Coast to Coast walk Day 12 – Glaisdale to Robin Hood’s Bay

Follow the final day here.

Coast to coast walk Day 12 is apparently one of real mixed emotions. We will be excited to have completed our challenge but also disappointed that the walk is over. This was succinctly put by Alfred Wainwright when he compared the coast to coast walk with the Pennine Way. “I finished the Pennine Way with relief, the Coast to coast with regret” .

The last day is not a short one. We pass through Grosmont and its steam railway – I once saw the Sir Nigel Gresley A4 Pacific in the station there and have the steepest climb of the walk to get out of the village. A killer it would appear. After that we have a long day headed towards the coast. Our wives are coming to meet us at some point along this route. It will be great to see them 🙂

I am also looking forwards to the celebrations in Robin Hood’s Bay although whether any of us will be in a fit state to do anything is another issue.

Update

Wearily took our time to stroll down into RHB after a footsore (again) day. Called into Grosmont to see the steam trains and had a can of pop and a kit kat. Then the worst climb of the trip – 1 in 3 out of town. Was pleased to say I did it without stopping. Just took it easy.

Fantastic welcoming committee at the pub in RHB. Anne, Sue and Anna Agius and Stu and Jezzer. Very emotional now we’ve finished.

Tom has cramp in his leg – just picked it up on the way down into RHB. In consequence we are going to eat in the Victoria Hotel opposite the B&B to save the walk down into the village again. This does give us the problem of how to communicate this with the Canadians and the Dutch who I said we’d meet at the Wainwright Bar. Will see what I can do to message them. I have Paul’s email address.

starting B&B	The Arncliffe Arms, 1 Glaisedale Terrace, Glaisdale, YO21 2QL
forecast/actual km	29.55/2149 – cut off the hedland in the interest of time
forecast/actual time	9h 09min/8h 15min
weather	cloudy with sunny spells – hazy so couldn’t see the sea
Elevation up/down m	747/578
breakfast	fry up at Arndale Arms – pretty average
lunch	cheese & pickle sandwich, cheese and onion crisps, mars bar and an orange
dinner
finishing B&B	Raven House, Victoria Terrace RHB YO22 4RJaLink to Coast to Coast walk Day 12 Photo Album.

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 12 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 11 – Clay Bank Top to Glaisdale

Track today’s walk live.

Day 11 of our Coast to Coast walk is another long one with the added attraction of the Lion Inn en route for a spot of lunch. We are also staying at another pub, the Arncliffe Arms.

I quite like the idea of arriving at our destination then rolling downstairs for food and drink.

Update

Got dropped off at the Clay Bank Top car park just after 8. Only just made it through the road works before they closed the road. The Dutch, Leo and Sandra, and Canadians, Paul and Lori, were setting off at the same time. The walk starts with a steep climb here and we were soon outpaced by the pros.

At the top we saw a grouse, the first of many. Poor buggers being lined up for sport.

It was a long and dreary walk. The moors are pretty featureless. We made the Lion Inn at noon and the Agius’ followed at 12.25 – despite only having started at 10.15.They are faster walkers.

We had an hour’s break for lunch and headed out again. Still a long way to go. Made it to the Arncliffe Arms at 5.30ish. An hour later than the others. The accommodation isn’t up to much.

starting B&B	West Cote, Chop Gate TS9 7JF
forecast/actual km	29.47/29.78
forecast/actual time	8h 36min/9h 14min
weather	sunny but hazy so couldn’t see the sea from the moors
forecast/actual ascent m	424.6/525
breakfast	Dorset muesli & regional cheese board with toast
lunch	hot beef roll and chips at the Lion Inn
dinner	garlic mushrooms and lasagna
finishing B&B	The Arncliffe Arms, 1 Glaisedale Terrace, Glaisdale, YO21 2QL

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 11 Photo Album.  Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast Day 10 – Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top

Track our route live

Coat to coast day 10, whilst relatively short in distance does involve a reasonably hefty climb and hence I’ve added a little more to our forecast time taken. This is also the only place where our accommodation is not directly on the route. There is nowhere to stay at Clay Bank Top and we have to prearrange a pickup from a car park which is in the middle of nowhere where there is no mobile signal. I could of course suggest to the B&B people that they could follow our progress using the live tracking. Maybe I will 🙂

Update

Quite a pleasant walk today with some soreness of foot but heels not as bad as previous days. Gave the blisters an airing last night and redid the plasters this morning.

