| Cost From: | $5695 |
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| Length: | 14 days |
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| Activity: | Hiking / Trekking, Cultural Adventures |
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| Difficulty: |
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We had a blast! Stunning vistas, fun company, and great hikes.B. Kaufman—Kenilworth IL
One of the world’s great hikes is the route that spans England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. We’ve perfected this classic walk, hiking its most spectacular stretches as we cut a swath across England’s historic and literary landscape and through three magnificent national parks. We start in the impossibly romantic Lake District, the sublime landscape that provided inspiration for Wordsworth and Coleridge, hike into the stone-built villages of the Yorkshire Dales (James Herriot country par excellence), then enter the purple-heather moors of North York Moors, a fitting climax to a fascinating heritage hike. Our warm welcome in family-run B&Bs and the good cheer of rural pubs where we relax with fellow hikers add to the charm of this rewarding journey.
$5695 (8-9 guests)
$6095 (6-7 guests)
Single supplement: $425
Prices are for 2009 dates
Jul 3-16, 2009 Hugh Westacott
Peter Goddard
Jul 31-Aug 13, 2009 Hugh Westacott
Peter Goddard
Jun 13-26, 2010
Jul 4-17, 2010
Aug 1-14, 2010
*The US Dollar has strengthened against the British Pound, and Wilderness Travel would like to pass the savings along to you! Here's how it works: we will purchase the Pounds for your trip when you sign up, which lets us lock in the current exchange rate, and guarantee your savings. To receive the discount, the first deposit on the trip ($500 per person) is non-refundable. If you prefer to have your deposit be fully refundable up to 90 days before departure, you can sign up at the regular published rate for the trip.
To find out the current discount available at today’s rate, please call us at 1-800-368-2794 or send us an email.
Reading list, click here.
At the village of Ravenglass, we christen our boots in the Irish Sea (a tradition for coast-to-coast hikers), then set out on a rolling coastal path with stunning views out to the Isle of Man. Entering Lake District National Park, we ascend onto Muncaster Fell on a trail past an ancient Roman bath house and the craggy rock outcrops of the Lake District.
Momentous vistas and small details of beauty make the trails of the Lake District glorious: stone walls overhung with berry bush, glistening green fields where white sheep graze, and still, blue tarns. We ascend Styhead Pass, with stunning views of England’s highest mountains, and visit the lovely hamlet of Rothwaite. We descend into the beautiful valley of Borrowdale and continue to the famous Lakeland village of Grasmere to visit Dove Cottage, home of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. Our last hike in Lake District National Park brings us over an ancient Roman road, the highest engineered by the Romans in England.
Entering Yorkshire Dales National Park, we cross the main watershed of England, and reach the halfway point of our journey. Hiking through sheep-grazed limestone hills, we pass through some of the most charming villages in the wild Yorkshire Dales, with overnights in historic Richmond, poised majestically above the River Swale, with its massive Norman castle and vast cobbled market square. The brooding castle was constructed in 1071 during the Norman Conquest.
In the timeless landscape where All Creatures Great and Small was set, we follow the River Swale through a luxuriant green carpet of meadows and wooded valleys. The views are bewitching, with purplish heather-strewn heaths fading into a patchwork of golds and greens. The dramatic play of light and color can give one the feeling of hiking through a Turner landscape painting.
The last leg of our coast-to-coast journey! With our adrenaline still flowing, we hike past the evocative ruins of Whitby Abbey and along blustery cliffs down to the beach at Robin Hood’s Bay to let the North Sea lap our boots and congratulate ourselves on a job well done. Depart on Day 14 via the medieval city of York and on to Manchester airport.
