Following In Wainwright’s Footsteps

The Lake District remains one of the most beautiful natural attractions in the whole of Europe and the late Alfred Wainwright is probably one of the best known guides for the thousands of walkers who descend on this magnificent corner of England every year.

His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the English Lake District. Among his 40-odd other books is the first guide to the Coast to Coast Walk, a 192-mile long-distance footpath devised by Wainwright which remains extremely popular today.

The 214 fells described in the Pictorial Guides are now generally known as " The Wainwrights" and visiting them all is a common form of peak bagging. The Long Distance Walkers Association maintains a register of walkers who have completed the Wainwrights; in November 2007 there were 459 people on the list although the actual figure is probably a good deal higher.

The Coast to Coast was described by Wainwright in his 1973 book "A Coast to Coast Walk". Due to legal restrictions with certain stretches of the path, increased traffic on some of the road sections, and erosion, the exact original route followed by Wainwright is not recommended. Wainwright's book has been revised a number of times in recent years to provide a route which avoids trespass.

The author suggests a way of breaking the walk miles into stages, each of which is designed to be completed in a day. With one or two rest days, this makes the route fit comfortably into a two-week holiday, and coast-to-coasters’ blogs seem to indicate that this is still a very common way of splitting the route. However, Wainwright explicitly states that he did not intend people to necessarily stick to these stages or even to his route: for example, by reducing day-lengths to 10 or 12 miles, the walk becomes a much easier three-week trip with time to "stand and stare".

Although unofficial, the Coast to Coast Walk uses public rights of way (public footpaths, tracks, and minor roads) and is one of the most popular of all the Long-distance footpaths in the UK. In 2004 the walk which traverses 3 National Parks was named as the second best walk in the world according to a survey of experts. Harveys publish two excellent strip walking maps at 1:40,000 scale and these comprise a West section running from to St Bees Head to Keld and a second map running from Keld to Robin Hoods Bay.

The 2 map pack is offered in the lightest option of maps available on the market with each map weighing in at 60g, a third of the weight of alternative waterproof options. Both maps of the 96 mile route covering St Bees Head to Robin Hoods Bay include alternative routes, accommodation, camping, food and directions to the start. Ranger Service contact numbers and enlargements of towns/villages showing facilities available are covered clearly in the maps. National Grid overlay has also been included- and can be used with GPS. 1:40,000 scale with 1:12 500 enlargements where necessary.

The maps are supplied in clear plastic pocket and they are fully bio-degradable, a step forward in mapping technology.