Photo Essay: Coast to Coast Walk - Preparation

The Preparation

A lot of the fun in travelling — for me at least — lies in the planning. There is always a long period of preparation, full of research, reverie and anticipation. The amount of preparation sometimes seems to be all out of proportion with the eventual pay-off; nonetheless, it is always one of the most exhilarating parts of the process. Here are some of the elements in play when planning an extended holiday.

 Inspiration

John Lodge

The idea for doing a special retirement-year project came from an old school friend, John Lodge, who marked his own retirement (in December 2010) by buying a motorcycle, and doing a tour with it through Italy and Sardinia in June 2011. John did the planning and preparation for his journey from January to May 2011; and then spent all of June doing the travel. And he blogged about it — the entire process: buying the motorcycle and its accessories, re-learning the techniques of motorcycle riding, planning the route, purchasing the gear and supplies, and so on. I read through all of his posts, and found the whole thing quite inspiring. The blog is called Touring the Italian Peninsula on a Honda CB500. I thought, "I should do something like that". It was not just the travelling part that intrigued me, it was the process of planning and documenting the adventure.

Idea

  

With John's example in the back of my mind, the idea for my own adventure was born in the midst of text messaging on Skype with my good friend Tony (who lives in Wimbledon, UK). We do this texting every weekend during the Premier League season — usually on Saturdays at 10:00 my time (EST) and 15:00 his time (GMT) — as we follow that week's match involving Southampton Football Club. Our support for the "Saints" goes back to the early 60s. 

Whilst listening to live commentary about the match on our computers, and Skyping back-and-forth about the progress of the game, we also digress into other topics. During one game I was musing with Tony about doing some sort of special project to mark my impending retirement in June 2015. We mentioned possible hiking trips and quickly agreed on the Coast to Coast Walk designed by Alfred Wainwright. Nine days later I contacted Michael, another close English friend, who quickly agreed to join us. The hiking trio was established. And the serious planning began.

Accommodation

Booking your holiday

  

The primary consideration for a trip like this is accommodation. The key factors involved are convenience, comfort, carriage of equipment, and cost. All of these have to be juggled.

If economy is your most important consideration, then camping might be your first choice. But you face two main issues: finding camping sites  — whether out in the wild, or in an organised camping site — close to the terminus of each of the fourteen stages could be very difficult; and carrying all of your camping gear and clothing in a large backpack. Every day would be a physical struggle — especially on those days featuring lots of steep climbing up and down the fells.

Lake District Hostels

Next, in order of economy, would be staying overnight in hostels. This is a lot more convenient and comfortable — there are plenty of hostels all along the Coast to Coast Walk. This might be the best option for the young, or the young at heart, who don't mind sharing facilities and dormitories.

But for those of us keen on comfort and privacy — and able to pay for it — staying in B&Bs or hotels is probably the natural choice. But there are a lot of older folk competing for such prime accommodation, and the choices are limited at certain times of the year. The smart thing to do is to book ahead, to ensure you get the sort of thing you want; if you leave it to the day before — phoning from the previous day's overnight location, for example — you could be out of luck.

But to find and book fourteen different establishments that fit the bill could be a long and trying process — although a lot easier to accomplish via the internet. One possibility — and the choice that we made — is to hire a company that specializes in booking the entire 14-day journey. 

These companies provide a range of options: they could simply book the accommodation; they could provide a guide to accompany you on the hike, if you would prefer an expert hand; and they will also ferry your suitcases and bags by van from B&B to B&B. This last option is the one we chose — it means you can bring a reasonable selection of clothing and equipment, and not have to carry it with you along the trail. You just need a day-pack with a minimal amount of stuff: a packed lunch, light rain gear, guide books, maps, camera, and binoculars.

So we booked early, through a Glasgow-based company called Macs Adventure — at recommended B&Bs and hotels — and knew exactly where we were staying each night. With everything planned, and the bulk of the baggage shipped on ahead each day by van, we would focus our energies on the task of each day's hike.

Clothing

A word now about the type of clothing required for such a long slog across England.

1) Hiking boots are probably the most important item necessary for long-distance walking. You need thick soles with a good tread to provide good traction on loose stone and slippery rock. There should be lots of support for the ankles. A waterproof top (such as Gore-Tex) is important to keep the feet dry in heavy rain or boggy conditions.

