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Coast to Coast - St Bee’s Head to Robin Hood’s Bay

The route which crosses the north of England from Coast to Coast was made famous by the late Alfred Wainwright whose guidebooks have introduced so many to the joys of walking in this area. It takes in three National Parks; the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors and divides naturally into three sections. Footpath Holidays offers three tours, each of which offer fine walking in their own right, and when strung together enable our guests to tackle a challenging 190 mile (306km) route in its entirety.

View from Honister Crag

Picture: View from Honister Crag - Cumbria Tourist Board

Coast to Coast, West (St Bee’s to Orton)

6 days walking, based in Keswick

Our tour base

The cliffs of St Bees Head provide the start point for the walk and the mountains and meres of lakeland the objectives. Ennerdale Water, Honister Pass, Borrowdale, Grasmere, Patterdale - famous names abound. The route traverses the region, sometimes through valleys, sometimes over the high tops, to finish at Orton where the Lakeland Fells are left behind to be replaced by the limestone country leading into the Yorkshire Dales.

Coast to Coast, Central (Orton to Ingleby Cross)

6 days walking, based in Richmond

Our tour base

The variety of scenery offered by the Yorkshire Dales makes this a fascinating holiday. The village of Orton, in Cumbria’s limestone country, provides the start point and the walk takes in Ravenstonedale, Whitsundale, Swaledale, Melbeck Moor and the pastoral Vale of Mowbray. Abandoned lead mines, the towns of Kirkby Stephen, Reeth and Richmond, limestone dales, waterfalls and grouse moors all feature on the walk. The route terminates at Ingleby Cross where the Yorkshire Moors rise from the plain and stretch eastwards to the sea.

Coast to Coast, East (Ingleby Cross to Robin's Hood Bay)

4 days walking, based in Whitby

Our tour base

History abounds on the North Yorkshire Moors and they have a mystical quality. The paths we follow are ancient trade and corpse routes and stone crosses mark the way. The views from the high ground are extensive. On the final day of the walk we reach the sea and follow the clifftop path southwards to Robin Hood’s Bay where the narrow streets plunge toward the harbour and the tiny red roofed cottages huddle for safety from the North Sea.