Meet the Locals
About Coast to Coast Packhorse
Dedicated to crafting memorable journeys across Britain’s Coast to Coast trail.
Trusted by travellers worldwide, with 300+ five star TripAdvisor & Google reviews.
The UK’s only travel company specialising in Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route.
Local Experts on the
Coast to Coast
Dedicated to the Coast to Coast route devised by fell walker Alfred Wainwright, C2C Packhorse has served walkers, runners and cyclists across this route for many years. Based in Kirkby Stephen, close to the trail’s halfway mark, we provide a comprehensive range of services, thus creating a supportive backdrop to your self-guided trip.
We can provide as much or as little support as required and have tailored a schedule to fit your needs. The team make all the arrangements for your Coast to Coast trip with a great mix of accommodation for you to enjoy. Or, if you wish to organise your own accommodation, we can cover all the logistical help you may need.
We have 100% dedication to the Coast to Coast route. Our team go above and beyond to provide route information, meticulous administration and a punctual minibus service. Therefore, if you book with Packhorse, you can rest assured that your bags will be there to greet you, on time, every time. We are also the carrier of choice for many other Coast to Coast holiday providers.
To relieve walkers, runners and cyclists of the many organisational and logistical challenges of their Coast to Coast trip. Thus leaving you free and relaxed to enjoy the splendour of three of England’s stunning National Parks!
Our season runs from March to October. You can start your trip on any date within the season (except for guided holidays, which have set departure dates).
Based at Kirkby Stephen, close to the trail’s halfway mark, our team provides a comprehensive range of services, thus creating a supportive backdrop to your self-guided trip.
Address: 25 Cumberland House, St. Luke’s Road, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, CA17 4HT
Meet Our Team
Carina
General Manager
Carina
Carina has previously worked in customer service and business roles before joining the team to compete package and service bookings. Following some time in her business development role, Carina is now the General Manager overseeing all aspects of the Coast to Coast Packhorse and Sherpa Van businesses.
Claire
Trade and Service bookings specialist
Claire
Having previously worked in banking and finance, Claire re-located to Cumbria with her family, several years ago. She enjoys an outdoor lifestyle including walking, cycling and keeping fit. If you are booking your own accommodation for your Coast to Coast trip and need to use our baggage, transfer or parking services then Claire will be happy to help you.
Hayley
Package Reservations Manager
Hayley
Hayley previously worked as an estate agent, she re-located to Cumbria and enjoys keeping busy with her new adventure on the farm. You may also see Hayley at The Engine Shed in Kirkby Stephen where she manages the bar team – pop in and say hello! If you are looking for a package holiday to include your accommodation, baggage transfers, passenger transfers and parking then please get in touch and Hayley will be happy to advise you.
Kate
Groups Co-ordinator
Kate
Kate enjoys walking and being in the outdoors with her family and friends. When she isn’t doing that, she’s running around after her two young boys. Kate is also excitedly ticking off parts of the Coast to Coast.
Linda
Operations Assistant
Linda
Sonia
Trade and Services Booking Specialist
Sonia
Sonia previously worked in hairdressing and made the transition to the office environment last season. She lives on a hill farm with her family, providing lots of challenges including lambing. If you are booking your own accommodation for your Coast to Coast trip and need to use our baggage, transfer or parking services then Sonia will be happy to help you.
Vicky
Operations Assistant Manager
Vicky
EXCELLENTTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My second Coast to Coast trip with Packhorse. I was very impressed with the pre trip updates and info from Hayley, the standard of accommodation was excellent and the drivers who ferried me from Kirby Stephen to St Bees at the start and Robin Hoods Bay to Kirby Stephen at the end were great, my bag was always at my accommodation when I arrived and all I had to do was concentrate on walking, I was very happy with the whole experiencePosted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Communication with Packhorse through Hayley made this whole trip exceptional. It was an absolute delight to meet her in person. Nothing was too much trouble and everything went so smoothly. We cannot recommend them highly enough.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. At 69 years of age, I had apprehensions about this adventure. But it all went well. It was a wonderful adventure all the way from St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. We enjoyed every part of it, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, the Moors, all of it was fantastic. Our accommodations varied from very good to excellent. Packhorse is a great company! Hayley was always available to answer our questions and give us some advice.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Walked the coast to coast trail individually in September 2025 and booked everything through this company. Everything with Packhorse went smoothly from beginning to end. All accommodations were up to speck, route descriptions were clear, including alternative options, and all luggage transfers went 100% fine. Not a single issue!Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The team at Packhorse were excellent, especially when we experienced issues with our cycling route. The accommodation, meals and luggage handling was also excellent. They were very easy to deal with and and they replied to our enquires in a timely and comprehensive manner.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. In August 2025 we did the C2C. Just wonderful: great walk, Packhorse/Hayley very professional, service minded and personal. All in all highly recommended! We thoroughly enjoyed this lifetime experience. Thanks Hayley, Packhorse team and all others involved.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. C2C Packhorse delivered an excellent service from the first moment when I contacted them to ask about the trip, through the planning, booking and trip itself. Hayley was my point of contact and she was excellent in every way. I can highly recommend C2C Packhorse and from talking to other people doing the Coast to Coast walk C2C Packhorse seemed to offer the best service and at the best price.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We had never done a hike/trip like this and we had a fantastic time. Coast to Coast Packhorse was really great - training advice beforehand, fascinating range of accommodations with good food and everyone friendly, advice on the trails, quick response to any emails, and when there was a fire on the moor near Robin Hood's Bay we were advised of an optional route. And: when we couldn't start our trip at St. Bees due to flight complications, they picked up some sea water and pebbles for us, and delivered them to Grasmere! They are much more that a bags delivery service. We highly recommend them.Posted onTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Hayley was unbelievably helpful and went out of her way to smooth any issues. We didn’t do enough research and found the cycle ride too challenging. So although the C2C wasn’t a success for us Hayley did everything she could to help us out.Verified by TrustindexTrustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more
Meet Our Expert Guides
Richard Duckworth
C2C Guide – Summer
Richard Duckworth
Richard Duckworth hails from Essex but you’d never believe it from his Lancastrian accent! Richard lives on the outskirts of Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria, at the foot of the Howgill Fells and just a mile from the Coast to Coast path! His passion for hillwalking goes back over 15 years, he has walked several thousand miles all over the UK and loves nothing more than multi-day adventures on foot. He is a qualified Mountain Leader, navigation tutor and all round lover of Yorkshire Tea; in fact he can often be found confusing staff in café’s by ordering “Tea for two for one”.
Nicola Carter
Dales Way Guide
Nicola Carter
Nicola lives in Lancaster but spends as much time as possible in her homeland of Cumbria, walking and climbing the Lake District fells. Nicola is a Mountain Leader, Rock Climbing Instructor, and a NNAS navigation tutor. She will also take any opportunity to share her knowledge of ecology, local history, as well as landscape art and literature. Some people call her ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ because she’s always smiling and is a little ball of positive energy!
Graeme Nimmo
Guide
Graeme Nimmo
Graeme has a huge passion for the mountains, and loves to share his enthusiasm, skills and knowledge. He’s a professional Summer & Winter Mountain Leader as well as a Rock Climbing Instructor. For years Graeme has walked and climbed in the mountains of Snowdonia, Lake District, Yorkshire and Scotland. Their rugged beauty never fails to capture his imagination. Their history, geology and ecology always leaves him wanting more. Graeme has a wealth of experience running navigation training, guided mountain walking, challenge treks, rock climbing courses, Duke of Edinburgh, outdoor education work, abseiling and many other activities.
Mark Reid
C2C Guide – Autumn
Mark Reid
“I was totally transfixed, unable to believe my eyes.” Alfred Wainwright
EXCELLENTVerified Excellent and well organised C2C A very well organised trip, Hayley and the team were very responsive and the accommodations chosen were all good, some excellent. The bag pick up and drop went very efficiently and overall I had a great time and would highly recommend Packhorse.Posted onVerified Lifetime experience. In August 2025 we did the C2C. Just wonderful: great walk, Packhorse/Hayley very professional, service minded and personal. All in all highly recommended! We thoroughly enjoyed this lifetime experience. Thanks Hayley, Packhorse team and all others involved.Posted onVerified Memorable Walking Holiday in an Extremely Beautiful Area This was a spectacular experience to celebrate our retirements. It was our first walking holiday but hopefully not the last. All the accommodations were really lovely with excellent breakfasts, the scenery was stunning, the people from around the world were so interesting and friendly, and Coast to Coast Packhorse did an outstanding job of providing support, especially during Storm Floris. I’m glad we booked with the local experts. Our bags were always waiting for us once we arrived at our lodging. Hayley was very helpful answering questions and setting us up with the gpx files. John, who shuttled us over to St. Bee's from Kirby Stephen, was a great driver and easy to talk to. Thank you to everyone for making this such a special vacation.Posted onVerified A brilliant experience with excellent support from C2C Packhorse that made everything manageable. We undertook this challenge as a 'Daddy-Daughter' adventure. We were joined by two other members of the family for 2 days/ 3 nights. We had an amazing time with great highs, some difficulties and a range of weathers but never had a cross word and we are so much closer as a result and both have a huge sense of achievement. The people, scenery, food and drink were wonderful and each part of the country has its own distinctive character.We would not have