This article is the second in a three-part series documenting Alfred Wainwright’s scenic Coast to Coast Walk across northern England.  From St. Bee’s Head along the shores of the Irish Sea to the old fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay facing the North Sea, the Coast to Coast Walk encompasses approximately 190 miles and passes through three national parks.  Moving west to east, the recommended course based on prevailing winds, the walker is first introduced to the breathtaking views of the Lake District, descends into the tranquil Yorkshire Dales, and lastly enters the stark surroundings of the North York Moors.  Though not always an easy stroll by any means, this walk offers a continuous change in environment and the constant hospitality of rural England.  It is highly recommended for anyone willing to commit the time and energy to an exhilarating real-life experience.

Part I of this series covered the western segment of this walk, through the rugged and vista-laden Lake District.  In this segment we will visit the Yorkshire Dales.  Leaving the Lake District is bittersweet.  Your knees are happy, but the grandeur of this hike is now behind you.  As you might be apt to poetically state, though, during your traverse of the Lakes, “How much grandeur must I endure?!”  Overall, the Dales provide what is perhaps the most satisfying hiking of the entire walk, if not for the serenity afforded by what is surely the perfect balance of nature and civilization, then simply for the variety in terrain and associated effort required. 

The route also becomes more clearly marked once you leave the Lake District, thanks to the efforts of local Ramblers’ Clubs.  Granted, the onset of civilization has some drawbacks.  The towns are a little bigger, there is more road walking, and the numerous pasture crossings leave you feeling a bit like a trespasser at times.  Notwithstanding these minor points, you are on Cloud Nine.  The Lakes have given you stamina, you have become familiar (perhaps even friends) with other walkers on the route and, with any luck, you have almost forgotten what it is you do for a living. 

Since it is all coming together for you at this point, the merging of physical and mental wellness, do not spoil it by getting run over.  I cannot relate any statistics, but can say there are occasional opportunities for this to happen along the Dale’s narrow, winding roads.  When the trail shoots you out onto a shoulderless lane bordered closely on either side by stone walls, leaving you with little wiggle room to avoid traffic, you may get the same sensation as those who run with the bulls in Pamplona.  On occasion we found ourselves leaping from one side of a lane to the other in an attempt to gain the most available shoulder space and/or maintain the highest visibility to oncoming traffic.  I say “and/or” because many times the side with the most shoulder had the least visibility, and vice versa.  In any case, if it is not an obvious decision you are apt to get caught up in a debate with your walking partner(s), while simultaneously getting mowed down by a Mercedes delivery truck.  Do not let this happen to you.  Look and listen; don’t waffle; and remember, “Taxis always have the right-of-way.”

Speaking of running with the bulls.… The onslaught of pasture crossings brings with it the remote possibility that you will be gored or stomped by an angry bull, thus ending the day’s venture prematurely, perhaps even before you have had a chance to enjoy your packed lunch.  While we saw several warning signs along the way, and even a few bulls, we were never chased.  We did hear stories, however, including one from a couple who had been chased by a bull only hours before we entered the same field.  In this case, the fellow claims to have yelled at the bull, stopping him in his tracks.  Which leads to the question: What are you supposed to do if chased by a bull?  I imagine it depends on who you ask.  Carl Lewis would likely answer, “Run.”  But this does not help the rest of us, especially if you are laden with a backpack and sporting knee braces.  I like the yelling idea, but I have also heard that it is best to become passive.   Most people do agree on one aspect of bull psychology, though.  Bulls are agitated by the color red.  So be aware of your wardrobe, and be sure to hide that little limp you have had since Grasmere - they always go for the injured ones first. 

Upon crossing each pasture without incident, you will be confronted with the challenge of a stile, by which you enter the next pasture.  Stiles come in many styles.  Most have steps that may (or may not) be accompanied by a railing or post to help maintain your balance.  Others are similar to turnstiles, with spring-loaded gates.  Still others are formed merely by a narrow (width of one leg) opening in the wall itself.  The latter are known as “squeeze stiles.”  If you can find a discreet observation point, experience a lighter moment (while finishing off a bag of crisps) by watching the uninitiated fumble and bumble their way through one of these.  Ha, ha … oops, your turn.     

