Wainwright’s Coast to Coast to be upgraded to National Trail

Natural England is progressing a project to designate Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk as a National Trail, upgrading the unofficial route that runs from St Bees Head on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. The route, more than 190 miles long and traversing the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national parks, has not always been waymarked or fully on public rights of way.

Angela Hobson, Yorkshire Dales Coast to Coast project manager, said there had been issues with signposting, trail maintenance and formal access. Natural England announced the project in 2022 with £5.6m of funding and work to be completed “early 2026”. The programme includes resolving land-access legal issues, upgrading paths, bridges and other infrastructure, improving signposting and waymarking with the acorn symbol, and appointing dedicated trail officers.

The writer’s account notes new footbridges and signs, repaired trails around Ennerdale and Honister Pass, reclaimed flagstones on White Mossy Hill, heavy stepping stones on Nine Standards Rigg and new stone paths in Little Beck Wood. Some upgrades may be least obvious in the Lake District, where signposts on fell tops are largely absent, though the project will add green diamonds to OS maps to indicate a waymarked route.

Local hosts and project officers quoted in the report said improvements aim to benefit walkers, the environment and local communities.

Key Topics

World, Natural England, Alfred Wainwright, Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors