Walk
Coast to Coast
Walk Coast to Coast on Alfred Wainwright’s iconic C2C Way for the adventure holiday of a lifetime.
Walk
Coast to Coast
Our mission is to sprinkle a little bit of magic to create unforgettable memories in our very own, beautiful, Great Britain.
140+ Customer Reviews.
Coast to Coast Packhorse
The UK’s only travel company specialising in Alfred Wainwright’s C2C Way route.
Walk the
Coast to Coast Way
The Coast to Coast walk is a famous British hike designed by Alfred Wainwright that steers across the UK’s landscape from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. The C2C rambling route passes through three national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park. The great fell-walker, Alfred Wainwright, who devised the journey, chose a route which showcases the British landscape at its best.
The Coast to Coast Walk Route
The coast to coast walking route from St Bee’s to Robin Hood’s Bay runs across many stunning landscapes that offers a self-guided walking experience that is completely unforgettable.
Alfred Wainwright’s ‘Coast to Coast Walk’ book was first published in 1973 and there have been a number of changes to the route over the years. Specifically, Wainwright divided his hike into 12 sections for ramblers, meaning experienced fell walkers can tackle the journey in as many days.
It is suggested that Wainwright’s route is better travelled over 14 or 15 days, therefore taking time in your itinerary to explore and wonder. Significantly, Wainwright recommended that ramblers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the hike, in the North Sea at Robin Hood’s Bay. Hikers will explore some of the famous Wainwright Fells along the way.
The Wainwright Society, founded in 2002 to keep alive the things which AW promoted through the guidebooks, took on responsibility for the Coast to Coast Walk. At the Society’s Annual General Meeting in 2012, chairman Eric Robson announced that the journey would be way-marked for the first time in 40 years.
How long is the Coast to Coast Walk?
The length of the Coast to Coast walk is 190-192 miles long, depending on the route you take. Therefore, there are some variations possible on some of the sections from Wainwright’s guide. As a result, to travel the whole route, it is suggested to be across in 12-14 days.
The itinerary for the long distance ramble can be quite challenging. Consequently many people ask us how difficult is the C2C walk? By the time you take your first steps in St Bees, you should ideally be at a good level of fitness and stamina. The natural environment can be especially demanding at times.
Walk Coast to Coast
with our package walking holidays.
Coast to Coast Walk Itinerary
Below we have detailed a general guide to the Coast to Coast route itinerary. The journey can be traversed with several itineraries, allowing for rest days, breaking the hike up into longer sections. For more exact itineraries, please see each individual holiday page.
On a clear day, the ridge line from Red Pike through to Haystacks presents one of the best views in the Lake District. The path from Red Pike to High Stile is a fun hike that takes you across the rocky peaks of High Crag, passing Bleaberry Tarn, and Buttermere along the way.
Verified Fantastic bag forwarding and hotel booking via Packhorse C2C. Booked our accommodation and bag forwarding via Packhorse C2C. Logistics excellent... hotels, room, paperwork, times, all bags arrived etc.Great team.... special thanks to Hayley.... who popped out to personally say hello and check on our holiday when we stopped over in Kirby/Nateby.Verified C2C May 2025 We just finished the Coast to Coast trip. The weather was great and we had a fantastic trip. We booked through Coast to Coast packhorse and they provided excellent services. The lodgings they booked for us were charming often in pubs. The sherpa services of our baggage was on time and delivered to our next hotel/pub as planned. Haylee was very informative and helpful prior to our trip and during the trip.We would highly recommend packhorse if you are planning to do the Coast to Coast.Ann and Larry CorreiaVerified Memorable Walk We completed the C2C in May 2025. It was a fantastic experience. We loved it even though some days were tough. Thoroughly impressed with Coast to Coast Packhorse. Organisation couldn't be faulted. Would recommend them highly.Verified Excellent service Finished our 16 days walking the coast to coast at the end of May having had two weeks of marvellous weather. We wanted to do the walk with our dog so set the daily distances appropriately for him and stay in dog friendly accommodation. Hayley was excellent in her advice around this suggesting an appropriate rest day, and distances and then sourcing appropriate accommodation. The communication from her at all stages was excellent and the information supplied prior to our walk first class, including gpx files of the walk and alternative routes, map book, detailed accommodation guide, daily route notes and advice. The accommodation was good and appropriate for our needs, the Sherpa service first class with no issues at all. Mini bus service from Kirkby Stephen to St Bees and Robin Hoods Bay back to Kirkby Stephen also worked excellently. Hayley also assisted in arranging the storage of dog food at Kirkby Stephen so that we could stock up as we walked through there and weren’t having to lug too much about with us. All of these things combined to provide us with a worry free, trouble free and thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding time on the coast to coast. We would highly recommend coast to coast packhorse and would definitely look to use them again. Thank you all for a fabulous holiday.Verified Coast to coast in style. I completed the coast to coast walk in late May / early June 2025 and am just about recovered now from the challenges of opting from an 11 day schedule.The Packhorse services in respect of our trip were excellent throughout. Without realising how popular the c2c has become, I probably left it a bit late to book the package. This is where Hayley and the team really worked their magic to find us accommodation at each overnight. We ended up with a varied mix of places, including country pubs, rural guest houses, a lovely air bnb and, top of my list, a Swaledale Yurt! Great job Hayley.Logistics during the walk itself were seamless, transport from Kirkby Stephen to St Bees was ahead of time and the driver Steve, was great. Our bags arrived perfectly every day without fail. All in all a great experience. Thanks to all involved.Verified Start to finish superb! I initially booked for a solo unguided walk of 16 days plus 2 rest days, and a couple of extra days at the start and finish. Hayley, at Packhorse was so very helpful in sorting out accommodation, and later, when I found a friend to accompany me, was able to adjust our accommodation accordingly. We had beautiful weather and absolutely loved the entire experience! Our luggage was faithfully transported ahead each day, we were provided with very useful gpx maps and a map book (both of which we needed to use often) and our accommodation in historic inns, BnB farms and homes was superb. We really felt totally emerged in the local culture and very much enjoyed catching up with fellow hikers over a meal or drinks after each day’s adventures. A couple of times we had queries while on the trail and Packhorse’s response via phone call or email was quick and effective. The information sent ahead of time was very useful for pre-trip planning and packing, and The Road Book helped with day-to-day guidance by letting us know what to expect and how to find our accommodation. We couldn’t be more thrilled with our C2C journey with Packhorse and highly recommend them to others!!Verified The best organisation for the coast to coast hike UK We did the Coast to coast UK hike in May 2025. Initially sought quotes from a couple of the other major companies (Macs, Natural adventures, and Utracks), but settled on C2CPackhorse as they seemed personable, attentive and right from the start knew this wasn't a big impersonal organisation (Thanks Hayley and Kate). 13 nights/ 14 days hiking. Obviously they couldn't control the weather (though wouldn't put it past them lol....which was sunny for all but the last day!) But what they did organise was perfect. Accommodations - really good standard. No Average accommodations at all, and that's way better than other organisations. Sherpa luggage transport was exceptional and when we needed an extra bag... sorted. All emails promptly replied to (even on bank holidays and weekends) and any issues always sorted well. It actually felt like they were really trying to help and not just treat you as a paying consumer. All around this is a local organisation that I would very highly recommend, is priced the same as others, but does it SOOO much better.Verified A fantastic adventure with Packhorse C2C Our C2C trip was a fantastic adventure and a great challenge. Thanks to Hayley at Packhorse Coast to Coast everything went to plan perfectly. We set off with a comprehensive information pack about our route and accommodations. We stayed in a lovely range of B&Bs and hotels with great breakfasts. Our bags were always waiting for us when we arrived. Hayley was super helpful when we needed to change our plans pre-departure, and even during our trip she made contact to check that everything was on track. I wouldn't hesitate to use Packhorse again.Verified Great hike, every single day Coast2Coast? A great hike, every single day. And you really should do it with Packhorse. Very well organised, accurate and friendly communication, fine accomodations, and excellent itinerary and navigation tools. They even arranged ideal weather conditions.Verified Fantastic Coast to Coast walk facilitated by Packhorse Helped by the driest spring for decades we had a brilliant Coast to Coast walk. Packhorse arranged our accommodation and moved our bags. Everything worked like clockwork. The accommodation is varied and good except Shap. There is no good accommodation in Shap. (Someone needs to invest some money in the hotels and B&Bs there.). Hayley from the Packhorse office met us at breakfast one morning to check all was ok, which was great. If you train sensibly, the walk is perfectly doable in 14 days, even for a bunch in their 60’s. If you are thinking of doing this walk I unreservedly recommend it, and Packhorse as a company. Natural England need to sort the A19 crossing. If I do it again I will take the detour to the bridge. Book your evening meals before you go and have fun.Tripadvisor rating score: 4.9 of 5, based on 211 reviews
Read the
Coast to Coast Blog
Read our Coast to Coast Explorers Blog. Here we share all of our company news and local information direct from our team on the C2C Way route in Kirkby Stephen. We also share tonnes of useful guides to mountains around the UK and valuable ‘before you travel’ articles about Alfred Wainwright’s famous 192-mile route.
