Coast to Coast Day 2 Ennerdale Bridge to Roswaithe

June 17, 2025June 17, 2025 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Day 2 on the Coast to Coast Path is in the books. Today we walked Ennerdale Bridge to Roswaithe which is said to be the toughest stage of the Path and we agree!

We started our day off with a fantastic full English breakfast (bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, toast, eggs) and a couple of extras depending on what you ordered (black pudding, porridge, yogurt, etc.) Ready to burn off those calories, we headed out the door for 9am and made our way to our first obstacle of the day’s walk, Ennerdale Water.

Ennerdale Water is over 4km long and has two ways around it. The Northern Shore which is a forest, gravel track. This is a multi use track, think bikes to hikes, and is recommended when the weather is offensive. The Southern Shore is the classic Coast to Coast Path route and recommended in fine weather but is a lot more work. It’s a path just on the water’s edge, made up of mostly large uneven rocks, steams to cross, some scrambling (think hands and feet), and takes much longer but is absolutely gorgeous. Sun was out, so Southern Shore it is!

That last one there of me (thanks Shar for the snap!) make me look like a boss. But … I am terrified of heights, and what you can’t see in the photo is how steep that trail is (to me), how close it is to a 30-40 foot drop into the lake (for real) and the lake is full of lava, flesh eating alligators, spiders and zombies that are hungry for Brande bits! Well at least that’s how scary in my brain it is and the scenario that was playing out in my mind as I precariously balanced on a ‘knife’s edge’. The mind is an interesting creature!

In just over a couple of hours we put the zombies behind us and were on the other side of Ennerdale Water. After such a long time stepping so carefully, we were ready for a break and had ourselves a little 11sies picnic trailside before kicking off our next obstacle.

With some cookies and fruit onboard, we headed for the forest road (gravel logging road) which would take us to the place where we leave the trail and start heading up and up over the mountain range to our home on the other side, Roswaithe.

There are two options here, the classic is via the Black Sail Youth Hostel (most remote in England which is odd to me as you can technically drive to it) OR the alternative up to Red Pike and across the wide mountain range ridge via Hay Stacks where the routes meet up for the decent into Honister. On a fine day, which we were definitely having, the high route via Red Pike is not to be missed.

So we split the uprights to experience it all! The decision point is at a fence / gate and Dad and Shar headed up to Red Pike and Hai and me carried onto the Black Sail Youth Hostel approach. The plan was to meet in Honister (there is a little cafe at the Slate Mine tourist shop) unless we happened to see each other at the path junction on the ridge – pretty slim chance there but would have been exciting

So off Hailey and I went for few more kms along the forest road ..

We made great time to the Black Sail Youth Hostel. The gravel track was mostly a gentle incline but with little shade for this 6.5km section. Our 15C day while mild was feeling a little less so pretty quick. Think mini donuts on one of those little deep fryer conveyor belts. A little breeze kicked up about half way and we were loving that until that little breeze changed the day pretty quick!

Not too long after our refreshing breeze started, Hailey and I both noticed a change in the temp and speed of that wind all of a sudden. Colder and stronger, and it was bringing in some cloud and fog cover. Wonder how Dad and Shar around doing up top? By the time we made it to Black Sail Youth Hostel, the breeze was gusts and they were strong – slow you down or push you forward while walking strong.

The Hostel was open so we tucked inside for 30mins for a fantastic break – we left a 5er in the honest box collection and had a tea and shared a chocolate. After a quick stop at their toilets, we added a layer of clothing and headed back out into the gust storm!

I have met Wind but never Gust and he is a spicy, blowy chap! We had to laugh and pause a few times when it kicked up particularly well then carry on quickly in the quiet breaks. The path took us onward from the Black Sail Youth Hostel now on a thin grassy or rocky path towards my nemesis of the day – Loft Beck!

Once we had traversed these skinny little trails, we arrived at Loft Beck and Scaredy Bear Brande was in full force. This is a 1000 foot / 300m stone staircase beside a rushing river up a steep ravine from bottom of the valley to top of the mountain. And obviously more zombies in the water waiting for Brande bits to chomp on!

I was in awe of how beautiful it was, how thankful I was for whoever built said stone staircase, and completely terrified. The upside? It was not going to rain, and the wind gusts were pushing us into the mountain like a little temperamental safety harness (yes that’s what I told myself!) The pictures first looking up at the bottom, then down about 75% of the way up do not do it justice. Except maybe that last one, the nice flat green grass waaaay down at the bottom is where we started!

I gave Hailey the warning that if I stop I will never start again, and I took off up and up. Speaking out loud to myself that the wind is my friend and helping me stay on the mountain, that these are just stairs and I do those all the time, I can do anything for 100 steps and again and again, and to not crawl. For the Lord of the Rings fans in the crowd, I have resorted to Gollum like hiking in the past! Not a good look!

When I got to a little safe spot I could look back and check on baby sis.. she was just happily stepping up and up the steps not a concern in the world. Damn gazelle was made for this! Love that!

