Cicerone Guidebook: Walking The Coast to Coast Walk

The Coast to Coast Walk
St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay
by Terry Marsh

Guidebook to the Coast to Coast long distance walking route from St Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire. At 190 miles (300km), this popular long-distance route can be walked in two weeks. With clear route description, maps, trek planner and accommodation guide. A separate 1:25k map booklet is included with the guidebook.

First devised by Alfred Wainwright, the Coast to Coast Walk has emerged as a favourite among long-distance walkers. The route stretches some 185 miles (296km) from St Bees, an historic seaside village on Cumbria's west coast to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. It is suitable for most fit walkers and can be comfortably walked in around a fortnight.
 
This guidebook presents the full route from west to east in 13 stages of 10½-20¾ miles (16.8-33.2km), with summaries covering the opposite direction. Alongside step-by-step route description, 1:100,000 mapping and fascinating notes about points of interest along the way, a comprehensive trek planner offers a helpful overview of facilities on route, and full accommodation listings and useful contacts can be found in the appendices. There is also a wealth of background information covering geology, history, wildlife and plants, and a list of further reading.
 
In addition, the guide INCLUDES a pocket-sized map booklet containing all the OS 1:25,000 mapping needed to complete the route, saving the need to carry numerous bulky maps.
 
The Coast to Coast Walk crosses three national parks - the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors - and is characterised by fantastic scenery, varied landscapes and great camaraderie among walkers.
This guide is an ideal companion to discovering this captivating route, which was named by Country Walking magazine as the second best walk in the world!

Seasons
Accommodation along the Coast to Coast walk may be busy in summer and higher, more remote, parts difficult in winter. Spring or autumn is ideal.

Centres
St Bees, Grasmere, Shap, Kirkby Stephen, Richmond, Ingleby Arncliffe, Grosmont, Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay

Difficulty
The C2C is a two-week route with total ascent of 6995m (22,825ft). Some remote stretches, especially walking on the North York Moors.

Must See
The Lakeland fells, Swaledale, Vale of Mowbray, North York Moors, cliff-top walks at Robin Hood's Bay