A Coast to Coast Walk was devised by Wainwright himself, and set out in his 1973 guidebook to the route.
The route is a 192-mile (although according to a recent re-measuring the real distance is almost 220 miles) long distance footpath in Northern England. It passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.
Wainwright suggested a way of breaking the walk miles into stages, each of which to be completed in a day. With one or two rest days, this makes the route fit into a two-week holiday. However, Wainwright explicitly stated that he did not intend people to necessarily stick to these stages or even to his route: for example, by reducing day-lengths to 10 or 12 miles, the walk becomes a much easier three-week trip with time to 'stand and stare'.
In 2004 the walk was named as the second best walk in the world according to a survey of experts.
In 2012 it was announced that a new waymarker, featuring Wainwright’s AW signature, will appear on finger posts where the route crosses a public road. The Society hopes that the waymarking will be completed during 2013, which is the fortieth anniversary of Wainwright’s guidebook, published in 1973. The Society is planning events to celebrate this anniversary in 2013. For more information read the Society's press release
here.
A Second Edition of A Coast to Coast Walk was published in June 2010 by Frances Lincoln. The book was completely revised and updated by Chris Jesty, who had previously revised the seven Pictorial Guides and The Outlying Fells.
In this edition, the route is picked out in red for greater visibility on the page and the complete walk has been checked and updated where necessary.
The Wainwright Society Chairman Eric Robson filming with Julia Bradbury at St. Bees lighthouse for her series on the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk. The programmes were first shown on BBC4 and BBC2 in the spring of 2009.
From Ennerdale to Borrowdale
In response to a request from the Mountain Rescue Association, we have been asked to report that a number of Coast to Coast walkers are making serious navigational errors just beyond Black Sail Youth Hostel, and so fail to turn up at Loft beck for the correct route. Mountain Rescue Teams have been called out on numerous occasions to respond to walkers getting into difficulty on this leg between Ennerdale Bridge and Rosthwaite. The following map serves to re-iterate the correct routing beyond the Black Sail Hut and walkers are advised to pay extra attention to this point of the walk.
To download a printable PDF of this map
click here
The Wainwright Society has no control over any of the following sites, and as such accepts no responsibility for their content or accuracy.
New bridge built for walkers on Wainwright's Coast to Coast route - Grough 09 April 2013
Walkers can now set off on a long-distance route on a firmer footing with the opening of a new bridge ...
Julia Bradbury on following the footsteps of Lake District master
Daily Mail - 23/09/09
The 190-mile marathon retraces the long-distance route plotted by the much-loved Lake District walking guides writer, Alfred Wainwright. ...
Walkers invited to Coast to Coast celebration
Grough - 01/09/09
Walkers are being invited to follow in the footsteps of Lakeland’s most venerated chronicler of the fells – in the Yorkshire Dales. ...
Bedale Boy's Coast to Coast trek raises £700
Northern Echo - 29/08/09
Edward Wright, 14, from Bedale, clocked up 192 miles on the Coast to Coast Walk between St Bees in West Cumbria and Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire. ...
60-year-olds step it out on coast to coast route
Berrows Journal - 05/08/09
Denise and John Reeve, of Flyford Flavell, near Per-shore, tackled the 192-mile coast to coast walk from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire. ...
Walk across England offers sights and hospitality
Inside Bay Area - 16/07/09
Eventually, she joined a Vermont mom and two teenage daughters to finish her 17-day journey. Wharton had trained for the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk .
Walk to Bay is named number one walk
Whitby Today - 13/07/09
The 190-mile route route made famous by Alfred Wainwright “offers perhaps the most dramatic and lush scenery in the country,” says a Walking Special feature ...
Trustee chief coasts home
The Star - 09/06/09
THE Chairman of Trustees at St Luke's Hospice has raised more than £6000 by trekking the full 190 miles of the famous Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk. ...
Coast-to-Coast charity hero Tom dies
Grough - 15/05/09
The young walker who braved some of the winter's worst weather to complete the Coast-to-Coast Walk for charity died yesterday. Tom Buckley, who had cancer, ...
Coast-to-coast walk rakes in cash
Whitby Today - 27/04/09
Two charity runners have succeeded in their bid to run a coast-to-coast route from St Bee's Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in only seven ...
