Trailblazer Guide Books

Practical guidebooks for the more adventurous traveller.
 - The Herald

HISTORY
The Coast to Coast path owes its existence to one man: Alfred Wainwright (see box pp10-11). It was in 1972 that Wainwright, already renowned for his exquisitely illustrated guides to walking in the Lake District, finally completed a trek across the width of England along a path of his own devising. It was an idea that he had been kicking around for a time: to cross his native land on a route that, as far as he was aware, would ‘commit no offence against privacy nor trample on the sensitive corns of landowners and tenants’. The result of his walk, a guidebook, was originally printed by his long-time publishers, The Westmoreland Gazette, the following year. It proved hugely successful. Indeed, a full twenty years after the book was first published, a television series of the trail was also made in which Wainwright himself starred, allowing a wider public to witness firsthand his wry, abrupt, earthy charm.
    Wainwright reminds people in his book that his is just one of many such trails across England that could be devised, and since Wainwright’s book other Coast to Coast walks have indeed been established. Yet it is still his trail that is by far and away the most popular, and in order to distinguish it from the others, it is now commonly known as Wainwright’s Coast to Coast path.
    The route has been amended slightly since 1973 mostly because, though careful to try to use only public rights of way, in a few places Wainwright’s original trail actually intruded upon private land. Indeed, even today the trail does in places cross private territory and it’s only due to the largesse of the landowners that the path has remained near-enough unchanged throughout its 200 miles.
    Though the trail passes through three national parks, crosses the Pennine Way and at times joins with both the Lyke Wake Walk and the Cleveland Way, it’s not itself one of the 15 national trails in the UK, nor is it likely to become one anytime soon. What is certain is that despite this lack of official support, the Coast to Coast has become one of the most popular of Britain’s long-distance paths, with estimates of up to 10,000 people attempting it annually.

HOW DIFFICULT IS THE COAST TO COAST PATH?
Undertaken in one go the Coast to Coast path is a long, tough walk. Despite the presence of some fairly steep gradients, every mile is ‘walkable’ and no mountaineering or climbing skills are necessary. All you need is some suitable clothing, a bit of money, a backpack full of determination and a half-decent pair of calf muscles. In the 200-odd miles from sea shore to sea shore you’ll have ascended and of course descended the equivalent height of Mount Everest.
    That said, the most common complaint we’ve received about this book, particularly from North American readers, is that it doesn’t emphasise how tough it can be. So let us be clear: the Coast to Coast is a tough trek, particularly if undertaken in one go. Ramblers (formerly the Ramblers’ Association of Great Britain; see box p48) describe it as ‘challenging’ and they’re not wrong. When walkers begin to appreciate just how tough the walk can be, what they’re really discovering is the reality of covering a daily average of just over 14 miles or 23km, day after day, for two weeks, in fair weather or foul and while nursing a varying array of aches and pains. After all, how often do any of us walk 14 miles in a day, let alone continuously for two weeks?
    The Lake District, in particular, contains many steep sections that will test you to the limit; however, there are also plenty of genteel tearooms and accommodation options in this section should you prefer to break your days into easier sections.
    The topography of the eastern section is less extreme, though the number of places with accommodation drops too, and for a couple of days you may find yourself walking 15 miles or more in order to reach a town or village on the trail that has somewhere to stay.
    Regarding safety, there are few places on the regular trail where it would be possible to fall from a great height, save perhaps for the cliff walks that book-end the walk. On some of the high-level Lakeland alternatives (see pp112-13 and pp120-1), however, there is a chance of being blown off a ridge. In 2009 a walker suffered this fate and broke his ankle, as did the rescuer who came in a helicopter, though sustaining such a serious injury by being blown over is highly unusual.
    The greatest danger to trekkers is, perhaps, the likelihood of losing the way, particularly in the Lake District with its greater chance of poor visibility, bad weather and a distinct lack of signposting. A compass and knowing how to use it is vital, as is appropriate clothing for inclement weather and most importantly of all, a pair of boots (more on pp41-2) which you ease on each morning with a smile not a grimace.
    Not pushing yourself too hard is important too (more on pp74-5), as this leads to fatigue with all its inherent dangers, not least poor decision making. In case all this deters you from the walk bear in mind that in 2009 a 71-year-old finished the walk for the fifth time, and a 7-year-old girl once completed the walk with her father – and they all managed it in 13 days! At the same time young men with all the right kit and a previous crossing under their belt were finished after storming across to Shap in three days.

Route finding
(See the box on pp81-2 for more details.) The presence of signposts and waymarking varies along the path. Once over the Pennines and into Yorkshire the trail becomes fairly well signposted and finding the way shouldn’t be a problem. In the Lakes, on the other hand, there are no Coast to Coast signposts and you’ll have to rely on the descriptions in this book to find the way. For much of the time the path is well-trodden and obvious, though of course there are situations where there are a number of paths to choose from, and other occasions where the ground is so boggy no clear path is visible at all. Misty conditions are another problem, particularly in the Lake District. In these instances a compass or GPS will help you move in the right direction or follow the correct path.
    In the Lakes in particular there are a number of high-level alternatives to the main route, and on a clear day fit trekkers should consider taking them. Though obviously more tiring, the rewards in terms of the views and sense of achievement are all worthwhile.

