A National Trail since March 2026, from the Irish Sea at St Bees to the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay, in its twelve stages: the Lake District fells, the limestone country, the Yorkshire Dales, the Vale of Mowbray and the North York Moors.
Best season: All year; best from spring to autumn. The Coast to Coast can be walked all year, National Trails says, but it is best from spring to autumn. The western section through the Lake District is the most demanding, and several sections are hilly, steep and remote. Some stays are seasonal: the Bank House Farm bunkhouse near Glaisdale is open April to October. Before you go
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Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Twelve stages, the National Trail's own, of about 17 to 31 km, and one of 45 km: Richmond to Ingleby Cross, more than 9 hours. National Trails lists no stay on the way; the 13-day plan breaks it at Danby Wiske, a village on the route about halfway, where we have not checked a stay. Clay Bank Top is a road pass with no village: its beds are off the route. The stations at Kirkby Stephen and Glaisdale split the walk into shorter trips. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: Over the cliffs of St Bees Head, then by farmland, Dent Fell and Nannycatch Beck to Ennerdale Bridge: 24.3 km on the National Trails route file and on our line. About 3 km of the cliff path, from St Bees to Fleswick Bay, has been closed after landslips since at least March 2026, with no reopening date. Our line still crosses it: follow the signed diversion, the Temporary Route signs to and from St Bees.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A village with pubs and B&Bs that are not on the trail map. The only listing within 3 km is Bradley's, about 2 km before the village, near the route.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 2: Along Ennerdale Water and the forest track to Black Sail, over Honister and down by Seatoller to Rosthwaite in Borrowdale: 23.9 km on the route file, 24.1 km on our line. Remote country.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse · YHA
Pick a date to check the season.
A village in Borrowdale. The trail map lists five places within 2 km, including a B&B and two farm campsites.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: Over Greenup Edge, above Grasmere and by Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale: 23.4 km on the route file, 23.7 km on our line, with the most climbing of the western half, about 1,100 m on the route file. Patterdale's centre is about 230 m from where our line ends the stage.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
A village; its centre is about 230 m from where our line ends the stage. The trail map lists only Side Farm's campsite here; a hostel and several B&Bs exist but are not on it.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 4: By Angle Tarn, Kidsty Pike and Haweswater to Shap Abbey and Shap: 24.6 km on the route file, 24.7 km on our line. National Trails calls it one of the most challenging days, with about 1,000 m of climbing.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village. Besides the Kings Arms, the trail map lists a camping place (Rosgill Hall) and a self-catering cottage near Shap.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 5: Through limestone country, past stone circles, to Kirkby Stephen: 31.2 km on the route file, 31.1 km on our line, the longest of the Cumbrian days.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
A market town. Its station on the Settle-Carlisle line is outside the town.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 6: Over Nine Standards Rigg, then down Whitsundale into upper Swaledale to Keld: 18.5 km on the route file, 18.4 km on our line.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A tiny hamlet at the head of Swaledale. The trail map lists eight places within 3 km; book early.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 7: Over the high moors past old lead-mining remains to Reeth: 17.5 km on the route file, 17.6 km on our line. National Trails also gives an optional low-level route by the river; our line takes the high route and does not draw the low one.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A village round its green. The trail map lists four places within 3 km, and YHA Grinton Lodge is about 2 km away.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 8: A lower day, one of the easier ones, to Richmond: 16.5 km on the route file, 16.6 km on our line.
Overnight
Hotel · The Coaching Inn Group
Pick a date to check the season.
A market town. The trail map lists no stay within 3 km of it.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
A very long day. Check you can keep this pace on rough ground.
Stage 9: Across the flat Vale of Mowbray to Ingleby Cross: 45.2 km on the route file, 45.1 km on our line, by far the longest stage. National Trails suggests no halfway stop and its map lists no stay on the way: carry food and water. Danby Wiske, a village on the route about 22.8 km in, is the natural break; the 13-day plan stops there, but book a bed before you rely on it. The approved route does not cross the A19 at Ingleby Arncliffe: a signed alternative goes north to cross by the Black Swan bridge, then back south into Ingleby Arncliffe and Ingleby Cross. Our line does not draw that alternative: follow the signs.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village by the A19, below the Cleveland Hills. The trail map lists six places within 3 km, including YHA Osmotherley (about 2.8 km).
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 10: Along the Cleveland Hills on the Cleveland Way, over Live Moor, Carlton Moor and Cringle Moor and past the Wainstones, to the road pass at Clay Bank Top: 18.3 km on the route file and on our line. There is no village or bed at the top: Clay Bank Huts is about 1.3 km off the route, and most walkers go down to Great Broughton or Chop Gate, off the route, or arrange a lift.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
A road pass over the Cleveland Hills with no village and no beds at the top. Clay Bank Huts is about 1.3 km off the route; most walkers go down to Great Broughton or Chop Gate, off the route, or arrange a lift.
Stage 11: Over the heather moors of Urra Moor and Round Hill, along an old railway track and across the Esk Valley Walk, down to Glaisdale: 27.9 km on the route file, 28.0 km on our line.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
A village in the Esk valley with a station on the Esk Valley line. The two listings within 3 km are both about 2 km out of the village.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 12: By the stepping stones at Egton Bridge, Grosmont, May Beck and Falling Foss, then along the England Coast Path to Robin Hood's Bay: 30.8 km on the route file, 31.1 km on our line.
