Wainwright's classic walk across Northern England
190 miles from St. Bees Head to Robin Hood's Bay
Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk is by far the most popular long distance trail in Britain, and one of the world's great walks.
From the Irish Sea at St. Bees Head, it winds its way across Northern England, 190 miles or so, to the North Sea shoreline at Robin Hood's Bay. On the way it passes through three National Parks: The Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
It is an exhilarating adventure, and once completed is an achievement that will remain fondly in the memory for the rest of your life.
The Coast to Coast is a tough and challenging walk; even forewarned many people still find it tougher than they expected, particularly over Lakeland. The key to success is careful preparation.
Wainwright divided his walk into 12 sections. Strong and experienced fell walkers may tackle one section a day, but for most walkers some sections are just too long. It's better to break them and take time to explore. 14 or 15 days make better itineraries, whilst still allowing the walk to fit into a fortnight slot.
Since Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk was first published in 1973 there have been a number of changes to the route, for a variety of reasons.
The Wainwright Society, founded in 2002 to keep alive the things which AW promoted through the guidebooks, took on responsibility for the Coast to Coast Walk. At the Society's Annual General Meeting in 2012, chairman Eric Robson announced that the walk would be way-marked for the first time in 40 years.
10 years later, in August 2022, the government announced that Wainwright's Caost to Coast Walk was to become Britain's newest National Trail.
