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Grasmere

Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk: the beginning

07 October 2009

Serious ramblers looking to take on the challenge of the Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk will want to head to where the adventure traditionally starts: St Bees in Cumbria. Here they will find plenty to do; but before they head up to the north-west of England they will no doubt want to be prepared for the adventure that awaits them.

As any serious walker knows, maps are of great importance, and the best ones covering Great Britain are those in the 1:25 000 scale OS Explorer Map series in orange covers from Ordinance Survey, the Ramblers believes. Ideal for the start of  Wainwright's Coast to Coast are any of the Ordnance Survey maps covering the area, which can be found here. 

Of course, rain can always cause a problem, even for the most experienced of walkers. With this in mind, the OS Explorer Map – Active and OS Landranger Map – Active maps are weatherproof (encapsulated). Covered in a lightweight protective plastic coating, they contain the same information as the standard OS Explorer Map series but provide protection from wet-weather conditions. They can also be written on with washable ink, for those who are looking to make important markings on their maps. This also means that notes can be wiped off; so when walkers return to the area to take on Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk again, they can start afresh.

So, once the necessary preparations are complete, what can walkers get up to during the initial stages of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk? For starters, St Bees is home to a sandy beach, which the local tourist board believes is the best on the entire western Lake District coast. It was named a Seaside Award Beach in 2005 for its cleanliness, and here trekkers will be able to relax, explore some tidal rock pools and have some fun before taking on the challenge. St Bees Head, meanwhile, has an RSPB® bird reserve with one of the biggest colonies of sea birds on the west coast of England.

Having left the somewhat sedate destination of St Bees, there are plenty of places to check out while walking through the perhaps challenging terrain of the Lake District area. Around the Grasmere region, for example, walkers will be able to have a look around hamlets and farmsteads. The lakes of Grasmere, Rydal Water and Loughrigg Tarn may offer travellers some tranquillity during the walk, and they may even get some inspiration from the area that William Wordsworth described as ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’.

As for other aesthetically delightful spots in the Lake District, the local tourist board says that Borrowdale is known as one of the most stunning places in Cumbria. Walkers will be ble to feast their eyes upon flat valley pastures divided by large stone walls and packhorse tracks that carve their way through the landscape, not to mention the River Derwent and its tributaries that meander through the land.

Over in the Kirkby Stephen region, ramblers will find Argill Woods, a nature reserve on the steep sides of Argill Beck, where coal mining adits are now inhabited by bats. Over at Smardale Gill, a National Nature Reserve also in the Kirkby Stephen area, walkers can take on some marshy areas and woodlands while looking over the flower-rich limestone grasslands. The disused Stainmore railway provides access to this reserve on foot.

Another area of interest in Kirkby Stephen, which is towards the east of the county and therefore one of the final Cumbrian destinations on the Wainwright Coast to Coast, is Wild Boar Fell. Legend has it that the last wild boar in England was killed here by Sir Richard de Musgrave in 1409.

The Lake District is known to be a place of great beauty and interest, but those on the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk have much to look forward to once they have left Cumbria. Heading from west to east on this trail, walkers will get to explore the second natural park of the journey: the Yorkshire Dales.

RSPB is a registered trademark of The Royal Society For The Protection of Birds.

Buy maps for the main tourist areas in Great Britain such as the Brecon Beacons, the Lake District, the Peak District, Devon and of course Wainwright's Coast to Coast.

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