Coast to Coast Path: St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay

by Henry Stedman

Fully revised second edition of this classic 191-mile walk across northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, inspired by Alfred Wainwright. Crossing three fabulous national parks – the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors – it samples the very best of the English countryside – rugged mountains and lakes, gentle dales and stone-built villages; wild moorland; sea cliffs and fishing villages.

· 5 town plans and 103 large-scale walking maps – at just under 1:20,000 – showing route times, places to stay, places to eat, points of interest and much more. These are not general-purpose maps but fully-edited maps drawn by walkers for walkers.
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· Itineraries for all walkers – whether walking the route in its entirety over a week to 10 days or sampling the highlights on day walks and short breaks
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· Practical information for all budgets – camping, bunkhouses, hostels, B&Bs, pubs and hotels; St Bees through to Robin Hood's Bay – where to stay, where to eat, what to see, plus detailed street plans
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· Comprehensive public transport information – for all access points on the Coast to Coast Path
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· Flora and fauna – four page full color flower guide, plus an illustrated section on local wildlife
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· Green hiking – understanding the local environment and minimizing our impact on it
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Genres: Travel, Walking, Reference, Nonfiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Henry Stedman is a professional tour leader and a trekker of considerable experience, having hiked in the Himalaya, China, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Philippines, Sumatra and Madagascar.

Reviews

[Adrian Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great accompaniment to Wainwright's book. Lots of really good practical info on all the places on route, and excellent advice on everything else you need to know. Especially useful for judging how many days to take, as Wainwright is a bit optimistic on this front.

[Jill Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I have decided on this walk to celebrate his retirement when we have 3+ weeks of freedom.
I read this ‘Cover to Cover’ and it looks like a great guide. Retirement isn’t for 3 years... I may be back to update my ⭐️ rating AFTER we walk the path. 👍🏼😁

[AJW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever I plan a long distance walk, I always turn to the Trailblazer series first. They are jam packed with all the useful practical information I need to plan the expedition. This book doesn’t disappoint. I like the hand drawn maps pointing out landmarks as well - I look at them simultaneously with my Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps and together they give me a comprehensive picture of the route.

I can’t wait to get on the Coast-to-Coast trail. But with this COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, the date of my trip is yet to be decided...

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great guide, and the maps we took to walk with everyday. I would read Wainwright in the evening to get a sense of the next day's walk, and then follow the maps and guide from Trailblazer. (Full disclosure: I only went as far as Kirkby Stephen in 2016 - but am planning to do the second "half" this summer. I hear there is a new 7th edition which I am about to buy!)

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational!

This guidebook combines history, maps, detailed directions for the trail, places to stay and eat, and things to see. An invaluable companion for those wishing to hike England’s Coast-to-Coast Trail.

[Gretchen Stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive guide, I wouldn't want to do the coast to coast without it.

[Graham Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful guide to the Coast 2 Coast path. The mapping was generally good. My only area of complaint was from Patterdale to Shap: the mapping could have been better on the peaks. I did find his suggested walking times to be optimistic, to say the least.

This is an incredible walk and this is a good guide to it.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Gives really detailed descriptions of the path, plus lots of info about the areas you will pass thru. Historical information, notes on sights along the path. Descriptions of places to stay and eat, options for how far to walk each day and lots of great maps and drawings. A very useful and informative guidebook.

[Claudia Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was all we needed to walk this path from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay. The maps are incredibly detailed, a good thing because signage was sporadic. We almost never resorted to using the Harvey maps.

[Eduardo Minte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does the trick, good and easy to understand.

[Cecily]

I guess I'll wait and rank this after I do the walk. It definitely keeps me rooted in reality about how much this will cost and just how much it will kick my butt. The detail is fabulous and the maps are amazing. This will be so helpful when we start planning stages.

[Donna]

Comprehensive coverage of the terrain and towns for each stage of the 190-mile walk, down to the smallest detail.