Wainwright was, I think we've established, a traditionalist. It's perhaps not surprising then that his great masterpiece of a walk is steeped in tradition. On day 12 you have the best one, Fat Betty, but don't miss:Dipping your boot in the sea.First thing at St Bees is to dip your boot in the sea. It should be one boot in the Irish Sea...

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For most of the way today, the Coast to Coast joins the path of the Cleveland way. Consequently the path is well maintained and the sign posting is good.  This is because the Cleveland Way is a national trail. This status comes with a pot of money to keep the thing in good order.  The Coast to Coast is not a national trail...

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"To walkers who like high places and rough terrain, this will seem like the dullest part of the whole walk," says AW ever the salesman of his own route. "Those who believe the earth is flat will be mightily encouraged by this section." It's a slog, fair enough, but there are reasons to be cheerful.  Reason 1: Danby Wyske AW disparages this twee...

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Wainwright waxes lyrical about Richmond. "Emerging from Whitcliffe Wood there is a thrilling view of Richmond ahead."  Speaks a man with perhaps limited thrills. "Richmond is a town unlike others, a place unique, rich in relics of the past, steeped in a long history that still lingers in the ramifications of it's castle and the narrow alleys and quaint buildings that huddle in the...

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Top of Waimwight's aims for the Coast to Coast was to avoid towns. "Richmond being the only town visited and that by design."But the route takes in many smaller settlements.It's hard to believe Keld, in lead mining boom times, once had a population of 6000. The village now has no shop and it's just Keld Lodge that gives the place some life. Staying there...

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I read up on the history of Wainwright and I know my way around his Coast to Coast book, but he's not the main inspiration for this walk anymore. Everyone wants to know about Julia Bradbury!Julia is a Nigellaesque presenter fond of flicking her tussled hair. She has introduced the Coast to Coast to a new generation of middle-aged men. In short she's...

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Millions of years ago, Shap was underwater. Corals and molluscs died and formed sedimentary layers on the sea bed which formed the rock called limestone. After crossing the M6 you see the first signs of limestone. You are out of the volcanic area of the Lakes and into Limestone Country. This is good news as Wainwright explains:"...as every walker knows, a limestone footing invariably...

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The best day of the lakes is saved for last. Angle tarn, Kidsty Pike and views back to the rest of the lakes make for terrific scenery. After the steep descent from Kidsty Pike you walk along side Haweswater which was dammed in the 1930s to supply drinking water to Manchester. In doing so the village of Mardale was destroyed. A new village, Burnbanks,...

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Another day going up and down Lakeland vallies with fantastic mountain scenery around. Grasmere is a bit too posh for the Lakes and it feels good to walk out and climb to another pass. At the top there is a treat with Grisdale Tarn, a nice spot for a brew or a bite to eat. Wainwright describes the transition down Grisdale as going from "savage...

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Day Three of the Coast to Coast takes you out of Borrowdale with great views of Eagle Crag. It seems imposing until, by morning tea break, you are looking down on it from the top of Lining Crag. Like much of the Lakes this is an area run wild with Herdwick Sheep. These hardy sheep are prized in the Lakes for their hardy nature...

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Walking along Ennerdale Water on day two of the Coast to Coast walk you go past Robin Hood's Chair. It's the first of a trio of RH related things. You pass Robin Hood's Grave on day 6 and of course you finish the walk in Robin Hood's Bay. Also on day two you walk past 4 youth hostels. Several of these leave out cakes...

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The Coast to Coast walk was devised by the intricate and devious mind of that curmudgeonly bugger Alfred Wainwright.  It was a follow up to his successful guide to the Pennine Way. He'd been pretty depressed when writing A Pennine Way Companion, as he was going through a messy divorce, but for A Coast to Coast Walk he was all loved up. It...

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