Last night I called ahead to West Cote B&B as instructed and Judy the landlady offered to pop into town and buy me some Arnica cream. An ice bath and an application of crea later and we shall see whether it has any effect. She also resupplied us with tape and compeed.

Local knowledge is a great thing. The locals in Ingleby Arncliffe considered day 10’s walk to be a seriously hard one. Last night’s B&B folk (Pat and Maurice) showed us a route that took us around the first big climb and ended up being slightly shorter. We also walked directly to West Cote from the Coast to Coast route as opposed to being picked up from Clay Bank Top car park. It was the same distance but took away the need for Stuart to come and pick us up by car. He is going to ferry us back to the path tomorrow morning.

At the junction of the coast to coast path and the road to the B&B there was a cafe called Lordstones where we found it convenient to eat our lunch on their picnic tables. I consumed a jug of iced blackcurrant squash.

The B&B is in a lovely spot next to a working farm. I see lambs, hens and horses in front of me plus a great muck heap to the side. It’s v pleasant sat on the deck writing this update. Judy the landlady is a lovely person and is off tonight to a committee meeting of the riding for the disabled charity.

Starting B&B	Ingleside, Ingleby Arncliffe Northallerton DL6 3LN
Forecast/Actual km	18.51/15.36
forecast/actual time	8h/5h (avoided first big climb by walking around it)
weather	overcast but warmish – base layer only for most of walk
forecast/actual ascent m	883.3/354
breakfast	fruit & fibre & 2 bacon sandwiches – did the job fair play & I wasn’t expecting 2 sarnies
lunch	cheese and pickle, scone and butter, banana & piece of cake
dinner
finishing B&B	West Cote, Chop Gate TS9 7JF

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 10 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 9 – Richmond to Ingleby Cross

Coast to Coast walk day 9 is the longest from a miles covered perspective with a trudge between the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorks Moors. At the start of this day we are two thirds of the way to the coast.

Richmond by the way is where I bought my walking boots. The AltBerg factory shop is a fantastic spot and a go to place for serious walkers.

Update

We made this a slightly easier day for us by walking some of the miles the day before after we had arrived at Richmond. We met old pal Phippo and his mum Val at the Crown in Broughton on Swale (not sure of the name of the village – keep forgetting it – name of pub is right 🙂 and he gave us a lift back to Richmond.

Taxi picked us up from Willance House at 7am the next day and dropped us off where we had ended the previous one. It was a good job we started early. It was a beautifully cool morning in contrast with the rest of the day which got hot and airless.

Initially it was quite a pleasant walk through mixed farmland and country lanes. There were plenty of new birds to see and a site of scientific interest on the verge that had some yellow flowers that I had seen the day before but never before.

As we moved into arable country the trudge through fields and farm tracks was a long one and hard on the feet. For a long time we saw few people although we did meet a foursome coming the other way who were doing the walk East to west in 19 days – far more sensible. The night before they had stayed at the B&B we were using for the night. We met them at a picnic bench near a farm where the farmer had left a cool box of lucozade sports with an honesty box to leave £1.60.

Slow going as my feet were still hurting.

lots more to say. will update later

A couple of miles out from Ingleby Arncliffe we stopped for a breather and began to be caught up by some of the others we had bumped into on the walk. The two ladies, the Dutch couple Leo and Sandra and our Canadian friends Paul and Lori. Bear in mind we had an early start but were slower walkers than most. (This is down to me and my sore feet!)

We carried on in the company of Paul and Lori picking up the pace a bit after our rest stop. A Cliff Bar and an apple boosted my reserves. The last notable “incident” was the crossing of the A19. This was unbelievably dangerous. A real game of chicken. You wonder why they don’t build a footbridge. There must be tens of thousands of people crossing that road every year.

