Wainwright's Coast to Coast
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WAINWRIGHT'S COAST Tour Code: 77920 TO COAST - WHOLE Grade 6/P Holiday Duration: 18 days ROUTE HOLIDAY DATES 2nd Sept 2017 - 19th Sept 2017 From St Bees on the Cumbrian coast to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea shore. A hike across the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North Yorks Moors National Parks from St Bees on the Cumbrian coast to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea shore. HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS A challenging 194 mile walk across the great National Parks and wilderness of northern England. Great panoramic views throughout. Your bags transported for you leaving you only to carry your day pack. WAINWRIGHT'S COAST TO COAST - WHOLE ROUTE Looking out over Robin Hood’s Bay, you reflect on the sheer variety of stunning scenery you’ve explored on this iconic hike, and bask in the satisfaction of your achievement. The 194 mile Coast to Coast walk from St Bees on the Cumbrian coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea shore attracts hikers looking for a long distance challenge with the added attraction of three National Parks and some of the country’s most inspiring scenery. This holiday provides the chance to tackle the western section of the trail from St Bees to Kirkby Stephen in seven days walking, or the eastern section from Kirkby Stephen to Robin Hood’s Bay in eight walking days, or the whole route in walking sections of 9-16 miles a day. We’ll walk a total of 85 miles on the western section and 109 miles on the eastern section. We walk from inn-to-inn staying in B&Bs, guest houses and small hotels with your baggage being transported leaving you to carry only your day pack with what you need for the day. The whole route starts with a spectacular clifftop walk before heading inland towards Ennerdale and the first of the lakes and the first mountain pass beyond. Before leaving the Lake District National Park you’ll have experienced some of the best high level hikes, lake shore walks and spectacular views England has to offer continuing across the moors, onto the Dales and to the picturesque finishing point at the North Sea Coast at Robin Hood’s Bay. Most of the walks are at grade 6. However on some days they will feel more like grade 7 due to the longer distances covered. Intended route (with approximate daily walking distances): Day 1 Overnight St Bees Day 2 St Bees - Ennerdale Bridge (15 miles) Day 3 Ennerdale Bridge - Seatoller (14 miles) Day 4 Seatoller - Grasmere (10 miles) Day 5 Grasmere - Patterdale (9 miles) Day 6 Patterdale - Burnbanks (11.5 miles) Day 7 Burnbanks - Orton (12.5 miles) Day 8 Orton - Kirkby Stephen (13 miles) Day 9 At Kirkby Stephen - a free day! Day 10 Kirkby Stephen - Keld (14.5 miles) Day 11 Keld - Reeth (11.5 miles) Day 12 Reeth - Richmond (11 miles) Day 13 Richmond - Danby Wiske (14.5 miles) Day 14 Danby Wiske - Huthwaite Green (15 miles) Day 15 Huthwaite Green - Blakey Ridge (15 miles) Day 16 Blakey Ridge - Grosmont (14 miles) Day 17 Grosmont - Robin Hood's Bay (16 miles) Day 18 Depart after breakfast Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk is also available for independent walkers as a part of our Load Off Your Back self-guided holiday programme. WHAT'S INCLUDED Accommodation in hotels and B&Bs throughout. Breakfasts and dinners each day. Any necessary transport between overnight accommodation and daily walks. Baggage transport between your accommodations each day. HOLIDAY GRADE Grade 6/P This is a Grade 6 moderate holiday which includes full day walks with appreciable amounts of ascent and descent with walks in some remote areas. Paths are mostly good, but there may be some steep and rough ground. Walks will last up to 6 hours and could involve as much as 750m of ascent and descent and are likely to be at the upper level of ascent, descent, walking time and distance. See the Walks & Excursions section for more information. Pioneer holidays are more adventurous itineraries, typically well off the beaten track. Whilst exploring lesser-known destinations, local conditions, facilities and transport may be basic, events may require modifications to itineraries at short notice and there may be more travelling , possibly on poor roads - but the experience and stories to tell will be worth it all. This is a Continuous Walk covering a long distance trail in manageable daily sections. HOLIDAY ITINERARY Day Content Meals Location 1 Assemble at St Bees from 3pm and introduction to your D St Bees tour leader. Dinner and overnight. 