Coast to Coast Walk

Coast to Coast Walk
St Bees beach – start of the walk – from South Head
Length190 mi (306 km)
LocationNorthern England
DesignationLong distance footpath, designated a National Trail in 2022
TrailheadsSt Bees, Cumbria
54°29′31″N 3°36′43″W / 54.492°N 3.612°W / 54.492; -3.612 (Coast to Coast Walk, St Bees)
Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire
54°26′06″N 0°32′06″W / 54.435°N 0.535°W / 54.435; -0.535 (Coast to Coast Walk, Robin Hood's Bay)
UseHiking
Highest pointKidsty Pike, 780 m (2,560 ft)
Lowest pointSea level

The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally 190-mile (306 km) long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.[1] The current actual measured distance is reported as 182-mile (293 km).[2]

Wainwright recommends that walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the walk, in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay.

It has been an unofficial and mostly unsignposted trail. However on 12 August 2022 it was announced that the Coast to Coast Walk would become an official National Trail, following a successful campaign by the Wainwright Society (the official Responsible Organisation for the trail[3]). Work will commence to upgrade the route and officially open it in 2025 (at 197-mile (317 km) long).[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Wainwright, Alfred (1973). A Coast to Coast Walk. Westmorland Gazette.
  2. ^ "Coast to Coast (Wainwright)". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  3. ^ "AW's Coast to Coast". The Wainwright Society. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Coast to Coast". National Trails. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  5. ^ Brown, Mark (11 August 2022). "Alfred Wainwright's coast-to-coast walk to be made National Trail". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ "National Trail". The Wainwright Society. Retrieved 26 November 2022.