Coast-to-Coast + aliloop-of-the-lakes, England – June, 2018

I want to encourage in others the ambition to devise with the aid of maps their own cross-country marathons and not be merely followers of other people’s routes.
Alfred Wainwright

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England’s Coast to Coast was designed by Fell Walker Arthur Wainwright and is roughly 192 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. He suggests we all find our own routes, which I did by adding another 50 miles peak bagging in the Lake District. — England’s Coast to Coast is roughly 192 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, but I added another 50 miles peak bagging in the Lake District.

C2C: vote now for tent-naming contest final round!

Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious. - Ruth Reichl With England's

gear list for the C2C

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. Ernest

C2C: day 1, getting to the start

Everywhere is within walking distance, if you have the time.Steven Wright And so, it begins. But not so fast. It

C2C: day 2, Manchester to St. Bees

You were made to soar, to crash to earth, then to rise and soar again.Alfred Wainwright It's half past nine

C2C: day 3, St. Bees to Ennerdale Water

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.Susan Sontag The morning began with the sound of birds and breakfast

C2C: day 4, Ennerdale Water to Wasdale

Nothing is as close to magic as nature.Anastasia Bolinder It’s happened again. I’ve found myself in a pub, talked into

C2C: day 5, Wasdale to Seathwaite

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as

C2C: day 6, climb on and have fun

Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.Hermann Buhl The crag gods tested me, but they must have had a

C2C: day 7, Seatollar to Keswick

Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.Carrie Latet There are five good reasons to hike in

C2C: day 8, Keswick to below Blencathra

Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to

C2C: day 9, Blencathra to Mosedale Beck, below Clough Head

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on

C2C: day 10, Mosedale Beck to Grisedale Tarn

There are two kinds of climbers, those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all

C2C: day 11, Grisedale Tarn to Haweswater

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and

C2C: day 12, Haweswater to Orton

I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.G.M. Trevelyan What a sight to see beautiful Orton over the

C2C: day 13, Orton to Ravenseat Farm

You need special shoes for hiking — and a bit of a special soul as well.Terri Guillemets The alicoop is

C2C: day 14, Ravenseat to Reeth

I like being near the top of a mountain. One can’t get lost here.Wislawa Szymborska I broke two cardinal rules

C2C: day 15, Reeth to St. Giles Farm

Travel far enough, you meet yourself.David Mitchell Another stunningly beautiful, bright, sunny day completely out of the norm for this

C2C: day 16, St. Giles Farm to Ingleby Arncliffe

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.Frank Lloyd Wright Today was the day I

C2C: day 17, Ingelby Arncliffe to Blakey Ridge

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.Henry David Thoreau Rain fell in

C2C: day 18, Blakey Ridge to Grosmont

Desert, jungle, mountains or coast; I don’t have a preference. If I’m out in the wilderness with everything I need

C2C: day 19, Grosmont to Robin Hood’s Bay

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came

C2C: day 20, epilogue

Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no

more deets on aliloop-of-the-lakes, Northern England

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I

Created by the illustrious fell walker Alfred Wainwright, the Coast to Coast is an unofficial and often unsigned path that passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors.

Which pretty well describes my plan of no plan aside from ‘wild camping’ and catching a bus and two trains from Robin Hood’s Bay back to the airport and home mid-June.

My mantra…