2) Socks should be comfortable. Avoid cotton; merino wool is a good alternative. You might consider two layers: a light synthetic fabric next to the skin (a "liner"); and the merino wool socks on top. The liner "wicks" the moisture away from the feet and into the socks.

 

3) Upper body clothing should be layered — two or three layers, depending on the weather. Again, avoid cotton; it will create excessive moisture on the body. Start with a light synthetic material (polyester) in the form of a short-sleeved T-shirt. The second layer should also be light and synthetic — a long-sleeved shirt (in bright sun), or a fleece-styled sweater. Two layers ought to be enough on a warm, sunny day. If it's cold, windy, or rainy, you could add a third layer - a light, breathable and waterproof jacket made of polyester, or similar synthetic material. If you have the money, how about Gore-Tex?

4) Polyester is also a suitable material for shorts and rain paints. It will make them light and breathable. Avoid cotton and denim; it is too heavy and it holds the moisture (sweat or rain) next to the skin.

Equipment/Tools

Each to his own in this department; but these are the most important items I will have on the Coast to Coast Walk:

1) I'll have my Nikon D7000 DSLR (digital, single-lens reflex) camera, with an 18-105 mm zoom lens. I would have liked to have my longer telephoto zoom as well; but it's quite heavy, and the number of times I would use it would not justify its inclusion.

2) Mini camera tripod to get old-styled "selfies" of the trio. Also can be used to stabilize camera for making videos.

3) Binoculars for getting close-up views of unfamiliar British birds — of the avian variety.

4) Zoom H2n "Handy Recorder" (audio recorder). For recording conversations or outdoor soundscapes.

Telescopic Hiking Poles

5) Walking Poles (similar to cross-country ski-poles) are useful for "older folk" — especially when negotiating the steep uphill or downhill sections of a trail. They help to protect the knees and joints. And you can actually progress more quickly. Get telescopic poles that you can adjust to any height, and change for uphill and downhill situations.

6) An orienteering compass to use in conjunction with a map.

7) And, of course, my ultrabook laptop computer to use in preparing the blog posts throughout this journey!

Guides

Books and Maps

Some useful resources and reference works to provide advice and information:

1) A Coast to Coast Walk: A Pictorial Guide (Revised Edition - 2003) by Alfred Wainwright — responsible for this whole thing!

2) Coast to Coast Path (Sixth Edition - 2014) by Henry Stedman

3) Collins Bird Guide (2nd Edition - 2009) by Lars Svensson

4) Collins Gem: Wildflowers by Martin Walters

5) Coast to Coast: West - Harvey Map XT40

6) Coast to Coast: East - Harvey Map XT40

Left-to-Right: Clive, Michael & Tony

Photo Essay: The Coast to Coast Walk - an Introduction

As a special project to mark my retirement from teaching in 2015, I am going to hike the Coast to Coast Walk from August 23 to September 5, 2015 — fourteen days of walking through some of the most beautiful areas of northern England.

The Coast to Coast Walk was devised by famed fellwalker Alfred Wainwright in 1972. Although it is one of the most popular long-distance trails in the UK (equivalent to the Bruce Trail in Ontario, which runs from Niagara to Tobermory), the Coast to Coast is not an official, national trail. It runs for 192 miles (309 km) across the northern neck of England, traversing three very different — and very beautiful — national parks: the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, near the north-west coast; the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which also has the Pennine Way running through it; and the North York Moors National Park, which is close to the north-east coast.

The Coast to Coast Walk crosses England from the coast of Cumbria to the coast of Yorkshire

Most hikers who tackle the trail walk it west-to-east, in order to keep the wind and the sun behind them. The trail begins, therefore, on the west coast of England in St. Bees, Cumbria - a small village on the north-west coast, about five miles (eight km) south of the town of Whitehaven. St. Bees overlooks the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man lying to the west about half-way between the English coast and Northern Ireland. The Coast to Coast Walk ends on the east coast in the Yorkshire village of Robin Hood's Bay, about five miles (eight km) south-east of Whitby, overlooking the North Sea.

