Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk, which winds through the often spectacular scenery of three of England’s national parks, is to be made a National Trail.
The 197-mile route from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire is one of the UK’s most popular long-distance routes, taking in lochs, mountains, moors, moors, medieval castles, ancient ruins and plenty of pubs.
Wainwright, a writer and ‘wanderer’ who remains a god-like figure for Lake District walking, devised the route and published it in his Coast to Coast guide in 1973.
Despite its unofficial status, the trail is walked in full by around 6,000 people each year, generating around £7m for local economies.
On Friday, Natural England announced it would become a government-designated national trail, joining 16 others in England and Wales, including the Hadrian’s Wall Trail, the Glyndore Way and the Pennine Way, the first official trail opened in 1965.
The announcement comes with a £5.6m commitment to upgrade the route and make it more accessible.
Presenter Eric Robson, who chairs the Wainwright Society, said it had long been one of the society’s ambitions to get National Trail designation for the walk.
It was the starting point of something bigger for a route that helps support businesses and jobs in some of the most sparsely populated rural communities, he said.
“This is a very exciting and important step and we look forward to working with route partners to establish the Coast to Coast Walk as one of the UK’s Great National Trails.”
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TV presenter Julia Bradbury also welcomed the news. “Having walked (and talked) and promoted its virtues on TV and in print, I know exactly why this is one of the great Alfred Wainwright’s most popular routes. Taking in the magical Lake District, up to the heights of the peaks and rolling scenery of the Yorkshire Dales and Moors – it’s simply stunning.’
Wainwright assembled the trail using existing footpaths, bridle paths and secondary roads.
It takes most people two weeks to complete and traditionally starts at St Bees where people have to wet their boots and collect a pebble to continue their quest.
In the Lake District it takes Ennerdale Water, where Bill Clinton says he proposed to Hillary, Angle Tarn and Hoswater. After crossing the M6, walkers soon find themselves in the hills and fields of the Yorkshire Dales passing through Ravenseat, of TV Our Yorkshire Farm fame and the village of Keld. Then there are the wild moors of North Yorkshire, ending in Robin Hood’s Bay, where people can finally throw their pebbles into the sea.
The path’s condition means the route will receive investment, helping to make the path more accessible to people of different abilities, Natural England said, by removing bollards and replacing them with gates, for example.
Trail signs and structures will be made more consistent and loop trails will be introduced for people who want shorter walks.
Natural England said improvements would be made over the next three years, with the upgraded trail expected to open in 2025.
Marianne Spain, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “The way we will now develop the Coast to Coast into a National Trail is a turning point for the development of the National Trail, as it will be the first National Trail where the provision of social and economic benefits for consumers and communities will be built in from the start.”
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