GPS
I never carried a compass, preferring to rely on a good sense of direction... I never bothered to understand how a compass works or what it is supposed to do... To me a compass is a gadget, and I don’t get on well with gadgets of any sort.    Alfred Wainwright

While Wainwright’s acolytes may scoff, other walkers will accept GPS technology as an inexpensive, well-established if non-essential, navigational aid. To cut a long story short, within a minute of being turned on and with a clear view of the sky, GPS receivers will establish your position as well as elevation in a variety of formats including the British OS grid system, anywhere on earth to an accuracy of within a few metres.
    One thing must be understood however: treating GPS as a replacement for maps, a compass and common sense is a big mistake. Although current units are robust, it only takes the batteries to go flat or some electronic malfunction to leave you in the dark. GPS is primarily a navigational aid or backup to conventional route finding and, in almost all cases, is best used in conjunction with a paper map. At its most basic level a GPS stops you exacerbating navigational errors and saves you time in correcting them. Unlike the satellite navigation systems now common in cars, handheld ‘hiking’ GPS units do not come with an inbuilt map that is of much use for driving let alone walking across the moors. Though such units are now entering the market and while it’s possible to buy digital mapping (see box p46) to import into a regular GPS unit with sufficient storage capacity, it might be considered as practical as having internet on a mobile phone – you still end up scrolling and zooming across a tiny screen.

Using GPS with this book
This book identifies key waypoints on the route maps. It’s anticipated you won’t tramp along day after day, ticking off the book’s waypoints, transfixed by the GPS screen; the route description and maps are more than adequate most of the time. Only when you’re unsure of your position or which way to go might you feel the need to even turn on the unit for a quick affirmation.
    The book’s waypoints correlate to the list on pp244-8 which gives the OS grid reference and a description. You’ll find more waypoints across bleak mountain and moorland sections where the walk can degenerate into a prolonged stumble through thick mist. Typically cairns and other significant landmarks and junctions are marked. In towns and villages waypoints are less common, but in places can still be useful to pin down an unsigned turn off up a lane, for example.
    You can either simply read off the nearest presumed waypoint from the list on pp244-8 as and when the need arises and work out where you are in relation to it or, less confusingly, key it in as a new point and press ‘go to’. As there will probably be only a handful of times you need to do this, for most that will suffice but, with less margin for keystroke error, you can download the complete list as a GPS-readable .gpx file of grid references (but with no descriptions) from Trailblazer website’s ‘Coast to Coast’ page.
    Another way of using a GPS unit is to download a track log of the route from the internet. Where waypoints are single points like cairns, a track log is a continuous line like a path that appears on your GPS screen; all you have to do is keep on that line. If you lose it on the screen you can zoom out until it reappears and walk towards it. While it’s impressive to see the trail unfold as a track log on a calibrated map or Google Earth, many of these ‘user-generated’ track logs available online are imperfect because it takes an extremely trail-savvy and committed Coast to Coaster to record a perfect, 200-mile-long track log without any gaps or confusing diversions; we certainly didn’t manage it. The fact is thousands have managed the walk without this feature and you certainly don’t need a track log to walk from one end of Kirkby Stephen High St to the other. On the Coast to Coast, waypoints will be adequate.
    Using GPS with this book, be it someone’s tracklog or just the key waypoints listed on pp244-8, is an option. Without them you could find yourself staggering around a mist-clad moor, or ambling confidently down the wrong path. With GPS, when the need arises, you can reliably establish your position in relation to the path, or quickly find out how far and in what direction it is to a known point on the trail.
    It’s worth repeating that 98% of people who’ve ever walked the Coast to Coast did so without GPS so there’s no need to rush out and buy one. Your spending priorities ought to be on good waterproofs and above all, footwear. However, correctly using this book’s GPS data could get you back on track and dozing in front of the pub fireplace or tucked up in bed all the sooner.

HOW LONG DO YOU NEED?
We’ve heard about an athlete who completed the entire Coast to Coast path in just 37 hours and a walker who managed it in eight days. We also know somebody who did it in ten and another guy who did four four-day stages over four years. Continuously or over several visits, for most people, the Coast to Coast trail takes a minimum of 14 walking days, in other words an average distance of just over 14 miles (23km) a day.
    Indeed, even with a fortnight in which to complete the trail, many people still find it tough going, and it doesn’t really allow you time to look around places such as Grasmere or Richmond which can deserve a day in themselves. So, if you can afford to build a couple of rest days into your itinerary or even break it up into shorter stages over several weeks, you’ll be very glad you did.
    Of course, if you’re fit there’s no reason why you can’t go a little faster if that’s what you want to do, though you’ll end up having a different sort of trek to most of the other people on the route. For where theirs is a fairly relaxing holiday, yours will be more of a sport as you try to reach the finishing line on schedule. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, though you obviously won’t see as much as those who take their time; chacun à son goût, as the French probably say. However, what you mustn’t do is try to push yourself beyond your body’s ability; such punishing challenges often end prematurely in exhaustion, injury or, at the absolute least, an unpleasant time.
    When deciding how long to allow for their trek, those intending to camp and carry their own luggage shouldn’t underestimate just how much a heavy pack can wear you down. On pp36-7 there are some suggested itineraries covering different walking speeds. If you’ve only got a few days, don’t try to walk it all; concentrate, instead, on one area such as the Lakes or North York Moors. You can always come back and attempt the rest of the walk another time.