Walking Wainwright's Coast to Coast a little more slowly?

Q. I am 71, my wife is 65. We would like to walk, St. Bees to Robin Hood Bay between August 14 and 31.

Is it possible and within reason to not arrange accommodation in advance. i.e This would allow us to walk, find a place to stay each night rather than be under pressure to complete a certain number of kilometres in one day.

If this is possible , is there a service that would forward our luggage?

What is the range of costs of available accommodation?

John Cashore, Coquitlam, B.C., Canada

A. We are planning to do the C2C this July and have been using the SherpaVan web site to find accommodations. There are only so many spots that you CAN stay, so we've picked towns that have the shortest distance between them to keep our walking distances manageable and are also staying an extra night in two towns along the way. It's going ot take us 20 days this way but it's worth it.

Patti Macrae, Portland, Oregon

A. OK.

During August, there will be lots of people walking this route and it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to find any accommodation if you haven't already made reservations in advance.

Beside, searching for somewhere to stay after a long day in the hills doesn't sound like a good idea anyway.

Rather than doing the whole 190 odd miles in one hit, day after day, why not build rest days into your trip. You could walk 2 days - take a day off and then walk another couple of days.

With regard to baggage transfers, we used Sherpa Van to transfer our bags when we did it last year (2005) and everything turned up when and where it was supposed to.

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)

A. I am making this walk after my 70th Birthday.

I do one major walk a year, up to now Pennine Way, West Highland Way and the Wicklow Way in Ireland.

I reject Bag Carrying as it is expensive, and modern day all wether clothing is easily washed out overnight. So I go for a light rucksack, no heavy frame.

I have booked in advance, using B and B's and the Youth Hostels, with a rest day in Kirby Stephen and an extra day in Whitby before returning to Luxembourg.

I have average out approx 15 miles a day.

You are welcome to join me if you can change your dates.

Stewart Cooper, Luxembourg Hagen

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