Autumn ramble through wilds of Great Britain
NZ Herald Auckland Metro - 17/04/09
We are in the Lake District, on Wainwright's walk across the north of England from coast to coast. ...
Coast to Coast for 60-year-old Susan Kirby after two hip replacements
Huddersfield Examiner - 12/03/09
"At his funeral we had a collection for the charity and I said to my mum that I would do the Coast to Coast walk. "Well, I’d just had a hip operation and ...
Marathon a day in honour of club death pal
Lancashire Evening Post - 13/02/09
The walk was devised by Alfred Wainwright, the writer and hill-walker. Usually, people take at least two weeks doing the walk – but Dave has set himself the ...
Walkers salute Tom's courage
Manchester Online - 29/12/08
Brave Tom Buckley walked astounded expert walkers with his gruelling coast-to-coast trek. ...
Cancer man Tom completes his £50,000 walk
Grough - 17/12/08
Always a major challenge to walkers, the Coast-to-Coast Walk, devised by Alfred Wainwright, is incredibly difficult in December, with short daylight hours, ...
Hiking with cancer: The final frontier
Independent - 09/12/08
"That was when I stumbled across this coast-to-coast walk on the internet. I'm glad I didn't know what it would be like and how hard it is. ...
Long hike in England good for body and spirit
Toledo Blade - 23/11/08
It's been voted one of the world's best hikes, called a "once in a lifetime experience," and some 5,000 people attempt it every year. ...
Eco-huts plan for Cleveland Way walkers
Grough - UK 15/10/08
Part of the Cleveland Way is shared by Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast Walk, so any buildings could potentially be used by walkers on the final leg of their ...
Julia Drops in at Honister Slate Mine
North-West Evening Mail 02/10/08
Julia was filming a new series on Alfred Wainwright’s famous Coast-to-Coast walk which starts at St Bees in Whitehaven and passes Honister on its way across the country. ...
All things light and beautiful
The Australian - Sydney, Australia 23/08/08
It is when we take a breather by the rocky shores of Innominate Tarn that we feel the spirit of walking writer Alf Wainwright most keenly ...
Son's coast to coast walk for tragic dad
Blackpool Gazette 10/08/08
By Heather Butler A COAST to Coast challenge is back on in memory of the victims of the Morecambe Bay helicopter disaster. More than a year after Andy ...
Coast walker’s success after friend’s fall
GazetteLive 11/06/08
A STUDENT doctor who bandaged up her friend on a treacherous Lake District path has completed the Coast to Coast walk. Clare Francis, 30, started the ...
Friends coast along to raise charity cash
Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph 06/12/07
A group of rambling friends have completed the walk of a lifetime to raise almost £4,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
Strolling England, west to east
The Denver Post 28/07/07
Lonely Planet's "Walking in Britain" book is a good introduction to the country, but if you want to go back to source, Wainwright's "A Coast to Coast Walk" ...
The Full Monty
The Telegram, Canada 08/06/07
Devouring a huge breakfast each morning is just one of the challenges (and pleasures) of England's Coast to Coast walk that takes one through the Lake ...
Walkers complete epic trek for seafarers
Shipping Times UK 22/05/07
Two intrepid walkers have completed the gruelling 197-mile Coast-to-Coast Walk from St Bee’s in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire, raising awareness of the conditions faced by merchant seafarers and also money for the work of the Apostleship of the Sea.
Ramble On
Guardian Unlimited 25/08/06
Alfred Wainwright's coast-to-coast walk has brought unexpected prosperity to backwaters whose economies have long been on the back foot.
Crossing paths
Guardian Unlimited 26/07/06
The Coast to Coast Walk across northern England takes you through three of the country's finest national parks. But the real beauty of it is the camaraderie you find along the way.
England on foot
St. Petersburg Times 31/07/2005
He wanted to run across England, from Irish Sea to North Sea, alone. But he knew he'd need a sensible supporter with a car, a cell phone, a lot of patience - and love.
Coast walk tops trek to Everest
BBC News 23/11/04
The Coast to Coast walk has been named among the world's best walks ahead of world-famous hikes to the Inca Trail, Everest and Mont Blanc.
