going to have one of the best experiences of our lives. From my standpoint, I only hope that the Icelandic volcanoes return to their slumber so that my flight plans are not interrupted.

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  17. George,I look forward to reading of your journey when I return from mine. Kirsten, what date do you start? I'm with an organised group starting 12th June using Sherpa.

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  18. Good luck on your C2C, Skipper. My C2C begins in St.Bees on June 5 with Northwestwalks.

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  19. I start June 25 with HF Holidays...George will be finished by the time I start and Skipper, you'll literally be nearly finished by the time I start! How was the weather?????

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  20. I start June 25 with HF Holidays...I leave this Sunday (the 20th)...I'll do a little site-seeing before and after the walk.
    How as the weather??

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  21. Kirsten,

    Good luck on your C2C. The weather was wonderful on the whole, two or three days with some rain, but that made the trek all the more interesting. I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

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  22. I first heard of the coast to coast path when I was about 19 years old, sitting in a doctor's waiting room looking at a Reader's Digest. There was an article in there about the walk and I was completely blown away that such holidays/journeys were possible. I had no knowledge of the public footpath system in Britain at that time, I just knew it sounded like heaven. The first long distance walk I did was the West Highland Way in Scotland in 1999, I then moved on to do sections of the Southwest Coast Path, and my next journey will be Offa's Dyke Path along the Welsh border. How ambitious of you to walk 1000 miles before you even got started!

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  23. To Fireweek Meadow,

    Interesting -- you are the second person today who has mentioned the Offa's Dyke Path. I'm going to look into that immediately. As for the Coast to Coast, I heartily recommend it. It was one of the great experiences of my life.

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