The route through the Dales, beginning in Shap and ending in Ingleby Cross, includes six stopover locations.  From west to east they are: Orton, Kirkby Stephen, Keld, Reeth, Richmond and Danby Wiske.  The approximate distances for each segment follow:

Day 1: Shap to Orton =  8 miles
Day 2: Orton to Kirkby Stephen = 13.5 miles
Day 3: Kirkby Stephen to Keld = 11.5 miles
Day 4: Option 1 - Keld to Reeth (High Road) = 11 miles 
Day 4: Option 2 - Keld to Reeth (Low Road) = 12 miles
Day 5: Reeth to Richmond =  10.5 miles
Day 6: Richmond to Danby Wiske = 14 miles
Day 7: Option 1 - Danby Wiske to Ingleby Cross = 9 miles
Day 7: Option 2 - Danby Wiske to Osmotherly =  11.5 miles

You will run across several references which combine Days 1 and 2 into one day.  You may also see some suggestions for combining Days 6 and 7 into one day.  Well, do the math.  If this looks like something you can handle, go for it.  We tried, and ended up seeing some beautiful countryside from the back seat of a taxi. 

Day 1.  If you have chosen wisely and decided to split the trip from Shap to Kirkby Stephen into two days, you will find this to be a day of rest more or less.  The journey is short and easy, and you will be in Orton by lunch time even if you did get a late start after wrestling with a “full English breakfast.”  For those of you who are unacquainted, the full English breakfast is an option at most B&Bs and consists of the following: eggs, sausage, fried bread, tomato, toast and tea (coffee for Yankees).  If you eat this every morning, you will be in worse shape by the time you get to Robin Hood’s Bay than when you started.  However, experiencing the full English breakfast every few days makes this journey all the more worthwhile if you ask me.

You begin this segment by crossing the M6 motorway, and at this point you may experience a moment of rush hour nostalgia.  If this moment lasts for more than four seconds, be sure to make a note to seek therapy as soon as possible.  From here the walking is the easiest so far.  If you are interested in geology or archaeology, you are rewarded with glacial erratics, limestone “pavement,” stone circles, tumuli and even Robin Hood’s grave. 

Day 2.  It is a healthy walk from Orton to Kirkby Stephen.  The downside of this segment is the amount of road walking - about 4.5 miles.  The roads, however, are generally wide open with plenty of shoulder.  On the upside, you will pass by Sunbiggin Tarn (a favorite spot for birdwatchers) and cross the Smardale Bridge.  There are also numerous archaeological curiosities along the way.

We found the day’s highlight in Kirkby Stephen itself.  After checking in at our accommodation, my wife left to make a telephone call at a nearby phone booth.  Upon returning, she dutifully reported a macaw sighting in the gardens of our B&B.  I knew that the walking had been taking its toll, and I had heard stories of hallucinations and delirium associated with long, arduous treks across harsh terrains like the Gobi Desert or the Arctic tundra.  But this was the Coast to Coast, and we really had not walked that far, and we had had plenty of water and digestives along the way, and … then I heard it from the window.  A loud squawk of Amazonian proportions.

It turns out that a local resident harbors dozens of exotic birds at his home, allowing most of them free reign over the town.  To see this for yourself, take the main road north out of town, cross the River Eden, and then take a right at the first lane.  It is the first mansion on the right - obviously, you cannot miss it.  If birds are not your thing, or you still have some energy after this little safari, check out the rest of town.  Kirkby Stephen is one of the few opportunities to hear live music along the route.  The town also has a good Chemist (pharmacy) located along the main road.  We lightened their inventory of knee braces considerably.

Day 3.  It is only about 11.5 miles to Keld, but the walk requires some effort.  The entire first half of the walk is essentially uphill, and fairly steep in some spots.  No more than ½ mile out of Kirkby Stephen you will pass the small village of Hartley.  Hartley is actually an alternate stopover location, offering at least one or two B&Bs and a more homey atmosphere than Kirkby Stephen.  From Hartley you will continue to toil uphill, eventually reaching the Nine Standards.  The Nine Standards are actually nine piles of rocks, most of them about 8 or 9 feet high and considerably taller than your average cairn.  No one is quite sure how long they have been there or what their purpose was, but some theories suggest the Standards may have served as boundary markers (a county boundary formerly passed through them) or beacons of some sort.  Avoid the temptation to pull out a rock from the bottom.

From here the going can be a little tricky as you find yourself rambling over a pathless bog, guided only by the mushy footprints of those who got lost before you.  Seriously, we recommend keeping an eye on the walkers ahead of you if you are not familiar with the terrain, even if it means exceeding your normal pace.  This is how we managed to stay on the correct course.  A compass and the ability to use it would also be handy, especially if the bog is shrouded by mist.  Additional confusion arises from the fact that there are actually three different routes (Green, Blue and Red) across the bog, the correct one depending on the time of year.  Wainwright describes all three routes well enough, but beware of the Ordnance Survey map which depicts only the Blue route.

