The Right Equipment
I awoke this morning in the small town of Carlisle, near the Scottish border, to the sound of seagulls squawking. Public address announcements clattered, unintelligible, from the train station, and I smelled overheated electrical wires. The odor was reminiscent of my HO model locomotives when they would melt down due to malfunction.
This is the prelude to my Coast to Coast Walk, a 182-mile footpath passing through three national parks between the west and east coasts of Northern England. When I first arrived in my hotel last night I was concerned there might be something burning in my room. It became obvious, as the life-sized trains came and went, that the smell was tied to their electric motors.
The train ride up from Manchester yesterday was delightful. The scenery was awesome and everyone from the time I landed was generous and kind – especially to an American who boarded the wrong train. It turns out that the train schedule in England, at least for now, is an exercise in best guesses. My original train was canceled, as were many others. Probably a third of the passengers were all scrambling to get to their final destinations, but no one complained and no one seemed agitated. It was just another day on the British railways.
The Coast to Coast Walk moves through varying terrain on a route planned by author Alfred Wainwright in his 1973 book, updated in 2003.
Wainwright's Pictorial Guides sold more than two million copies, popular for their artful detail. A journey along his route promises to be a natural delight, and is rated among the world’s best walks, traversing many public footpaths.
My hotel was an easy five-minute walk, adjacent to the train station. I got to tour Carlisle this morning before taking my train to Saint Bees, a coastal village in England. Since it is right on the border with Scotland, Saint Bees has the dubious honor of housing the most besieged castle in Britain. For hundreds of years, the land went back and forth between the British and Scottish.
That animosity is underscored by a clock tower in the center of the town. It only has a clock on three sides. The story goes that the British did not even want to give the Scots the time of day. So, there is no clock on the north-facing side of the tower.
Touring the castle and walking the parapets was very interesting. I spent about 90 minutes there and then it was time to head back to the hotel, gather my belongings, and head for the train. Luckily, this time it was not only running on schedule, but also I managed to find the right platform and get on the right train.
The scenery during my 90-minute ride was bucolic, and then the view opened up on the Irish Sea. That view remained on the right side of the rails until we arrived at my destination.
When I start my walk tomorrow, my bags will be ported as they were on the Camino hikes I took before. But I had to carry everything about a mile from the train station to the hotel. This made me glad I wouldn't need to carry the entire load for 196 miles of the trip.
As soon as I dropped my belongings off in my room I headed down to the beach to gather my pebbles and dip my toes in the water. The Wainwright Coast to Coast traditionally begins with wetting your toes in the Irish Sea, and ends with dipping them in North Sea on the East Coast. I also collected a few pebbles. One gets tossed into the water when I arrive at Robin Hood's Bay. The others will be souvenirs to take home.
I spent much of the afternoon preparing my equipment and making sure my pack was loaded correctly for the walk. Then it was time to walk back past the train station to find a pub for dinner. I went to the most popular pub first. Unfortunately, they were so popular they couldn't feed me. Luckily there was another pub 50 yards up the road.
When I walked the Caminos in Spain and Portugal, I had to modify my diet and eat pork when it was the only protein available. Since I've been in Britain, I've eaten more fried food in the past two days than I have in the last six months at home. The good news is I'm certain I will work it off.
I'm excited to get started tomorrow. The Wainwright Coast to Coast is popular but not nearly as busy as either of the Caminos that I traveled in Spain and Portugal.
I'm not sure if I'll see anyone along the way tomorrow. Regardless, the scenery looks spectacular. My fingers are crossed that the weather will be as excellent as it was today: mostly cloudy with temperatures in the mid 60s. Perfect walking weather.
When I spoke with a British hiker about my concerns regarding the weather, he had a very simple reply: “There is never the wrong weather to hike in England. You just might have the wrong equipment.” I think I've got everything I need. I'm sure I will find out.