England’s Lake District
By Jennifer Milano, traveled July 2023
England’s Lake District in summertime
My first multi-day hike was in Nepal in 1997, staying in teahouses and tents along the way. There was something surprisingly relaxing about waking up each morning knowing that my only purpose that day was to walk. Now, a few decades older, I still love to walk, but I’m not so keen on sleeping on the ground. I started researching inn-to-inn hiking trips, and proposed the idea to my husband and our friends, Kristen and Scott. Pretty much up for anything, they were in.
We looked at several destinations, and settled on England’s Coast-to-Coast trail (C2C). Walking the entire width of England would take about two weeks, which seemed too long to us. We decided to hike the first five days of the C2C trail in England’s Lake District, starting in the west coast town of St. Bees.
There are lots of companies who will plan the C2C trip for you, booking your accommodations (but not guaranteeing any particular inn), giving you maps, and arranging your luggage transport. But I wanted to handpick our inns in each cute little village, and figured I could put it together myself for less money. It was challenging to book one-night stays in the high season, but persistence paid off and we had our bespoke itinerary.
Next, I contacted Coast to Coast Packhorse to organize just the luggage transfers from one inn to the next, which worked perfectly. Finally, we downloaded Gaia GPS to our phones and bought a guidebook to help us navigate. Bags packed with layers and rain gear, we flew to Manchester, England, then took a train to St. Bees where we had a comfortable night at Stone House Farm. We ate dinner at The Manor Inn, which was fine. Queens Hotel was also recommended for dinner, but was closed on the night we were in town. Waking up on our first morning, we ate a hearty breakfast at Stone House Farm, which also prepared bagged lunches for us. (All of the inns prepared basic bagged lunches for hikers.) We were ready to hit the trail!
We left the Irish Sea behind, leaving St. Bees on foot with just our day packs
Lovely little St. Bees on the Irish Sea
Downtown St. Bees
Our itinerary on the C2C Trail
Day 1: Walk 15 miles from St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge. Overnight at Longmoor Head, where Joan kindly waived the normal two-night minimum for us. We dined at The Shepherd Arms.
The terrain varies widely on the C2C, with tough ascents and more leisurely terrain
For all except the last few hours of the trail, we lucked out with clear skies
Day 2: Walk 16 miles to Rosthwaite. Overnight at Royal Oak Hotel. We enjoyed our dinner at the hotel, as well.
Day 3: Walk 9.5 miles to Grasmere. Overnight at the very nice Forest Side Hotel. While all of our other inns were filled with C2C walkers, the Forest Side Hotel’s clientele was there to relax. We really liked our dinner in town at The Jumble Room. The homemade crumpets at the Forest Side Hotel’s breakfast were phenomenal!
The scenery on the C2C is stunning.
Although we met plenty of hikers on the C2C, most of our company was four-legged
Day 4: Go the wrong direction for about a mile, backtrack, then walk 7.5 miles to Patterdale. Day 4 was the only one that finished early enough for some reading in the garden and a beer at the local pub. Overnight at The Old Water View Inn. Dinner at The White Lion Inn.
Adorable cottages on the outskirts of the towns along the C2C
Day 5: Walk 16 miles to Shap, the last several in the pouring rain. At least we didn’t pack our waterproof pants for nothing? Overnight at Brookfield House, which was our least favorite of all of the inns for a few reasons. First, the outdated rooms were not the best. Second, the owner was fussy about ensuring every wet clothing item be left downstairs and, in general, was a little too involved in our stay for our taste. We liked our dinner at The Greyhound Hotel, and I would probably stay here if I were to return.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the inn, then Manchester Airport Taxi picked us up to take us back to the Manchester Airport (one of the worst airports I have been in). We flew from Manchester to the Isle of Jersey for a few days of relaxation. Click here to read about our time on Jersey!
What to pack:
Hiking poles (bring 2 in case you get blisters like I did and need the support); blister care and first aid, including rehydration tablets, snacks/granola bars, water bottle, good hiking boots, raingear, comfortable shoes and clothes to change into at the end of each day, layers, day pack.
Beware:
Stinging nettles - wear long pants and choose carefully where you decide to pee - stinging nettles look like tall grass and if they touch your skin, it, well, stings.
The trail is not well marked, although signage is supposed to be under improvement. Between our GPS, route descriptions, and discussions with other hikers, we did not get very lost. But there were several times when we weren’t sure which way to go.
The C2C is harder than we expected. Every hiker we met had done multiple hikes like this one, around the world, and all remarked that the C2C is particularly difficult. We were surprised because when you hear “England” you think of rolling hills and meadows. But be prepared to hike all day, and be tuckered out at the end. But was it worth it? YES! We had a great time, and this trip inspired us to find more inn to inn hikes around the world!