At the top we hit the junction where Dad and Shar might have been spotted – no dice – so we had a sip of water, almost fell over about a dozen times as the wind was WAY worse up here and then made our way across the top of the wide ridge.

This was gorgeous walking up here, mostly on grass or small stone trail and cairns (piles of rock) all along the route to guide the way. Stunning! I took some videos and popped those up on Running for the Gate Instagram.

The trail book says from the top to the Honister Cafe it was about 60mins walking – we needed double that. You had to stop walking sometimes to let the gust go by and then get some steps in before the next one for quite a bit of our time up there. We definitely kept wondering how Dad and Shar were fairing coming across the whole thing!

We arrived down in Honister after the Cafe closed but I was able to pop in to use the wifi and let our BnB place now we would be later than planned thanks to Gusty McGusterton. We found a nice bench sheltered from the wind and a view of the final descent down into Honister so we could see when Shar and Dad were coming down. They should be about 2 hours behind us according to the guidebook.

Meanwhile Dad and Shar were not traversing the ridge top. They made it up to Red Pike at 755ft in good time but the gusts of wind were treacherous up there – so they snapped a couple pics and then backtracked to take the route Hailey and I did but a couple hours behind us.

By the time we reunited down in Honister – it was pretty cool to see them come up and over the edge there on top and watch their descent – the day was hitting 7pm so we sent a quick note to our BnB lady (I had to jog up the street until I found a signal) and she came and grabbed us.

We arrived to our new home for the night, Yew Craggs in Roswaithe a few mins later, and not 15mins after that we were sitting down for a cold pint, hot homemade pasta and an amazing dessert we had pre arranged with Ann Marie at the BnB.

We were all wind burnt, dog tired, full up from a delish supper when we made our way to bed around 930. Got to give the body a little lay flat sleepy time so we are spry for another tough day though the Lake District tomorrow (in pouring rain I might add!)

For the speedy ..

Date: Monday June 16 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 2 of 17
To/From: Ennerdale Bridge / Roswaithe
Start/Finish time: 9am / 7pm
Distance: 23 (25.4km Hiiker)
Steps: 31,180
Terrain: Rocky scramble, gravel forest road, grassy trail, steep stone steps of hell, gusty rocky trails, stoney decline
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: cookies, apple, sandwich packed from last nights accommodations, gummy snacks, tea, chocolate
Dinner: local sourced pasta, berries and cream and a local pint Tractor Shed Brewing called Kessin (blonde ale)
Tonight’s home away from home: Yew Craggs of amazingness
Mood: happy with terrified and proud moments
Body: feeling great!
Highlight: tea at the Black Sail Youth Hostel with my sister
Lowlight: gusty, grumpy winds
Deep thoughts: trail magic is really and truly a thing, the people and the path can be the most amazing example of how blessed we really are!

Well Day 3 won’t start itself – off we go!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 1 St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

June 7, 2025June 21, 2025 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Day 1 of the Coast to Coast Path is in the books! The 24 kilometers (which ended up being 25km if you count the steps from our BnB) was a mix of sun and mist, ohhh and ahs, hills and flats, paths and roads. Perfect kick off!

At about 9am (after a delicious full English breakfast) we left the Stonehouse Cottage B&B in St Bees – lovely place. A quick detour to the Post Office Store for our lunch goodies (buns, ham and cheese) and we were on our way.

We took our starting line photo in front of the Coast to Coast sign, christened our boots in the Irish Sea (well actually a small tide pool, the tide was quite a ways out by 9am) and grabbed our pebble to carry on the journey and drop in sea at Robin’s Hood Bay to celebrate our finish!

Then it was up up up a beautiful path to the coast cliffs for the first 7km. Between the sunshine (which we knew was only a treat for us this morning) and the amazing views, we were feeling blessed! Until Dad kicked our butts up the climb and then we had to get serious – Strachan’s can be rather competitive!

(That’s Dad way ahead! Get em!)

The views from the top of the cliff were amazing. The waves were showing off small white caps and the nesting sea birds were everyone tucked into the cliffs. They had a few fenced areas where you could stand from the shelter of the winds and bird watch. Shar and Hai struck up a conversation with a couple and got to borrow binoculars to see Puffins!

At about kilometer 7 (after the St Bees Lighthouse), we took a hard right and started the Eastward 300 kilometer journey to England’s other coast. In a small hamlet called Sandwith (which we of course pronounced sandwich) we took our little 11sies break on some picnic tables outside a closed cafe.

The clouds were now above us and we could feel the change in the weather approaching but didn’t expect anything torrential. To be prepared though, before departing from our break spot we put the waterproof pack covers on, pulled the waterproofs (pants and jackets) out of their compression sacks and put them on top in our backpacks for quick access.

After a bit of quiet road walking, we were onto paths with a mix of fields and track, between farms and sometimes right through people’s farm buildings. The public access rights always amaze me in the UK – wonder how that would work in Canada for us. I would love it!

