Coast to Coast - Pre-Walk - St Bees

Our trip got off to a terrific start on Friday, July 11th, as we were bumped up to Business class for our flight from Toronto to London. We had the new lay-flat pods on Air Canada's 777 and so had a chance to get some sleep on the flight over. We then connected to Manchester and then after a four hour train to Carlisle we embarked on the last leg of our journey - changing trains for a one hour trip to St Bees arriving at 6pm local time July 12th.

Found Abbey Farm B & B where Steve gave us a great welcome! After a walk down to the beach to get a look at the start of the trail, we had dinner at the best restaurant in town (actually, the ONLY restaurant in town!)

After a great night's sleep and typical English breakfast, (plus a long chat with Steve - he and his wife actually met on the Coast to Coast walk) we decided to do a mini (5 mile) hike along St Bee's Head. The weather was sunny and beautiful - about 24 degrees C and the best weather day they've had here for a while. We'll be in bed early tonight because tomorrow the real walk begins...

Abbey Farm B & B, St Bees

St Bees at dusk

Beach at St Bees

Near the start of the Coast to Coast
St Bees Head

Fleswick Bay

One of many markers along the way

Francine going over a step-stile

Locals checking out the foreigners!

Our first beer at the Dog and Partridge

Coast to Coast Walk - Are we ready?

We leave Toronto tonight for London and have completed our checklist:



Bags are packed and under the weight limit - check

Rain gear - check

Walking sticks - check

Hiking boots broken in - check

Mastered compass reading skills - check

Maps and guide book- check

GPS waypoints - not sure about that one....

Fitness levels achieved - hope so!

First aid kit - lots of blister pads, band aids, Advil, A535



Since January, we've gone on a number of hikes in nearby trails and parks, trying to do a fair bit of walking and climbing and have been spending lots of time on the elliptical, so we're as ready as we're going to be.

Even though we've traveled a fair bit, we have never been this apprehensive about a trip before. We're nervous and excited all at the same time. Peter is leaving behind his computer, blackberry and cell phone and so we'll be dependant upon Internet access availability along the route. We'll try to update when we can! Please pray for good weather.

Coast to Coast Where?

For those of you wondering where exactly it is that we'll be hiking, here are a couple of maps which might be helpful:


We'll start off from St. Bees on the morning of Monday July 14th and plan to arrive at Robin Hood's Bay on the 26th.

Step 1 - Let's create the blog!

Hi everyone,
Well Peter has been bugging me to create a blog about our upcoming trip. Seems that many of our friends and family would like to follow us on our journey. So here goes. The blog is now created and hopefully we will be able to update you on a regular basis. Who knows? We may not have internet access... We may not be able to upload photos... We may even get lost, never to be heard from again!!! But we'll give it a try.