Coast to coast walk
Dr Samuel Johnson once said "If you are tired of London you are tired of life."
We have until recently lived by that rule as do most visitors to Great Britain. Apart from the odd trip to bath or Stonehenge, we never ventured far from England's capital.
But
last year, due to a doctor's order to get some exercise we went back to England
and headed north, almost to the border with Scotland. We then spent two weeks
walking Coast to Coast, from the Lake District in the west to the Yorkshire
coast. We followed the route of a fantastic little book called 'coast to coast'
by A. Wainwright. He clearly loved the country and now we know why. A local
travel company arranged taking our luggage from hotel to hotel each day so
we did the whole thing with small day sacks. They were two of the best weeks
of our lives and changed our view of England for ever.
The first five days were spent walking in the beautiful lake district which is like a small Yosemite. From the village of St Bees we went east through rolling Countryside to Ennerdale Bridge. Up the lovely river Liza into the mountains to Rossthwaite, past Roman roads on inaccessable peaks then Grasmere where we got to look around the home of the poet William Wordsworth at Dove Cottage; then to Patterdale and left the lake district after the market town of Shap. All of that was hard work but very exhillerating. The views from the mountaintops were stunning and the whole experience spiritually uplifting.
Between the market town of Shap and Kirkby Stephen the look of places change very quickly and we began to see that England is quite a varied country, with different environments around every corner and over every rolling hill.
Ancient
cairns (Nine Standards Rigg in the Pennines) were the highlight of the next
few days till we reached Richmond. A town that really should be in all the
guidebooks to England. This is a medieval gem right out of a hollywood movie.
We kept expecting to see knights in Armour and in the afternoon we 'jolly
well did' as the locals might put it. A joust was being held which was great
fun to watch. The people in Richmond made us feel very welcome and it was
with heavy heart and heavy legs that we set off again east into the Cleveland
Hills.
Wonderful Urra Moor was a bit like being back on the west coast, but here the hills were not so steep but more rounded and imposing.
The pint of beer I drank in Robin Hood's bay after 191 miles was the finest drink I have ever tasted in my long life. The people we met, both walkers and locals were all utterly charming. Never a frown or anything other than warm encouragement from everyone. The coast to coast walk is a total gem and more people should know about it.
D.N & J.N 2006
