The classic high-level walk from Irish Sea to North Sea

Originally devised by the legendary Alfred Wainwright, the Coast-to-Coast Walk has steadily become one of Britain’ s most popular long-distance walks, and it is not hard to see why. Planned to seek out the most spectacular high ground across the country, it takes you from the sea in the west to the sea in the east via three of England’ s loveliest National Parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.

Its 192 miles, from the quiet Cumbrian village of St Bees to Robin Hood’ s Bay, are a substantial test of endurance that will take even a fit walker a fortnight to accomplish, but also a wonderfully varying walk, from sea cliffs to craggy mountains and lakes, then across rolling dales and finally heather moorland. For everyone who reaches Wainwright’ s Bar at journey’ s end on the North Yorkshire coast it will have been the walk of a lifetime.