Coast to Coast knowledge
The books and maps to get and tips from C2C completers.
“It’s best to book ahead, and to prioritise the bottlenecks where accommodation is scarce, like Ennerdale Bridge and Keld.”
GET THE GUIDES
A Coast to Coast Walk (Second edition, revised by Chris Jesty): published by Frances Lincoln, £15. www.quartoknows.com Trailblazer’s Coast to Coast Path, by Henry Stedman and Daniel McCrohan, £11. An excellent guide with an informal style, listing all the alternative routes and full accommodation options. West to east only. Hand-drawn maps and overview maps, but not OS mapping. www.trailblazer-guides.com Cicerone’s The Coast to Coast Walk, by Terry Marsh, £17. Slightly more formal style, misses a lot of the alternative routes – but it also includes instructions on going east to west as well as west to east, and comes with a full booklet of OS Explorer maps. www.cicerone.co.uk Harvey Maps Coast to Coast West and Coast to Coast East, £27 for the pair. Covers the whole route on two handy, weatherproof sheets. www.harveymaps.co.uk As the C2C isn’t a formalised trail, there isn’t a single, one-stop website for it as you’ll find for Britain’s National Trails. Hence the guidebooks become even more important!
BOOKING AHEAD
There are different options depending on your budget, from camping through B&B to luxury and boutique options. It only takes one full-booked venue to scupper your plans, though, so it’s best to book ahead, and to prioritise the bottlenecks where accommodation is scarce, like Ennerdale Bridge and Keld.
WHERE WE STAYED
On our research trip for this feature, Country Walking stayed at the Keld Lodge Hotel (01748 886259, www.keldlodge.com) which is the perfect place to stay at the halfway point, with comfy rooms, great food and a great range of ales. And we really loved our yurt at Lordstones Country Park, pictured above, (01642 778482, www.lordstones.com) – wonderfully warm, good facilities on the doorstep (including café) and a genuinely outstanding view for sunset and sunrise.
PACKAGE OPTIONS
Plenty of companies will book your entire trip for you, if you’re planning to do it all in one go. Among the big providers are Coast to Coast Packhorse ( www.c2cpackhorse.co.uk – the only firm that focuses wholly on the C2C, with guided and unguided itineraries), Sherpa Van ( www.sherpavan.com), Discovery ( www.discoverytravel.co.uk), Ramblers Holidays ( www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) and Brigantes ( www.brigantesenglishwalks.com). Prices generally start from around £1150. HF Holidays also offers a fully guided version of the walk: www.hfholidays.co.uk.
WHAT ABOUT BAGGAGE?
If walking it under your own steam in one go, you’ll need a rucksack of at least 50-litre capacity, and you’ll probably want to pack some laundry products so you can wash stuff occasionally ( (although a friendly B& B may offer to do a wash for you). But if you don’t want to carry everything, most of the fifirms mentioned above, and in particular Coast to Coast Packhorse, also offer baggage transfer only: you arrange the accommodation; they move your overnight stuff while you walk.
GEAR PRIORITIES
Apart from a decent-size rucksack, we’d recommend: good boots that have been thoroughly broken in (don’t start off in a brand new pair); waterproof jacket and trousers; several breathable baselayers; warm outer layers and some lightweight shoes for evenings and rest days (if you’re having any!) You might want a casual T-shirt and trousers for the evenings, but most venues along the C2C are used to diners wearing walking kit. Hiking poles are a huge help, and a first aid kit with plasters, blister treatment and joint supports is essential.