Our B&B was conveniently on the route into the village and run by a nice retired couple called Pat and Maurice. We waved goodbye to the Canadians who had a little further to go. Paul gave me some ibuprofen gel (Voltarol) to try on my sore feet.

Having showered and removed the bandages from my blisters we sauntered down to the Bluebell Pub – Ajax and Luke happened to be just outside our B&B when we went out. They were staying at a farm some way down the road & not massively enamoured with it.

The two ladies and the Dutch couple were in the pub. Prawn Cocktail, Steak & Chios and a cheesecake washed down with lager and red wine and then to bed.

starting B&B	Willance House, 24 Frenchgate Richmond DL10 7AG
forecast/actual km	35.18/ forgot to switch on runkeeper and found later via email that the batteries on my Pangea tracker needed replacing (did next morning) so will have to stick with the forecast version. remember we did 5 miles or so of today’s walk yesterday
forecast/actual time	8h 26mins/ 11hrs +
weather	hot – poss hottest day of year so far. not enough breeze on the hot dusty farm tracks
forecast/actual ascent m	245.7/
breakfast	bacon sandwich, fruit and yoghurt
lunch	ham sandwich, cereal bar & apple (didn’t eat the carrot)
dinner	prawn cocktail, steak and chips, cheesecake, lager, red wine
finishing B&B	Ingleside, Ingleby Arncliffe Northallerton DL6 3LN

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 9 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 8 – Reeth to Richmond

Follow today’s progress here.

Day 8 of the Coast to Coast walk and we are into our second week. I already feel like a veteran. This is another relatively short day where we can finish early in Richmond to chill out a little and maybe get some washing done. There is a high road and a low road option here. I’ve gone for the high road based on reckoning I’ll be getting a little fitter by this stage but we shall see.

Update

The Manse B&B was best seen so far. Great room and everything high class.

Hot day for our walk. We started at 9. Luke and Ajax started an hour later but caught us up just before Richmond. Heat was strength sapping. I wore short sleeved base layer and regretted not using long sleeves.

Water just about lasted until Richmond. Tom and I continued for another few miles to meet Phippo and his mum Val at a pub called the Crown. Idea was to make a start on tomorrow’s walk so that we weren’t doing 22 miles in one day. Promises to be another hot one tomorrow. Had dinner with Phippo and Val at a pizza place round the corner from the B&B. Phippo v generously paid.

We are in bed at 8.25 having set our alarms for 6. Bacon sandwich ordered for 6.30. Taxi at 7 to take us to where we finished off today. Willance House B&B also v high standard. Apparently oldest house in Richmond (circa 1400)

starting B&B	The Manse, Reeth DL11 6SN
forecast/actual km	16.93/17.47
forecast/actual time	6h 4min/5h 28min
weather	scorching hot
forecast/actual ascent m	408.9/306
breakfast	full eng with fried bread – v good
lunch	pork pie & 1 litre of milk
dinner	ribs starter,diavolo pizza (not hot enough) & tiramisu
finishing B&B	Willance House, 24 Frenchgate Richmond DL10 7AG

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 8 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 7 – Keld to Reeth

Track today’s walk live.

Day 7 of the Coast to coast walk is another shortun with what is notionally  gentle stroll between Keld and Reeth. There are two route options though. There is the high road taking in the mines or the low road along the river Swale. Both are nice walks.

The distances and elevation used here assume the river route as the weather forecast is not good and Alfred Wainwright recommends we avoid the higher routes if it is wet. This may be a bit of a copout and we may well feel like going for the climb after the acclimatisation of the previous few days. We shall see.

Update

Swaledale is a beautiful valley, especially in its upper reaches. Idyllic. No mobile signal and crappy broadband but hey…

Fried bread with breakfast was a first. We were pretty impressed with the Keld Lodge Hotel. Just the job. The manager Dave (owner?) was a real character and most helpful.