Upon catching a glimpse of Whitsundale Beck, which you then more or less follow all the way into Keld, you know you are on course.  (By the way, “beck” is a British term for creek.  If it is your first time hiking in Britain, it would behoove you to make up a glossary of unfamiliar terms that commonly appear on the maps and in the guide books you will be using to navigate.)  It is a pleasant and uneventful walk into town upon reaching the beck.  Uneventful, that is, except upon reaching Keld you are halfway to the North Sea.  Keld has no pubs or stores, so plan accordingly.  You can probably arrange dinner with your B&B, but you will have to wait until tomorrow for a pint. 

Day 4.  Today you have a big decision to make, as there are two routes to Reeth.  One climbs up to the high moors and exposes the walker to some interesting industrial ruins such as old mines and smelt mills.  The other stays close to the River Swale and passes through the alluring village of Gunnerside.  I was allured primarily by the pubs and cafes.

Obviously, the decision is purely personal, and personally I cannot see why anyone would choose to climb 1,000 feet to plod through bleak and lifeless ruins when they could be snacking with their favorite beverage on the inviting banks of the River Swale.  Needless to say, we took the low road.  Several walkers we talked to later in Reeth said they wished they had too, as they really had not seen that much up on the moors.  And the fact is, you will necessarily cover many miles of moors before this walk is over, so if given a choice, time spent along England’s beautiful waterways seems a wise choice.  On the other hand, if you did your thesis on 18th Century lead mining, you might be happier wandering about the ruins.  In that case, do not forget your hardhat.   

Day 5.  The road to Richmond, while only 10 miles or so, offers quite a bit of variety.  The first couple of miles constitute a flat walk generally following the direction of the River Swale, although you will not be as close to it as the day before.  Then, at Marrick Priory (now a “residential adventure centre,” in case you were wondering about the stack of canoes out front), you begin to climb.  First up the “Nunnery Steps,” a wooded path of flagstone where nuns from the priory may or may not have run wind sprints, then on through a few pastures, up through the village of Marrick, then up a little further through a few more pastures, and finally down through many more pastures and on into the village of Marske.  You will note that there are many pasture crossings today.  It is a good day to pack your red clothes off with the Sherpa Van.

From Marske, itself a scenic hamlet, the highlight for the remainder of the day is a brief, half-mile bimble through Whitecliffe Wood.  If you have been in the sun all day, this will be a shady reprieve.  If you have had to relieve yourself all day, this will be an arborous opportunity.

Richmond is the “big city” on this route and, if you have not been there before, requires at least one entire day to fully appreciate.  We watched our first game of cricket in Richmond, toured a Georgian theatre (even donning Shakespearean garb for a mercifully brief photo shoot), and toured Richmond Castle.  All the while engaging in a continuous whirlwind of eating and quaffing.  You will not have as many choices for anything anywhere else along the way, so there is a tendency to overcompensate.  But you will not regret it later.  Trust me.

Day 6.  Approximately half of the 14 miles to Danby Wiske are shared with vehicular traffic.  The first half of the day, during which you stay fairly close to the River Swale, offers some cozy scenery.  The second half of the walk is primarily road.  It is a pleasant walk, although without much vista.  In fact, you will notice that the landscape has become pretty flat since leaving Richmond.  You are essentially out of the Dales at this point, in a transitional segment preceding the North York Moors. 

In the pioneer days of the Coast to Coast Walk, Danby Wiske did not have much to offer in the way of food or accommodations.  But the increased popularity of this route has resulted in more options, which is a good thing.  Otherwise you would have no choice but to continue on 9 more miles to Ingleby Cross.   

Day 7.  The route to Ingleby Cross is similar to the previous day, although with a few less road miles.  The terrain is still quite flat, but nobody is complaining because there is still plenty of climbing to be done before reaching Robin Hood’s Bay.  In fact, if you do not get run over crossing the A-19, you will end this day staring at the Cleveland Hills in front of you, a testament to some more exciting (and laborious) ventures ahead.

You may want to get a head start on the next day’s hike by venturing past Ingleby Cross and into Osmotherly for your overnight stay.  This will add an extra 2.5 miles or so to your day and will take you off the main route.  It will even test you with an uphill bout through Arnecliffe Wood at the end of the day.  But it is all worth the effort.  We found Osmotherly to be one of the most inviting villages on the route in terms of scenery and hospitality. 

No matter where you stay, you can look forward to the next and (sadly) final segment of this walk: the North York Moors.  This last leg includes the close comfort of wooded walks, slippery trails along winding becks and, of course, wide open (sometimes “stark”) journeys over the moors.  Oh, and let us not forget the North Sea.  You will be seeing some of that as well.  Join us for the final journey from Ingleby Cross/Osmotherly to Robin Hood’s Bay, which we will cover in Part III of this series.  

TMF, February 2000

Click here for A Coast to Coast Walk Across England, Part III - The North York Moors.
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