And now something completely different: C2C

The road from coast to coast

Last year I blogged on The Trek about my solo backpacking hike on the Blue Mountains Trail in Oregon. This year I will do something completely different: a hike Wainright’s Coast to Coast Path in England.

St Bees Lighthouse

The two couldn’t be much more different. Or at least my version of them is very different as this year I won’t be backpacking, but instead staying in pubs and BnBs. There will be hot breakfasts, fish and chip dinners, daily showers, pints of beer, warm beds and other luxuries. And the greatest luxury of all: having someone else carry my luggage! The nicest difference this year is that I won’t be walking alone. My partner will also be accompanying me and she is not only great company but also a great hiker!

Bluebells and the Irish Sea

Although the coast to coast trail is officially 190 miles, I have estimated that our route with side trips and alternate routes will be approximately 210 miles. And our goal is to tour the C2C in 12 days, plus 2 days in which we will stay and walk around the area a little. Given the need to organize accommodation well in advance, we will not have any flexibility in our itinerary. We must do those miles!

Why C2C?

We have been talking about doing this type of hike for about 10 years, where we have accommodation and do not carry luggage. Then a close friend told us about her C2C journey and it sounded perfect! Beautiful scenery, challenging route, a good length (especially considering the cost of booking accommodation each night) and the feeling of achievement of walking from the west coast of England to the east coast.

Birds of the day: the only breeding colony of Black Guillemots in England

C2C Trail Closure

As of 2026, the C2C is officially one of England’s national trails. And to celebrate that momentous event, a good part of the St Bees Head path slid into the sea. Thus, the initial route has been diverted from St Bees Headcutting about 5 miles of walking on day 1. None of us found this news totally unpleasant as we are still dealing with jet lag.

A good part of the footpath along St Bees Head is closed.

Day zero and head of Saint Bees

However, we didn’t want to completely miss out on St Bees. Plus, we needed to make sure we dipped our feet in the Irish Sea and grabbed that pebble to deposit in Robin Hood’s Bay! So we’ve done some short hikes on our Day 0 as we adjust to the 7 hour time difference.

The views are stunning!

First, we drove to near St Bees Lighthouse and from there we walked along the open part of the path along St Bees Head. It was awesome! 300 feet above the sea on a steep cliff, birds flying everywhere and beautiful wildflowers.

Ready to go!

Later that day, we walked from our fantastic AirBnB on Main Street in St Bees, called Grainger Cottage, to the official start of the Coast to Coast Path next to the beach. By this time it was already raining, so we started to get a good idea of ​​what this hike would be like. The forecasts for next week are not very good. Still, it felt great to finally be up and running!

Looking towards St Bees Head, the closed part of the path

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