Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk
Eric Robson joins the master fellwalker and shares the highlights of his 190 mile walk from St. Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast. This classic, but unofficial, long-distance route was devised by Wainwright in 1972 and traversed what AW described as "the grandest territory in the North of England." Two-thirds of the route lie within three National Parks and today AW’s achievement is regarded by discerning walkers as the finest long trek in Britain.
Episodes
The first 50 miles lie in AW's beloved Lakeland beneath the shadows of Pillar, Great Gable and Haystacks, along Grisedale, and by the shores of Haweswater. "It is," says Wainwright, "a country walk of the sort that enthusiasts for the hills indulge in every weekend. It's just a bit longer than most, that's all."
The 35 miles to Keld couldn't be more of a contrast with the Lake District, but Eric Robson discovers that, in AW's company, they're walking through more than 2,000 years of history. In doing so, they cross the Pennine watershed to enter Swaledale—first visited by Wainwright more than 50 years ago, and still his favourite Yorkshire dale.
"Anyone who wanders on the moors soon finds himself in a graphic scene of industrial decay that simply cannot be passed unnoticed. Swaledale has a long history of mining—and that history has come to a full stop." Yet all is not sadness as Wainwright takes Eric Robson to the typically English market town of Richmond then on to a public house to make good a rare inaccuracy in his famous guide book.
The final stage of Wainwright's creation is a fitting climax: savouring the still beauty of the North York Moors, he tells Eric Robson of his love for this countryside, and of the mixture of elation and sadness that marks their arrival on the east coast.