Keld is just a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere and so far probably my fave place to stay. We had a good dinner. I had grilled goats cheese followed by braised steak and then  cheese board – all local cheese. Wine was good. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Everyone staying at the Lodge was a coast to coaster so we all had stories to tell. Ajax and Luke were at another b&B down the road but came to us to eat. Paul and Lori the Canadians from Patterdale and the New Ing Lodge in Shap were also there.

Feet still hurt btw. I put new blister plasters on this morning and am hoping that by tomorrow they will start getting properly hardened up. They need to be on form for the 22 miler from Richmond to Ingleby Arncliffe. Pace at the mo is still too slow.

Starting B&B	Keld Lodge Hotel, Keld DL11 6LL
forecast/actual km	18.98/20.11
forecast/actual time	6h 36min/7h 06min
weather	beautiful sunny day
forecast/actual ascent m	484.1/723
breakfast	full english no eggs but with fried bread!
lunch	ham sandwich at the pub in Gunnersbury
dinner
finishing B&B	The Manse, Reeth DL11 6SN

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 7 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 6 – Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Click here to follow today’s walk.

Day 6 of the coast to coast walk was the first shortish day spent walking between Kirby Stephen and Keld. In my forecasts I still had us taking over 6 1/2 hours which is down to the fact that there is some elevation built into this leg and also that I am as previously reported a slow walker (short legs!).

The highpoint of this day is passing Nine Standards Rigg which is the halfway mark and is also the watershed, after which the rivers start to flow East instead of West.

Update:

We didn’t follow the prescribed route today. Gave the knee a rest by following the road that runs parallel. It’s what Wainwright tells you to take if the weather is bad at the top.

The Fletcher House B&B was a nice building. Breakfast was nothing to write home about but ok and we when we went down at 8am we were hit with the statement “oh by the way they are coming to pick up your bags at 8.15”. Back to the room we went to pack.

At breakfast we met the person who runs Packhorse – the baggage porting company. Came in to chat. He told us they were growing and booked between 10k and 15k room nights (can’t remember exactly).

Afterwards we picked up our lunch, some blister plasters from the outdoor shop and some paracetamol and after sun from the chemist.

Bumped into Ajax and Luke and then set off in our separate directions. They up to 9 Standards and we along the road. It was a lovely walk. Very scenic. Quite a long uphill section but nothing unmanageable.

We saw lapwings (farmer’s wife told me what they were). The same farmers wife advised me to pick some wool from the hedge and use it in my boots to cushion the impact. I’ve picked a pocket full. Their farm has 1300 breeding ewes – 2,000+ lambs a year.

The walk down along the river Swale was absolutely delightful and we are now ensconced in the residents lounge of the Keld Lodge Hotel having a beer and doing this update. Ajax and Luke are staying next door and are swinging by for dinner at 7.

Outside we met a chap called Richard who has just retired from the police force. He is doing the Lands End to John O’Groats walk. 1200 miles in 60 days. Work out the average!!!

starting B&B	Fletcher House, Fletcher Hill Market Street, Kirkby Stephen CA17 4QQ
forecast/actual km	18.1/16.91
forecast/actual time	6h 37min/5h 40min
weather	beautiful sunny day with a breeze
forecast/actual ascent m	604.80/595
breakfast	toasted bacon sandwich and bowl of fruit
lunch	cheese and onion sandwich from coop plus orange, mars bar and pack of BBQ beef flavour beef
dinner
finishing B&B	Keld Lodge Hotel, Keld DL11 6LL

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 6 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 5 – Shap to Kirkby Stephen

Click here to track today’s walk

Day 5 of the coast to coast walk is a longun and considered to be a bit of a trudge between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. Actually, whilst we have left the most scenic bit of the route, I am quite looking forward to mentally switching off and just concentrating on putting one foot in front of another and reeling in the miles.

I have budgeted almost ten hours for this day. hopefully it will take less but I am not the fastest of walkers – short legs etc.

The New Ing Lodge breakfast wasn’t great. Shame really as the building has real potential. We set off earlier than Ajax and Luke but went the wrong way and they caught us up after we retraced our steps.We walked together thereafter. Boy was it tough. It was 20 miles off road on a hot day. Feet and knee were an issue and water became one. We had to cut down on our consumption.

Got to KS very tired and went straight to the pub for rehydration. Fortunately the pub was only a hundred yards from the B&B and Tom hobbled over to get the key. I was totally exhausted and my feet were very sore. I soon started to shiver and had to put a fleece and my waterproof on to keep warm.

Whilst we were there there was a pub quiz. I got Bertrand Russell right. Bed.

Starting B&B	New Ing Lodge, Shap, CA10 3LX
Forecast/Actual miles	33.08/32.27
Forecast/Actual time hrs	9h 38min/10h 3min
Weather	Nice start with cooling breeze turning out v sunny – base layer weather
Elevation forecast/actual	612/697
Breakfast	Not outstanding full English. One piece of bacon, not fried. No drying facilities. Heating not on and bar not open when we got back from dinner.
Lunch	Tuna sandwiches
Dinner	Cheese burger in Black Bull in KS. Few pints of Black Sheep.
Finishing B&B	Fletcher House, Fletcher Hill Market Street, Kirkby Stephen CA17 4QQ

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 5 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 4 – Patterdale to Shap

Track today’s walk live.

The Coast to Coast walk Day 4 was rated by Wainwright himself as the toughest. The guidebooks reckon this is a 965m climb but my route plotted using the Ordnance Survey online took suggests it is more like 1,152m. I don’t think I’m choosing a harder route for the sake of it. It may be down to more modern tech being used in the planning. We shall see.

This also happens to be my lovely wife Anne’s birthday so she is coming to meet us and stay the night at Shap.

We start with a long gradual climb to Kidsty Pike, down to Haweswater alongside which is then a long stretch to Shap Abbey and our B&B.

Updatye

This was a toughie with the added pressure that Anne was joining us to celebrate her birthday. We decided to take the Wainwright avoid the mountain route which was 19 miles (3 miles more than the mountain route) . The start, around Ullswater was a killer on the feet and took much longer than expected. We rerouted to use roads and rejoined the “official” Wainwright route before Shap Abbey.

Anne had just arrived when we got there. Was great to see her. Ajax and Luke weren’t far behind. Their route had been a tough one. We hadna couple of beers in the bar of the New Ing Lodge and then went out for a sit down fish and chips in the local chipped. Luke and I popped over the rroad to the coop to buy beer and wine.

Ended up in the (cold) lounge of the B&B to eat a birthday cake that Anne had bought cheap from Tesco. A good finsih to the day.

Final note – the Canadian couple, Paul and Laurie, we had met in the White Lion in Patterdale were also at the New Ing Lodge and joined us for some cake.

starting B&B	Grisedale Lodge, Grisedale Bridge, Patterdale CA11 0PJ
forecast/actual km	24.74/30.40 (guesswork as runkeeper stopped)
forecast/actual time	9h 52min/
weather	nice day
forecast/actual ascent m	1,152.5
breakfast	best to far – home made bread, good bacon, meaty Cumberland sausage
lunch	Cheese and pickle sandwich
dinner	fish and chips in local chippy
finishing B&B	New Ing Lodge, Shap, CA10 3LX

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 4 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 3 – Rosthwaite to Patterdale

Click here to track the walk

Coast to Coast walk day 3 was always going to be one of the toughest. It involves two big climbs and is often split into two days walks by people with far more sense than us.

So today we expected to be one of the most knackering but perhaps one of the most satisfying to complete.

The first section involves climbing out of Borrowdale up Greenup Edge and down into Wordsworth’s Grasmere. We don’t have time to stop at Grasmere but turn left to ascend to Grisedale Tarn and thence down the “easy” route towards Patterdale (notionally avoiding Helvellyn and St Sunday Crag – wimps I know).

Update:

Left knee took a serious battering coming down from Honister Pass yesterday. I’ve never had a problem with it before but picked up a twinge on day 1 and the weakness was exploited by the mountain on day 2. In consequence we caught a cab to Keswick first thing after breakfast to buy a knee support.