During our mid day stroll, we passed the ‘Wainright Passage’ sign. He is the guy who created the Coast to Coast Path so of course a quick pic was required. I sent that one off via What’s App as mid-day proof of joy to the family following along back home.

At about 130pm we were ready for a proper lunch stop and were so excited that the timing was perfect to visit St Leonard’s Church in Cleator.

The church often has a Honesty Box of tea, coffee, and chocolate inside. A simple make a donation and enjoy system! Sadly it was not one of those days at the Church but they had a welcome Coast to Coast walkers sign so we took that as a signal that we could respectfully use their covered benches for our lunch break out of the misty rain that had stayed about an hour before.

Gaiters, boots and socks off (so important to give your feet some breathing room after hours in gortex!) and we enjoyed a great lunch. Nothing like ripping open a fresh bun, and tearing off a chuck of cheese when you are hungry, followed by some sweet snacks.

After lunch, we headed for what should have been the big challenge of the day – the 350m climb through the forest up and over Dent Hill. However, it looks like the last couple weeks of thunderstorms wreaked havoc on the forest though and the path was covered in dozens of felled trees. The diversion said there were ‘dangerous trees’ – we had visions of the scary trees that chase Mickey and Donald out of the forest in the Halloween Disney Special but I am sure that is not what they meant.

The Coast to Coast Path team (not actually sure who that is) had a very well marked diversion in place for us – thank you!

Following fluorescent yellow dipped sticks we instead made that climb on a very quiet country lane. It was a climb to a bend in the road, to discover another climb to a bend in the road, and another and another. The long, sustained incline is always extra fun in waterproofs but we made good, sweaty progress. After a couple kilometers, the diversion took us onto a rocky path in the valley between the hills – I LOVED this part! The mist made it feel so quiet and isolated, the sheep dotting the hills and path were adorable and the walking very easy under foot.

Speaking of mist .. don’t actually think we were being rained on all afternoon but rather walking in the clouds or at least thick fog. It was a gentle falling / swirling mist really. Light enough to not want a rain coat but misty enough to need one. We were Care Bears making our way through the clouds – obviously the Care Bears theme song came up often and out loud!

The volume of rain though over the last few days was still very obvious. The path was pretty muddy and many little baby stream crossing were more like impromptu small river crossings. A mix of large leaps across, quick steps on water logged stones or a full on step right in the water (that was me by accident, oops) got us across all of them.

About half way through this valley path, we were reunited with the actual Coast to Coast Path at a place called Nannycatch (which is basically a gate as far as I could make out).

A group of 2 English couples who we had been just behind all day could be seen doing the same river hopping dance as us about 100 yards ahead on the path. I suspect we will be seeing this group a lot the next days on path, we seem to have the same schedule and even accommodations. We had a good chat with them at supper and they are sweet and very seasoned long distance walkers.

After a few more official and less than official Coast to Coast Path markers we found our way to the final stretch of quiet road into Ennerdale Bridge. I cannot believe how many homemade C2C signs we found – from spray paint on rocks, to sharpie markers on red lids nailed to posts, to laminated home printed signs. I love that. Nothing better than knowing you are going the right way!

We made it to Shepherds Arm Hotel in Ennerdale Bridge for about 530pm, checked in, got the wet gear and boots off to the drying room and then feet up with a tea for a bit!

We enjoyed a fantastic meal right at the hotel – roast beef and roast turkey was on special served piping hot. The perfect contrast to my ice cold Lager. Yummy! While at super, we order packed lunches for day 2 and arranged our breakfast time too.

All of us tired and happy we made our way back to the rooms and hit the hay pretty quick around 9/930. Felt good to get flat. What a great day 1 and fantastic start to this epic journey!

A quick Coles Notes for the speed readers:

Date: Sunday June 15 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 1 of 17
To/From: St. Bees / Ennerdale Bridge
Start/Finish time:
Distance: 24km (25.01km Hiiker)
Steps: 37,074
Terrain: mix of cliff side path, quiet road and rocky (wet) track
Breaky: full English cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: 11sies cookies, lunch ham and cheese sandwich and cookies, 2sies gummy worms
Dinner: crispy pork belly stack with black pudding and bacon and mashed potatoes, a couple of Lakeland Lagers
Tonight’s home away from home: Shepherds Arm Hotel (good vibe, great food, amazing shower, soft towels, hard squeaky beds)
Mood: feeling blessed with sunshine for any part of today, good company and a healthy family that can do this together
Body: feeling good, no blisters yet!
Highlight: the path in the valley and confirmation that I am, in fact, a Care Bear
Lowlight: the big ole step I took right into the ‘stream’ filling my boot with water
Deep thoughts: keep you eyes ahead of your but not so far that you don’t see and enjoy today! Aka don’t worry that tomorrow is a pretty sketchy and remote section of the trail, that’s tomorrow!