Jeff and Mick’s Coast to Coast Day One (St Bees to Stonethwaite)

So a year later and here we were again.  The start of a long walk that we were attempting to do in an unusually short time.  This time we had a really good reason for walking and completing such a physicaly challenge.  Spurred on by this we arrived early at St Bee’s ready for the customary ‘toe dipping’.  The water was cold but the start was infinitely more glamarous than Segedunum car park in Wallsend!  So with a vague understanding of what awaited us we departed.  We set of from St Bees around 7.30AM on an overcast Wednesday morning.  The weather was pretty good to us and trail began with some flat but scenic countryside.

The first few miles are along the cliffs of St. Bees Head which is a nature reserve for sea birds.  Unfortunately our knowledge of sea birds is limited to gulls so this section was a little wasted on us.  As you wander away from the coast and through surrounding villages you begin to get a feel for the day and what is instore.

As dramatic as the sky looked at this point at was also a picture of where we heading (namely ‘up’).

The walk through woods after Cleator has less clearly marked way points and we lost 30 minutes trying to relocate the trail here.  Once we found our way we dropped into Ennerdale Bridge ready for lunch and awaiting the ominous grey clouds that were now just above.  As we set off along Ennerdale Water we found the need for the ponchos and after a brief but havy downpour we continued up through Ennerdale past Black Sail we found our first day beginning to wear!  As we ascended Grey Knotts and dropped into Seathwaite we wondered if the day would end.  Luckily our day was only two miles longer and at around 8.30pm took us to our rest in Stonethwaite and a well earned meal and pint in the Langstrath Inn.