The Glaramara Outward bound centre we stayed at turned out to be great. It had a seriously good drying room and the bacon at breakfast was the best we have seen so date. They had also kept us some food as the restaurant closed at 7pm – bit early I thought.

Ajax and Luke were outside when we turned up in the taxi – took some photos! They were too late for the restaurant themselves but we hadn’t realised that they weren’t actually staying in the same place as us. They got in our taxi and had a free ride to the pub. We only found out the next morning they were staying somewhere else. Not v good apparently.

In the morning we bought a map. Tom and I had decided it was a big ask to do the planned route for the day and had decided to find a suitable alternative. Wainwright doesn’t really prescribe a specific route. Just makes suggestions. We wanted to make sure our chosen route did justice to the purpose of the trip and chose an 18 mile walk to Patterdale from Keswick, going around the mountains.

The walk turned out long but took us through some pleasant farmland (lots of lambs). the first part ended at Troutbeck where we had planned to stop at the pub. Unfortunately they were closed for fire drill training. we ate our lunch at one of their picnic tables and set off on the road to Ullswater. It was a fair old crack but the road, which was an A road wasn’t too busy.

We hit Ullswater just as the National Trust caff was closing. Huh. There was another 4 miles to go so we just ploughed on. Tom had some bad blisters and when we arrived at the B&B he hit the hay. Ajax and Luke arrived half an hour after us after a very difficult walk.

We hit the White Lion for dinner and I had chilli con carne.

The Grisedale Lodge B&B was pretty outstanding. Christine served us home made break, very good bacon and a seriously meaty cumberland sausage. Best breakfast so far.

Check out our coast to coast day 3 video.

starting B&B	The Glaramara Centre, Seatoller, Borrowdale CA12 5XQ
forecast/actual km	24.36/28.14
forecast/actual time	9h 47min/8 h 52min
weather	lovely day for walking
forecast/actual ascent m	1,149.7/654
breakfast	great bacon
lunch	tuna sandwich from Greggs in Keswick
dinner	chilli con carne at White Lion in Patterdale plus a few startery bits
finishing B&B	Grisedale Lodge, Grisedale Bridge, Patterdale CA11 0PJ

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 3 Google Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. (When network coverage allows) You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk Day 2 – Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite

Coast to coast walk day 2 involves our first day in the Lake District. The day looks like having an easy start with a walk along Ennerdale Water, onwards alongside the River Liza and through Ennerdale Forest. We pass the famous Black Sail Youth Hostel and then begin what looks like a killer climb up Loft Beck to Honister Hause and the slate mine.

I’m anticipating stopping for lunch at the top of Loft Beck. In fact we will need to plan what process we expect to have made by what time for each day. I’m not a fast walker at the best of times and will need to make sure we keep up the pace. Don’t want to be arriving at the b&B in the dark each day.

We will also have to have the contingency plan for each day sorted in advance. Alfred Wainwright himself advises against taking the high routes if the mountains are shrouded in cloud. I’m not sure there is always a practice alternative.

There is a caff at the slate mine so we will no doubt avail ourselves of a hot cuppa therein. Apparently they also have log fires.

We will still have a fair old descent before arriving in the B&B for the night. Although the day is touter as Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite we don’t quite make it as far as Rosthwaite but are stopping at Seatoller. I quite like the name Seatoller :).

Update

Was a wet start to the day but the forecast was for it to improve which it did. We set off around the South side of Lake Ennerdale which was very slow going with the path often flooded with the previous day’s rain. Took us quite a while to get past the lake and we then crossed the magnificent river liza in full flood. It’s not a long river but quickly fills up from the hills around.

The notion of stopping for lunch at the top of Loft Beck was pure fantasy.We stopped in a clearing in Ennerdale Forest at around 2pm. The walk was a long haul though the forest with little to tell you how much progress you were making. Tom reminds me of a funny incident.

A fell runner was ploughing his way past us and I jokingly said to him “faster”. Unfortunately he couldn’t hear me because of his earphones so he stopped and took them off. Oops. The exact opposite of what I was suggesting.

