Coast to Coasting #5: Crossing over

Up. Down. Cross. Re-cross. 
That’s the thing about the Coast to Coast. Because you are walking across the country you cross different landscapes and rock types - limestone, millstone grit, red sandstone, pale sandstone; you cross boundaries and features - stiles, becks, roads, railway lines, national parks, moorland and bogs.

Topography

The views from valley to top, from top to top were breathtaking. When we hiked up Hartley Fell to reach Nine Standards Rigg we could feel that these mysterious stone structures truly marked the watershed of the spine of England. Our hearts and spirits lifted. 

Coast to Coasting #6: The wrap and what we learned

With the whole width of England behind me, my C2C adventure is over now. 
I learned a lot during the planning and execution - you might find some of these tips and hints helpful when you organise your first C2C or any other UK multi-day long distance walk.

Staying

You can use one of the many walking package companies such as Sherpavan who will book the whole trip for you including all your accommodation (as well as transporting your big bag, giving you track notes and looking after you). 

Coast to Coasting #4: the people you meet

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but can I ask what you are doing?”
Or,
“So tell me about what’s going on here, if you don’t mind?”
A (hopefully) polite enquiry has been my opening for several conversations along the Coast to Coast path.
One of the attractions of walking from one side of England to the other is you meet local interesting people. British reserve might normally drive me past, but I’m only going to be walking this way once, so I figure I might as well risk being nosy to satisfy my curiosity.
A few examples….

Coast to Coasting #3: Squirrel tales

Growing up in the 1950s in England often involved reading Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter and / or being taught how to cross the road by Tufty Fluffytail the road safety red squirrel. But in today’s England, red squirrels are an endangered species; they have all but been pushed out by the bigger, introduced grey squirrels except in a few  remote or island locations, mostly in Scotland or Wales. 
But you don’t have to go to a remote location to see English red squirrels. The National Trust looks after a reserve of ancient Scots pines running down to the beach at Formby, near Liverpool - one of the top 10 picnic sites in the UK - that is also home to a thriving colony of 400+ red squirrels who have dodged predation by local cats and grey squirrels.

Coast to Coasting #2: Gear failure - Boots (Again)

On top of Raven Crag - but watch those boots.

I have bad boot karma, no doubt about it.
My Zamberlans peeled their soles on the last day of the Northern Tongariro Circuit so I ditched them. My Scarpas peeled their soles on the last day of the Rakiura Track last year but I persisted, had them reglued (at great expense) in Brisbane, restitched (at very little expense) in Ladakh, and gave them away in Dharamsala because I just couldn’t trust them to last.
I bought a new pair of Mammut boots in January for this hike. Carefully broke them in till they were wonderfully comfortable. But then…

Coast to Coasting #1: Starting out

Let’s walk across England from west to east in one go, starting at St Bees Head and ending at Robin Hood’s Bay - the Coast to Coast hike.
Getting to the start of the Coast to Coast (C2C) was cheap and seamless thanks to Virgin Trains and North-West Rail, booked through Trainline. Cheap at under 11 pounds because being over 60 qualifies me for a Senior Railcard @ 30 pounds a year. Almost too seamless because catching the train from St Helens, I had 5-minute windows for changes at Wigan and Carlisle and almost missed the St Bees train.

Liverpool - Land of the Unexpected

First stop the North-West: land of dour Lowry streetscapes? Clogs, cobbles and serried pit worker houses? Nup. Unexpected statuary and social phenomena - yup.

Iron Men

On the coast at Sefton, the golden sand beach is home to the “Iron Men”; not surfers/sand sprinters but an installation by Anthony Gormley called Another Place comprising 100 naked identical iron figures (casts of his own body - a little narcissistic?) set along the beach and in the sea, gazing towards Ireland. They cry out for customisation with hats and pullovers but also exude a strange serenity.