A diary of the Cumbrian part of a walk by Peter & Jeanne Donaghy, and John & Gillian Laidler during July 2003.
You have to be prepared for every kind of weather on this 190 mile walk originally designed by A. Wainwright. We set out from St Bees on a wet and windy day and arrived 17 days later in Robin Hoods Bay in glorious sunshine. In between we e generally enjoyed warm and sunny days but the waterproofs were certainly needed on a number of occasions
We had decided that at 65years of age and plus that we needed to have our packs carried and this provided welcome relief. This walk is hard enough without the added burden of a heavy pack and so all we carried was a day sack with refreshments and the waterproofs.
There are several companies offering baggage transportation as well as accommodation booking. We selected Packhorse, locally based at Kirkby Stephen, and they were most efficient and obliging. Even when we altered our schedule to give ourselves an extra day they weren’t phased. However, we did book our own B&Bs. We did this by telephone about four months in advance and this certainly paid off. There are a number of accommodation guidebooks available and we used the classic guide prepared by Mrs Whitehead. She’s one of the personalities of the route and staying with her at Butt house, Keld is a worthwhile experience.
The camaraderie of the route is something really special, and we met some great people from all over the world. It was fun to meet up in the evenings as we nearly always coincided with fellow walkers while having our evening pub meal. Here we could exchange stories of any misadventures and there was always a lot of leg-pulling about speed and navigation skills.
This is certainly not an easy walk. Terry Marsh in 'A Northern Coast to Coast Walk' (Cicerone) refers to five sections, two of which are in Cumbria 1. Across Lakeland-including Grasmere and Patterdale and 2.Limestone Country-Shap and Kirkby Stephen.
Perhaps we’re prejudiced but for us these were the two most spectacular and demanding sections. If you only have a short time, then go for this part of the route and you won’t be disappointed.
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See other walks by Peter Donaghy.
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