Alfred Wainwright walking the Lakeland fells

Alfred Wainwright was born in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1907. He was raised in the city and began his working career there as an accountant. Even as a young lad he was a keen long-distance walker. He also showed an early interest in cartography and drawing. Wainwright's long love-affair with the fells (hills) of the Lake District began in 1930, at the age of 23. He spent a week's holiday there with his cousin Eric Beardsall. In 1941 he moved to the Lake District, taking a cut in pay to do so, working as an accountant in the Borough Treasury Office in Kendal, Westmorland. He would live and work in Kendal until his retirement in 1967. He died in 1991.

In 1952 Wainwright began work on the first of seven hikers' guides to the fells of the Lake District. The series was dubbed A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. The first — a guide to the Eastern fells — came out in 1955. Six more volumes followed over the next 11 years, an average of a book every two years. He produced about one page every evening. These guides are unique because all of the illustrations and maps are hand drawn by the author, and the text also features Wainwright's own hand-lettering, instead of being printed using a traditional typeface.

Wainwright came up with the idea of a west-to-east hiking trail across the neck of England in 1972. He had prepared a book about the Pennine Way in his own inimitable style back in 1968. The Pennine Way runs south-to-north for 267 miles (429 km) up the northern spine of England, from Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District, through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park, ending just short of the Scottish border. Wainwright wasn't that enamoured with that particular trail; in some closing comments at the end of his Coast to Coast book, he describes the Pennine Way as "far longer and  a greater challenge to stamina, but most of it lies over dreary moorlands." The Coast to Coast trail, on the other hand, he writes, "is, in my opinion, immeasurably superior in scenic qualities although it has no Hadrian's Wall to stimulate the imagination ... [It] is enjoyable for its beauty, for the dramatic variations of landscape, and for its many interesting relics, some rooted in prehistory." He concludes his comparison of the two trails with this pithy statement: "I finished the Pennine Way with relief, the Coast to Coast walk with regret. That's the difference."

It took Alfred Wainwright a year to plan and explore his Coast to Coast trail. His scheme contained four main objectives: to avoid towns; to link together the three National Parks already there; to keep to high ground wherever it was practicable; and to use only rights of way and areas of open access. His book, A Coast to Coast Walk: A Pictorial Guide was completed and published in 1973 by the Westmorland Gazette. Because of legal restrictions that arose later (after land changed hands), and increasing traffic, and land erosion, the trail has had to be regularly re-routed over the years. Four revised editions of the guide have been published  since 1973; the most recent was published by Frances Lincoln of London in 2003.

Wainwright divided the Coast to Coast route into 12 stages. His idea was to have each stage end in a place where overnight accommodation would be available. Most of the stages he came up with began and ended with low ground, and included a single up-and-down stretch during the course of the day's hike. A couple of the stages were much longer than the average, and included more than one extended spell of steep walking. The majority of walkers these days tackle the trail in 14 or 15 stages. Hiking the trail every day for two weeks means a daily average of 14 miles (22 km). If you hike at an average speed of 2.5-3.0 miles/hour (depending on how much change of elevation you have to deal with), that means a daily hike of about seven hours.

It needs to be emphasized, of course, that although Wainwright's trail is laid out in a careful and efficient way, there is no exact route you have to follow, and no single method of negotiating one's course across the country. The idea is to take the general idea, but to innovate as the whim takes you, or to adjust your plan in response to vagaries of circumstance — whether of human or natural causes. Our own approach, however, is set firmly by the pre-arranging all of our B&B and hotel accommodation. The main idea is to set oneself a challenge, but also to enjoy the entire process for its own sake. You're only going to do it once — presumably — so get the most out of it while you can.

My friends Michael and Tony, with whom I attended boarding school in the mid-to-late '60s, will be my companions on this grand hiking adventure. We will be walking the Coast to Coast trail for 14 straight days from August 23rd. to September 5th. Follow our progress daily on this blog!

Resources: A Coast to Coast Walk - Revised Edition (2003) by A. Wainwright, published by Frances Lincoln, London; Coast to Coast Path - Sixth Edition by Henry Stedman, published by Trailblazer Publications; Harvey Map XT40: Coast to Coast West (St. Bees to Keld) and  Harvey Map XT40: Coast to Coast East (Keld to Robin Hood's Bay); B&B and hotel bookings and daily luggage-ferrying by Macs Adventure.