Grab Your Boots & Backpack! We’re off to the UK!

This year has been a bit of a messy one with a number of false starts, postponed adventures and generally, life just getting in the way of the best laid travel plans. First World Problems, I know!

That is all about to change BIG TME as I stuff the final few things into my backpack and start the long trek from Australia to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Care to join me?

This trip will be quite different to my other walking ‘holidays’ and will be divided into three stages/sections:

• Edinburgh – sight seeing for a few days.
• Walking the Coast to Coast Path, then
• Walking Hadrian’s Wall Path.

I will share my impressions of Edinburgh in a few posts when I return to Aus, but aim to blog as I walk backwards and forwards across England. Just ignore me if this is not of interest. 😊

Here’s the lowdown on the trip…

Coast to Coast Path

What?

• As the name suggests, this path crosses from one side of England to the other.
• I understand the Coast to Coast (C2C) Path has only recently (March 2026) become an official National Trail in the United Kingdom. Previously, it was a loose connection of walks developed by Alfred Wainwright.
• Born in 1907, Wainwright was a mad keen walker who spent years walking up, down and through the three national parks – Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors – that make up this path. He recorded all his walks for his own enjoyment before publishing them in a pictorial guidebook in 1973.

Where?

• We will be walking West to East and it is perfectly acceptable to walk the trail in either direction. We will be starting from St Bees and finishing in Robin Hood’s Bay (just south of the famous village of Whitby).
• The path stretches for around 306km. We do have some accommodation booked slightly off the trail and that will add a few extra kilometres.

When? We plan to take 16 days to walk from coast to coast, plus a rest day in Richmond.

Why? Why not? I haven’t done any walking in the UK before and it looks like as good an introduction to Pommie hikes as any. 😊

How?

• We will be flying into Edinburgh and then catching the train (I love a good train ride) down through Carlisle and onto St Bees.
• We are travelling with an Australian company called RAW Travel. They have done all the accommodation bookings (mostly B&Bs with breakfast included) AND they will transport our luggage each day – allowing us to walk with just day packs! Yes, I know! How decadent?! 😊 Am I going soft in my old age?? Or just getting a smidge of wisdom at last??

Who? I am reuniting with my Partner in Crime (PiC – see our Larapinta Trail and Everest Base Camp adventures). Hopefully we are still the best of walking friends by the time we stroll into St Bees. 😊

And then…

Hadrian’s Wall Path

What?

• In AD122, Roman Emperor Hadrian had had quite enough of the marauding barbarians who were charging down from the North and making life difficult for the occupying Roman troops. To keep them out and/or attempt to exert some sort of control, his simple solution was to build a bloody great wall from one side of England to the other!
• In its original form, the Wall had a guarded gate every mile, included 14 forts, and two observation towers. It was estimated to be 4.6m high and 3m wide, and took around six years to complete. What a feat of engineering!?
• These days there are only a few sections of the original wall remaining, but plenty of excavations and archaeological sites to visit. Ancient History heaven!

Where?

• Similar to the C2C Path, you can walk this trail in either direction. As I will be finishing the C2C on the East Coast, I will catch the train northwards and then walk back across England – East to West.
• I will start from Newcastle on Tyne (specifically the Roman fort of Segedunum) and finish at Bowness on Solway.
• The path stretches for around 117km.

When? This is going to be a very leisurely stroll (ever the Optimist) over eight days.

Why?

• I love history – any sort of history – and I especially love ancient history.
• I also don’t mind a walk and seeing I was in the neighbourhood, I thought it would be easy to tack Hadrian’s Wall onto my C2C. 😊
• What better way to understand ‘what have the Romans ever done for us’??

How?

• On this path, I have done all the bookings myself which, at times, has proved a little problematic. I will be walking in peak walking season and they are so busy, I had to book everything 12 months in advance. Again, I will be staying in B&Bs and pubs.
• As I will still have a main suitcase, it has to be transferred daily by a wonderful company called Hadrian’s Haul. They have been fantastic to deal with so far.
• When I arrive at Bowness on Solway, I’ll catch the bus back to Carlisle and then the train back to Edinburgh.

Who?

• My PiC and I will have said our goodbyes at Robin Hood’s Bay and gone our separate ways. She is off to explore the bright lights of London (which could be quite a culture shock after 16 days in national parks) and me to continue walking.
• I will head off on my own and due to it being a busy time of year, I am confident I will find plenty of people to talk to as I wander eastwards…or I could always just talk to the cows and sheep. 😊

So, this is what is going to keep me out of trouble over the next month or so. Please use all your influence with the Weather Gods and wish me blue skies, tail winds and no heat waves. 😊

I look forward to chatting to you from the trail, somewhere in Ol’ Blighty and as always…

Happy trails to you!

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