Sick and tired of the same old walking trails? Yearning for something fresh on pastures new? Well, hikers, strollers and thrill-seekers, we have some good news. A brand coast-to-coast walk has just been crowned a National Trail – and it’s a corker.
Fell-walker and author Alfred Wainwright’s magnificent walk, which takes you through three national parks, has been insanely popular for years, but has been never made an ‘official’ walking trail. Now, not only will it be a properly recognised National Trail, but it’ll become far more accessible as a result too.
The path stretches across 197 miles, from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, and takes you through a whole host of ancient ruins, mountains, moors, rivers and lakes – all the good stuff. Oh, and there are some great pubs along the way too.
Wainwright, who is essentially the Beyonce of the UK walking scene, came up with the route in 1973, and published it in his guidebook. Since then, it’s been walked by around 6,000 people each year.
Now the walk is getting £5.6 million poured into it to make it sparkle, becoming the 16th government-designated National Trail in England and Wales. Eric Robson, of the Wainwright Society, said: ‘This is a very exciting and important step and we look forward to working with partners along the route to establish the coast-to-coast walk as one of the UK’s great National Trails.’
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