This classic route was originated and described by A. Wainwright, author of a well-known series of mountain-walking guide books on the Lake District. The walk starts on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria near the huge red sandstone cliffs of St. Bees Head. You cross three National Parks before reaching the North Sea at the pretty fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay on the rocky coastline of the North York Moors.

Tradition has it that you dip your boots in the Irish Sea and take a pebble to deposit in the North Sea at the end of your walk. That should confuse geologists a few thousand years hence. The first few days take you over some of the most rugged and beautiful terrain of the Lake District by way of the idyllic lakeland valleys of Borrowdale, Grasmere (Wordsworth lived here) and Patterdale, close to Ullswater Lake. You pass Helvellyn, England’s most popular mountain, and the mountain oddly named High Street, along which the Roman Legions marched on their way to Hadrian’s Wall.

After leaving the Lake District you cross a gentler landscape round Shap and Orton. Beyond the quaint market town of Kirkby Stephen you enter the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Two days are then spent walking through the long valley of Swaledale, with its dry stone walls and unspoilt villages. You reach the historic town of Richmond with cobbled streets, sloping market square and famous castle perched above the River Swale. Beyond the arable farmland of the Vale of York, you ascend onto the heather moorlands of the North York Moors, a region of long vistas and easy walking. After crossing the wooded valley of Eskdale you reach the dramatic cliffs of the North Sea Coast. The last few miles follow the scenic clifftop path to the red-roofed village of Robin Hood’s Bay. With an extra night here, you can relax on the beach or visit nearby Whitby with its ruined abbey (associated with the Dracula legend) and its Captain Cook Museum.

Accommodation
14 nights/15 days - On such a long walk, with 14 nights each spent in a different location, we necessarily make use of a wide variety of accommodation, varying from small B&Bs to substantial hotels. Many, indeed most, are historic buildings in their own right. Particular highlights include the fine home cooking on offer at Ennerdale Bridge, Thwaite and several other stops; the open log fireplaces at Borrowdale, Blakey and elsewhere; the warm welcomes you will receive throughout the trip, but most notably at the smaller accommodation in Borrowdale, Shap and Grasmere; and the magnificent settings with views of National Park scenery at Grasmere, (Lake District), Keld (Yorkshire Dales ), Blakey (North York Moors) and finally Robin Hoods Bay.