There is something terribly appealing about walking from one side of a country to the other.

You start by the sea, put one foot in front of the other for a while, and eventually end up at another sea. It is simple, a bit ridiculous, and exactly the sort of thing I want to do with my time.

That is how I ended up hiking the Coast to Coast with my friend Sarah. We started in Robin Hood’s Bay, heading west towards St Bees, purely so it would be easier to get home at the end, and spent 12 days walking 309km with around 8,500m of elevation along the way.

At the time we walked it, the Coast to Coast was not an official National Trail. It has since been given that status, which is very much deserved. 

It is one of the most varied long-distance hikes I have done in the UK. You get moorland, rolling fields, bogs, quiet valleys, busy roads, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and then the sea again at the end. You also get a lot of tired legs, quite a lot of snacks, and in our case, a lot of nights in a tent.

The Coast to Coast never stays the same for long

The early days were defined by washes of purple and wide open blue skies, as the heather across the North York Moors had burst into flower and was glowing in the sun. 

These were big distance days, but they never felt stressful, it was all long easy paths, cute little fluffy cows, wild trail snacks, huge views and evenings where you arrive at your tent spot feeling like you have spent the whole day walking through a postcard.

Almost.

I am really not a camper. Give me a bed, a shower and somewhere warm to get my boots off at the end of a long day and I am very happy. Call me bougie, I do not care. I know what I like.

But there is something nice about wild camping when it works. You are there at sunset, you wake up where you finished walking, and you do not have to spend the evening working out how to get yourself to a hotel somewhere else.

We ended up camping in some fairly random places too. One night we were in fields next to the East Coast main line after a long day that included the horrific task of crossing the A19. It was not exactly the wildest of wild camping spots, but the sunset was beautiful and it did the job.

Then the trail shifted again as we crossed into the Yorkshire Dales. We had rolling fields, honesty boxes that I had forgotten to bring cash for, and a beautiful valley walk along the River Swale, there’s lots of options on the Coast to Coast for different route diversions, taking the low route through the valley on this occasion was such a great choice, affording us peace, quiet  and time for a cheeky dip in Swinner Gill.

That is what I love about a hiking route like this. Just when you get used to the daily scenery and routine, it changes.

The boots, the bog and the tiredness catching up

If there’s one thing I should have known better before setting off on the Coast to Coast, it was that I shouldn’t have used such old hiking boots.  

They had been absolutely battered from a few years working as a Mountain Leader, and I knew there was a decent chance they would not make it all the way across the country. Still, I kept wearing them and kept pressing on because that is what you do sometimes when you are in the middle of a long hike, even if it feels like you are being stabbed in the ankles with every step. 

By Day 7 enough was enough. Thankfully there were a few outdoor shops in Kirkby Stephen where I could pick up some new trail runners. They were super comfy, and I was very glad to have them. 

Alas, poor boot choice wasn’t the only thing having an impact by this point, the cumulative distance had started to take its toll too.

There is always a point on a long-distance hike where the novelty wears off a little bit. You are not having a terrible time, the scenery can still be beautiful, the path might technically be easy, but you are just tired.

Day 7 on the Coast to Coast trail was that moment that hit for me.

We were walking through gorgeous scenery and in theory it was very straightforward. But I had reached the point where I just wanted to get the tent up, lie down and stop hiking for a bit. 

Then the following day was tough too, even though we did not go particularly far. Wading through deep bog didn’t help. It was fairly flat-ish underfoot, but the ground was so wet that each step forward felt like a lot more work than it should have been.

I think this is one of the realities people don’t always consider when they are planning a long-distance walk. You can be fit. You can have done big days before. You can be walking in a beautiful place. And still, at some point, your body just wants a break. Especially if you’ve been sleeping in a tent every night.

Thankfully, the Lake District was waiting for us.

The Lake District gave me a second wind

There is something about being up in the mountains that just feels like home for me. I love a long-distance hike, but throw in some big hills and it will always make it ten times better in my book. .

The Lake District is easily one of the most picturesque mountain regions in the UK, there’s a reason after all that approximately 18 million people visit the region each year. 

Despite its beauty, the Lake District section of the Coast to Coast brought its usual weather, mist, low cloud and plenty of drizzly rain. It definitely didn’t help with the navigation along the route, so I was very pleased to have a map with me.

This was the point in the route where it felt like you were properly hiking again, rather than simply putting in big miles. We were up on mountain summits, then dropping down into valleys. There were rocky paths, waterfalls, rolling green fields and streams that were impossible not to stop at and put our feet in.

Getting the first glimpse of the Irish Sea as we descended down towards Ennerdale Water, was slightly unreal. It hadn’t really dawned on me until this moment that we had walked almost the entire way across the country.

Then suddenly, we were at St Bees

Despite 11 days of hiking behind us, it felt like the final day 23km along the coast path to St Bees had crept up on us from nowhere. 

But I can’t complain, the weather gods were on our side with blue skies, coastal views and good snacks making it the best possible way to spend the final time on such an epic hike. 

I always find finishing a multi-day hike a little bit strange. You’ve spent days getting up, packing your things, walking, stopping for food, walking some more and then finding somewhere to sleep. It becomes your whole routine.

Then you arrive at the sea and that is it. You’re meant to stop.

There is obviously a huge sense of satisfaction in reaching the end. You’ve got yourself from one side of England to the other. But the transition back to what we like to call normal life always feels a bit weird and your body is expecting to carry on tomorrow.

How to book the Coast to Coast for yourself

If you’re thinking of taking on the Coast to Coast, I would highly recommend it. With such varied scenery across three national parks, you get to experience some of the best hiking the UK has to offer, all in one long walk.

The first thing to decide is which way you want to go and how much time you can realistically give it. We walked from Robin Hood’s Bay to St Bees because it made getting home easier for us, but you can walk it in either direction. Most people go west to east, partly because the prevailing wind is more likely to be behind you. We did it in 12 days, but I would give yourself more time if you can. The official guidance suggests around 13 days with a rest day, and it is nice not to have every single day planned down to the minute.

The biggest thing to organise is where you’re sleeping. There are loads of options along the route, from campsites and hostels to B&Bs, pubs and hotels. But you need to book accommodation well ahead, especially if you’re walking in spring, summer or around a bank holiday. The popular places get booked up quickly, and some of the sections between stops are remote enough that you do not want to spend the day hoping somewhere has a bed free. If you’re planning to camp, use an official campsite or get permission from the landowner rather than assuming you can wild camp anywhere. If I did it again, I would definitely be booking more beds and fewer nights in a tent.

I would also make sure you’re using current route information. The Coast to Coast is now a National Trail, and there have been changes to parts of the old Wainwright route as the new route has been developed. Do not just download the first old GPX file you find and hope for the best. Check the official National Trails map and any current diversions before you set off, then take a paper map as well. There are mountain sections, low cloud, bog and places where navigation is not obvious, particularly in the Lake District, so your phone should not be doing all the work.

Finally, be honest about the days you are planning. It is a demanding route and the landscape changes constantly. Some days will feel very easy, then you will hit bog, a long road section, bad weather or tired feet and suddenly the plan looks very different. Build in enough food and water for the quieter stretches, make sure your footwear is actually ready for the job, and leave yourself a bit of room to adjust. Learn from me and do not start a 309km hike in boots that have already had a very full working life.

Book the places you want to stay, give yourself enough time to enjoy it and be ready for the route to surprise you. That is the whole point of the Coast to Coast, after all.