Longest day: day 9, 11 h 11.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are measured on each stage's mapped line by our route analysis (terrain heights and our hiking-time model, moving time only): no time is published for these stages.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge | Bradley's Riding Centre, B&B and Bunk House | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite | Royal Oak Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Rosthwaite to Patterdale | Side Farm Camping | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Patterdale to Shap | Kings Arms Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Shap to Kirkby Stephen | Kirkby Stephen Hostel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 6. Kirkby Stephen to Keld | Keld Bunkhouse and Park House Campsite | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 7. Keld to Reeth | Kings Arms Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 8. Reeth to Richmond | The Kings Head Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 9. Richmond to Ingleby Cross | The Blue Bell Inn | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 10. Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top | Clay Bank Huts | 2026 dates not published | not published | Book online |
| 11. Clay Bank Top to Glaisdale | Bank House Farm Hostel | 1 April 2026 to 31 October 2026 | 1 April 2027 to 31 October 2027 | Booking method not published |
| 12. Glaisdale to Robin Hood's Bay | Hooks House Farm | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for low point (sea level) and high point (789 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (sea level) and the highest point (789 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/12 | 0/12 | 2/12 | 11/12 | 12/12 | 12/12 | 12/12 | 12/12 | 12/12 | 9/12 | 4/12 | 0/12 |
| High point, day / night | 3°/-2° | 3°/-2° | 5°/-1° | 8°/1° | 11°/3° | 14°/6° | 15°/8° | 15°/8° | 12°/6° | 9°/3° | 5°/1° | 3°/-2° |
| Low point, day / night | 7°/2° | 8°/2° | 9°/3° | 12°/5° | 15°/7° | 18°/10° | 19°/12° | 19°/12° | 17°/10° | 13°/7° | 10°/4° | 7°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 234 | 186 | 155 | 114 | 120 | 123 | 146 | 164 | 155 | 221 | 217 | 244 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible | Possible |
| Daylight | 7 h 50 | 9 h 42 | 11 h 44 | 14 h | 16 h | 17 h 13 | 16 h 46 | 15 h | 12 h 49 | 10 h 38 | 8 h 33 | 7 h 20 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
There is no booking for the whole trail: each stay is booked with its owner. The trail is popular and beds book up quickly in peak season, National Trails says: book well in advance, and if you walk the whole trail consider starting on a Monday or Tuesday, out of step with the crowds. Its accommodation map lists only about 80 places, none within 3 km of Richmond and one each at Ennerdale Bridge and Patterdale: there are more beds than it shows. Clay Bank Top has no village: its huts are 1.3 km off the route, or go down to Great Broughton or Chop Gate.
A 3 km stretch of the cliff path over St Bees Head, between St Bees and Fleswick Bay, is closed after landslips, National Trails says (notice updated 25 March 2026, read 13 October 2026). No reopening date is given. Our line still crosses it: follow the signed diversion, the Temporary Route signs to and from St Bees; the notice has a map of it.
National Trails: temporary route at St BeesThe approved route does not cross the A19 at Ingleby Arncliffe, at the end of stage 9. A signed alternative goes north to cross by the Black Swan bridge, then back south into Ingleby Arncliffe and Ingleby Cross. Our line does not draw it: follow the signs (route description, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: route descriptionOn 13 October 2026 the National Trails map listed one notice, the temporary route at St Bees, and the trail information named the St Bees diversion and the A19 alternative. Check both before you set off.
National Trails: trail information and mapThe western section through the Lake District is the most demanding, National Trails says, and several sections are hilly, steep and remote: carry a map and compass on the high fells. Patterdale to Shap is one of its most challenging days. Richmond to Ingleby Cross is 45 km on flat ground, with no stay on the trail map on the way (trail information, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: trail informationFrom Keld, the route crosses the high moors past old lead-mining remains; National Trails also gives an optional low-level route by the river. Our line and its GPX follow the high route only.
National Trails: route descriptionClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: National Trails: Coast to Coast A19 alternative · National Trails: Coast to Coast diversions · National Trails: Coast to Coast notices (map) · National Trails: St Bees temporary route. Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains run to St Bees from Carlisle or Lancaster, National Trails says. Northern manages St Bees station; Carlisle is managed by Avanti West Coast.
National Rail: St Bees stationTwo stations on the route let you leave or join the walk: Kirkby Stephen on the Settle-Carlisle line, outside the town, and Glaisdale on the Esk Valley line. Northern manages both.
National Rail: Glaisdale stationAt the end, catch a bus to Whitby station, National Trails says; it names no operator, so check the times before you go. Northern manages Whitby station.
National Rail: Whitby stationTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the fells and the moors the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
National Trails gives 190 miles (306 km) from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay in twelve stages; most people take 12 to 15 days, in 12 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers plans from 12 to 13 days on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
All year; best from spring to autumn. The Coast to Coast can be walked all year, National Trails says, but it is best from spring to autumn.
Trains run to St Bees from Carlisle or Lancaster, National Trails says. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
There is no booking for the whole trail: each stay is booked with its owner.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 4 official notice pages (National Trails: Coast to Coast A19 alternative; National Trails: Coast to Coast diversions; National Trails: Coast to Coast notices (map); National Trails: St Bees temporary route); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
Route & sources
National Trails publishes the Coast to Coast Path, a National Trail since 26 March 2026, as twelve stages from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, 190 miles (306 km); most people take 12 to 15 days, it says. It publishes no stage times and no stage distances, so the official distances shown are measured on its route file (GPX, 302.4 km for the main route) between the stage ends, and the times are ours. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (superroute 12145 and its three section relations, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 302.9 km, cut at the twelve stage ends, every stage within 0.3 km of the route file's. Our line still crosses the closed cliff path on St Bees Head on stage 1: follow the signed diversion. It does not draw the signed A19 alternative at Ingleby Arncliffe on stage 9, and it leaves out the optional low-level route from Keld to Reeth. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Coast to Coast PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation
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