been able to do it without C2C Packhorse: they took the pressure off booking accommodation that was appropriate and actually had more 'nice touches' and little luxuries than I was expecting - we were really impressed. We met others walking who were unsupported and our days and journey distances were all in our control which was really important on the longer, tougher days: not everyone had this luxury. Transporting bags was really easy - as was pick up - a huge plus for us. More than this, on the days we were moving very slowly we had phone calls and welfare checks to make sure that all was ok and that we arrived safely. Support pre-booking and over the event was prompt and much appreciated. Huge thanks to Hayley and Kate for this and for working around our specific requirements: with my busy job I could not have put this trip together without them: the personal visit in Kirkby Stephen was a nice touch too. A highly recommended challenge made possible by a company with the right values.Posted onVerified Well organised adventure Just completed my Coast to Coast adventure. Originally, I approached Packhorse to just organise my baggage transfers and I was going to organise my own accommodation. I had tried with several companies but they wanted, what I considered, a ridiculous amount of money for a single supplement for a sole traveller. When I explained this to the Packhorse team they said their single supplement was no where near what I had been quoted by others. Packhorse quoted and I accepted. Accommodation, baggage transfers, maps and notes provided. The entire experience was fantastic from start to finish. A faultless display from Hayley and the Packhorse team. 10/10Posted onVerified A Beautifully Organised and Truly Memorable Coast to Coast Walk We had an absolutely fantastic experience walking the Coast to Coast, and we’re so grateful to Coast to Coast Packhorse for the excellent planning and support throughout.Walking across three stunning national parks on foot was a unique and unforgettable experience. Every day offered something new — beautiful landscapes, varied walking terrain, and welcoming places to stay.The accommodation was especially well chosen: a lovely mix of pubs, inns, lodges, and the occasional B&B — all either directly on the route or very close by. Arriving at a pub in the afternoon, settling in, and becoming part of village life, even just for a short while, was one of the highlights.We were constantly met with kindness, helpfulness, and genuine interest from hosts and locals — both where we stayed and on the trail itself.It’s also clear that the route is well maintained and appreciated. We walked 320 km and climbed around 9,000 metres, so a decent level of fitness is definitely helpful — but we enjoyed every step.Huge thanks to the team at Packhorse for organising such a smooth and memorable journey. Highly recommendedPosted onVerified Excellent Excellent service, great accomodation booked. Bags delivered as promised. Hayley was very friendly and helpful. I recommend Packhorse unreservedly.Posted onVerified Third Time with Packhorse and Highly Recommend! This is the third time I have walked the Wainwright Coast to Coast and have used Packhorse every time. The entire staff have always done so well for us both in communication and execution. On my most recent trip this month I had left a t-shirt behind at our hotel in Reeth that had some sentimental value. A quick message to Hayley in the Packhorse office and it was found and delivered to my next day's stay. Brilliant! All of the accommodation Packhorse booked for use were excellent and made for a wonderful end to a long day's hike. Oh and my son LOVED the C2C bandana! Highly recommend!!!!!Posted onVerified Packhorse is on top of everything Five stars all the way for Packhorse and the support they gave my group of five on the Coast to Coast in May/June. Hayley somehow managed to keep track of our custom itinerary, 19 days, 15 different b&bs, one of us only walking half the route, some of us sharing rooms and some not, etc etc. Lots of detail to track and I fully expected some minor bumps along the way, but she was 100% and so upbeat and positive. We even had to be booked into a couple different b&bs last minute and that was no problem. The luggage gentleman (Ian) was on top of it. Because my husband was driving the route, I occasionally didn't leave my bag with the others to be picked up in the a.m. - my bad on that, because it throws off the count, of course. But Ian would always follow up with the inn owner to figure it out and make sure he wasn't leaving something behind. The price was incredibly reasonable, given all the service they provide. They did a nice job of mixing in some very nice places along with the more moderate. I believe all provided bag lunches for a small fee, which made it very easy, as there weren't many places to stop on the routes we took. Hayley even visited the B&B in Kirkby Stephen to say hello, and brought her son along, as they were planning to hike a part of the route that day. Lovely surprise. We didn't use the map book or online maps they provided, as we had worked out our routes well before we went (as everyone should - there are many options). We loved the Packhorse buffs they gifted us, though. Would absolutely use them again. As for the Coast to Coast itself, it's a forever memory now. Among the most meaningful adventures of my life. The Lake District is certainly one of the most beautiful places on earth, although my favorite for pure serenity would be the windswept North York Moors. Here were my faves among the B&Bs, in case that's helpful.Glaramara Hotel, SeatollerOld Water View, PenrithKeld Lodge, KeldWillance Guest House, RichmondAshfield House, Danby WiskeLion Inn, Blakey RidgeLee-Side, Robin Hoods BayVerified by TrustindexTrustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more