2 St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge. From the sea front at St. B,D St Bees Bees, having wet our boots and collected a pebble, we follow the coastal, cliff top path before heading inland across farm land and through villages before crossing our first Lakeland hill, the outlying Dent Hill. We will continue to the village of Ennerdale Bridge. Distance 24Km/15 miles. Ascent 680m/2210ft. Max. Altitude 352m. Walking time 7-8hrs. 3 Ennerdale Bridge to Seatoller. The majority of today we B,D Ennerdale Bridge will spend walking the length of Ennerdale, known as the remotest valley in the Lake District. Initially we will follow a small path along the southern shore of the Water and then onward through Ennerdale Forest to Black Sail Youth Hostel. As we walk we are under the shadows of some of the highest mountains in England, Great Gable and Pillar and we pass close to Hay Stacks. On climbing out of Ennerdale, we will make our way to Honister Hause and descend the old road to Seatoller in Borrowdale. Distance 23.5Km/14 miles. Ascent 720m/2340ft. Max altitude 579m. Walking time 7hrs. 4 Seatoller to Grasmere. Following a pleasant stream or B,D Seatoller two we will gradually ascend to Greenup Edge on the slopes of High Raise where we have a choice of two routes. Dependent on the weather, we can tackle the ridge walk to Helm Crag, or else take the more direct, lower route and descend alongside Easedale Gill as we make our way to the delightful Lakeland town of Grasmere. Distance 16Km/10 miles. Ascent 550m/1790ft. Max Altitude 616m. Walking time 5-6hrs. 5 Grasmere to Patterdale. We will walk on lanes and a B,D Grasmere bridleway to Great Tongue, and on the toss of a coin fork to the right or the left, the paths meet later and take us to Grisedale Tarn, which nestles under the shadow of Helvellyn. Crossing the outflow from the Tarn we can either follow the beck as it tumbles downwards or climb up to walk the St Sunday Crag ridge before descending into Patterdale. Distance 14.5Km/9miles. Ascent 680m/2210ft. Max. altitude 595m. Walking time 5-6hrs. 6 Patterdale to Burnbanks. On leaving Patterdale we will B,D Patterdale begin our ascent for the day, passing Angle Tarn, the slopes of Rest Dodd and The Knott crossing the course of the Roman road and to the highest point on the walks; Rampsgill Head and Kidsty Pike (780m/2,559ft). We walk down the East ridge before a steep descent to reach Haweswater. A path, which improves as it goes, takes us the whole length of the lake, and we will then walk into the hamlet of Burnbanks, originally built to house those working on the dam. Distance 18.5Km/11.5miles. Ascent 870m/2827ft. Max. Altitude 792m. Walking time 6hrs. 7 Burnbanks to Orton. After the rigours of the Lakeland B,D Burnbanks Fells today’s walk will seem more leisurely, as we follow paths and lanes to the ruins of Shap Abbey, through the now quiet town of Shap and then continue over and around gentler, limestone hills to the village of Orton. Distance20Km/12.5 miles. Ascent 327m/1063ft. Max. Altitude 354m. Walking time 6hrs. 8 Orton to Kirkby Stephen. With limestone scars above us B,D Orton to the north we complete our journey on lanes and paths over gritstone, and limestone moors, some heather clad, as we make our way past the Iron Age enclosed field systems of Severals Settlements, across Smardale Fell, looking out for a wonderful Victorian rail viaduct,to the market town of Kirkby Stephen. Distance 21Km/13 miles. Ascent 315m/1024ft. Max. Altitude 344m. Walking time 6hrs. 9 We enjoy a well earned rest day and free at leisure to B,D Kirkby Stephen explore Kirkby Stephen. 10 Kirkby Stephen to Keld. Today’s section starts in the B,D Kirkby Stephen county of Cumbria and continues into Yorkshire. We begin by crossing the Eden river at Franks Bridge and climbing up to the Nine Standards Rigg. This is a major watershed as, from now on, all rivers will be draining eastwards into the North Sea. This area is extremely boggy - if you have gaiters this would be an ideal occasion to wear them. There are three routes to follow, depending on the conditions, but all lead into Swaledale, which we will follow for the next two days. Distance Depending on route: Red 19km/12 miles. Green 23km/14.5 miles. Ascent 459m / Descent 314m, Max. Altitude 575m. Walking time 6-7hrs. 11 Keld to Reeth. The wildlife is in abundance along today’s B,D Keld section, so we may encounter rabbits, pheasants, grouse and deer. We begin by crossing the Pennine Way and ascending to Crackpot Hall where we can either descend to follow the River Swale to Reeth, or climb up to traverse the moors and examine the mining history that has scarred the landscape.