A personal journal recording and reflecting on my walks around the world.
Grasmere to Patterdale 8 1/2 Miles
Today turned into a very eventful day for what was meant to be a ‘short’ walking day. Chatted over breakfast in the hostel with Vanetta and Gabrielle and got to know them a bit and then Gwen and I walked into Grasmere for some supplies and some Ginger Bread before setting off at about 10.30am.
Continue reading “Coast to Coast Grasmere to Patterdale”
Rosthwaite to Grasmere 9 1/4 Miles.
Today was the day I got a twenty six year old monkey off my back. Twenty six years ago, crossing from Rosthwaite to Grasmere I got Gary lost on Greenup Edge, it was a wet and cloudy day with zero visibility and after wandering around lost for an hour or two we dropped down into, believe it or not, the Langdale valley. It was a long walk to Grasmere that day and I have never forgotten it. Today though was clear and sunny and I achieved the redemption I was longing for.
Continue reading “Coast to Coast Rosthwaite to Grasmere”
Ennerdale Bridge To Rosthwaite 14 1/2 Miles.
Day two dawns dry but misty. We set off from our B&B about 9.30am and walk through a silent, sleepy Ennerdale Bridge, quiet and still in morning mist. Passing the Fox and Hounds and over the old packhorse bridge we reach the shoreline of Ennerdale Water in no time. The Coast to Coast path follows the South shoreline along the whole length of the Lake and there are a couple of notable features. Robin Hoods chair, topical for us as in two weeks will will be at Robin Hoods Bay, and Anglers Crag, where the path has a bit of an incline, the first of the day to crest the crag itself.
Continue reading “Coast to Coast Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite”
St Bees Head to Ennerdale Bridge 14 Miles.
It’s a rainy start to our adventure. Gwen and I picked up the obligatory pebble off the beach at St Bees to carry to Robin Hoods Bay, I reckon a fair bit of St Bees beach must be at Robin Hoods Bay by now and vice versa. The pack maybe weighs about 10kg and my camera weighs a kilo of that. I’ve done a fair bit of walking lately and spent some time in Nepal last year so have got the packing off to a fine art with some good lightweight gear. After the beach and photo stop at the sign it was off up the steady incline to St Bees Head itself.
Continue reading “Coast to Coast St Bees Head to Ennerdale Bridge”
I’m sitting in the bedroom at our bed and breakfast in St Bees the night before I set off to walk Wainwrights Coast to Coast walk for the second time. Wainwrights popular long distance walk goes from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hoods Bay on the North Sea, covering three National Parks and about 190 miles of some of the finest walking country in England. Twenty six years ago I was sat, not ten yards away from where I am now, in the building next door (now no longer a B&B but a private house) about to walk the Coast to Coast for the first time, with my mate Gary. Now, twenty six years later I am about to walk it again, this time with my daughter Gwen. Continue reading “Coast to Coast an Introduction”