We arrived at The Black Sail Youth Hostel at around 3pm.10 miles in to the walk. It’s impressively remote. Had a cup of tea and a 30 min break chatting to other adventurers. After setting off again at 3.30 it took us 45 minutes to find Loft Beck, which was where we were to climb. Impressive mountain stream. Took us an hour to get to the top which I was pleased with. Incredible views.

Thats where the difficulties began. Really difficult terrain that seriously pounded the knees and exacerbated a niggle I picked up yesterday. Moreover whereas it looks like quite a small plateau on the map in reality it was a fairly long distance to travel. You wouldn’t want to be stuck up there in cloud.

My knee gradually got worse and to cut a long story short it was gone 7.30 before we got to the quarry visitor centre, long closed for the day. We passed the youth hostel near to the visitor centre to find three lads waving at us. We had seen them at Black Sail.

Although it was only 2 miles to Seatoller it was all downhill, which is what was causing problems for the knee. We called in the hostel and they called a cab – cost £18 because it had to come from Keswick! Had a welcome beer whilst we waited. I’ll finish off this story another day.

Check out the coast to coast day 2 video.

starting B&B	Thorn Trees, Ennerdale Bridge, CA23 3AR
forecast/actual km	21.17/22.56
forecast/actual time	6hrs 16min/11h 33min – wow see notes
weather	wet to start but turned out nice
forecast/actual ascent m	625.4/630
breakfast	another full English
lunch	cheese and pickle sandwich
dinner	soup, ham sandwich and a trifle – the kitchen closed well before we arrived but they looked after us.
finishing B&B	The Glaramara Centre, Seatoller, Borrowdale CA12 5XQ

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 2 Google Photos Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

—–Update—–

Tref and the team are falling victim of the limited connectivity on the first few days of the walk. They’ve had some appalling wet weather in the lake district and are very soggy but undeterred nonetheless. Below is a video of the first two days that I’ve put together using the clips that dad has managed to share with me but hasn’t been able to post. Let’s hope they can get a decent connection at their next stop over.

– Joe Davies

 

Coast to Coast walk Day 1 – dipping our toes in the Irish Sea

Click here to track our progress live

Coast to Coast walk day 1 involves dipping our boots into the sea at St Bees. A short climb up to St Bees Head with Hannah Moor to our right. Weather permitting we should be able to see the Isle of Man on the horizon and the Winscale (Sellafield) nuclear power station. They renamed it from Winscale when I was a kid to avoid the bad reputation it had gained. We walk around the headland past the lighthouse and then proceeding inland towards Ennerdale Bridge.

At Cleator the perceived wisdom is that we stop at the Cleator Family Store to support the local economy. They have a walkers log book to sign. It will be interesting to see how many have been before us this year. The walking season is only just beginning.

We are using the Martin Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk guide book. No relation to Alfred Wainwright. The guide book suggests there is a 705m climb (775m according to the Ordnance Survey route I’ve plotted) on this day. I think there are few days that don’t involve going upwards which is going to be the real test of my fitness. The first real climb starts here up Cleator Moor where, at the top of which, we should get a good view looking back at the coast.

Our final destination today is Ennerdale Bridge which the book says is 13.8 miles (22.1km) in. I think this should be a nice manageable start to the adventure.

I’ll post an update this evening to tell you how I got on.

Update

What a start to the odyssey. The day began in a raging gale and ended up in a raging gale. The runkeeper live tracking stopped, probably due to zilch connectivity, the phone eventually ran out of battery and wouldn’t recharge using an external battery. This became a problem when we thought we might be lost – at 6.30 pm. I also dropped the phone and smashed the back of it – not sure what that does to the waterproof qualities. I also lost my specs having removed them on top of St Bees head to get better visibility. There was nowhere dry to stop for lunch, or any break really and we didn’t eat much of our packed lunch (ham sandwiches & accessories). The walk up Dent was a killer with zero visibility at the top and where we had to resort to the use of the compass – a couple staying at the B&B said they avoided Dent and it took them an hour and a half from Cleator (took us 4hrs 10 minutes. Nannycatch Brook was mostly flooded with many fords that might normally be an easy crossing being raging torrents. The boots got wet at that point if they weren’t already. This morning the boots are still wet and I’ve changed the paper on mine and Tom’s. There is zero connectivity – either mobile or fixed. The B&B’s phone line is down and even in the pub the wifi was so slow as to be unusable.

