Which coast and to
where?
The Coast to Coast walk is an approximately 200 mile walk across the
narrowest stretch of England (note I am cycling it I think I’d get bored
walking for 2 weeks). This route was first made famous by Alfred Wainright in
his 1974 book “A Coast to Coast Walk”. The traditional route takes you from St
Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hoods Bay on the North Sea. You can of course go
the opposite way but for practical reasons alone the East-West route is more
popular as you get favourable winds (tail vs head). Boring fact but there has
to be some in here.
Because
cyclists are masochistic types they decided to start riding the Coast to Coast.
Not satisfied with riding a smilar walking route (far too easy), the cycling
community mapped out a seriously daunting 4-7 day trek covering 268 miles of
some of the toughest terrain the UK has to offer.
Timing is essential
Everyone
knows that the UK is not famous for its all year round perfect weather. In fact
the North of England where the Coast to Coast traverses the country has some
pretty wet, bleak and windy weather at times of the year. Ideally you’d want to
ride this in July during the height of the Northern Hemisphere summer. Ideals
are just that though. Due to my impetuousness and generally spontaneous nature
I’ve decided to attempt the Coast to Coast in October. Almost half way to
winter. I like a good challenge. Considering I landed in the UK on June 20thfollowing
a year of travelling covering South and Central America and a ski season in
Whistler, amongst other hijinks, 3 months to plan, prepare and train for the
Coast to Coast is a fair old challenge.
So that’s a
loose outline of what I am aiming to achieve and in what sort of timeframe. I
could bore you with more details of route planning, accommodation and other
necessary arrangements but I won’t. Go and treat yourself. Have a tommy tank or
something with the time I saved you just now.
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