Ajax and Luke got in at 5.30!

The positive points? We got the worst of the weather out of the way and we finished a day that turnedo ut to be a real challenge. We staggered down to the Fox and Hounds and had food with the Agius’. I had a steak and ale pie with chips and veg. Tom had gammon steak. We saw lots of sheep but bugger all else and Tom was invaluable with his map reading.

Monday is another day. The forecast is rainy for the morning but clearing u thereafter. See how it goes.

starting B&B	Stonehouse Farm, 133 Main St St Bees CA27 0DE
forecast/actual km	23.14/23.25
forecast/actual time	7hr 55mins/8hrs 6mins
weather	atrocious – driving rain gale force winds
forecast/actual ascent m	775.7/880
breakfast	full English, did the job.
lunch	ham roll & stuff
dinner	steak pie and chips in fox & houns Ennerdale Bridge. Top notch
finishing B&B	Thorn Trees, Ennerdale Bridge, CA23 3AR – helpful

Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 1 Google Photos Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Coast to Coast walk day 0

Track my progress to the St Bees starting point live

Coast to coast walk day 0 is basically me getting to St Bees for the start of the journey

Didn’t get much sleep last night. Kept getting up to go to the loo. The excitement starting to take effect.

Had a good cooked breakfast – it’s the way ahead for the next couple of weeks:) Thought I might as well start as I am clearly going to be doing going on. Didn’t take long to finish packing and decided I’d take my Osprey laptop bag as it will be easier to keep all the cables there. I can put the bag inside my NorthFace base camp duffel bag for transportation between venues. There’s a lot more stuff in there than if i was carrying it all on the walk.

At 10.30 we set off to drop the duffel bag at Ajax’s house. They are taking it up for me which will make life a lot easier on the journey there. First stop is Newcastle at 13.40 where I’m meeting Joe for 40 minutes during the layover. It’s then a 90 minute journey across to Carlisle and then an hour and ten minutes or so to St Bees where I will arrive at 17.55, all being well.

Had a flat white and a piece of caramel shortbread at Newark Northgate – starting the calorie consumption already:)

At “Darlo” the train filled up with NUFC fans who had already been “celebrating” for some time. They filled up the std class carriages and overflowed into first. We were all getting off quite soon so it didn’t really matter other than some chap who got on at Durham and started talking loudly to a pal about the wallpaper he had just put up, the fact that Newcastle Brown Ale was nearly three quid a bottle at the station whereas it was 4 of a fiver at ASDA and about the fact that he was sitting in first with a sdt class ticket.

We’ve all done it although my incident a few years ago was totally inadvertent. I thought I had a first class ticket and didn’t discover my mistake until after I’d eaten a full breakfast. I was quite prepared to pay to upgrade but the guard never came along to inspect my ticket – result!

I’ll update as we go along here.

While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.

Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.

A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.

Pics from Carlisle station

Anker PowerCore charging two devices on the train to St Bees – a nice feeling.

Arrived in St Bees at exactly 17.55 as timetabled. Nice run along the coast. Lots of village names I’d never heard of. A lot of folk got on at Whitehaven in party mood. The Stonehouse Farm B&B was right next to the station. Carole Smith met me and showed me to Room1. Ordered packed lunches for the morning. Ham rolls, fruit and juice. Breakfast at 8.15 – they already have a party of five at 8am.

Before the others arrived (an hour after me) I strolled down to the beach which is the start of the coast to coast. I figured the weather today is nice whereas tomorrow it will be horrendous. Might as well get some nice pics in before the rain.

Dinner at the Queens Head. Manor Hotel was fully booked. It was fine – 4 pints of Lancaster Bomber and a 16oz gammon, egg and chips. Bed at 9.30.

B&B wifi 19.44Mbps down 4.93Mbps up. EE mobile hotspot 3.58Mbps down 1.36Mbps up.