Monday, August 3, 2026
Day 1 is done. I’m writing this from Ennerdale Bridge after traveling to St Bees and spending a great couple of days exploring the parts of the path that the current closure detour skips.
Unlike the Colorado Trail (where there was no signal at all, so I posted everything after I got back), I’m hoping to post daily journal entries closer to real-time this trip, though patchy WiFi at some B&Bs may mean the odd delay. Posts are written in present tense and dated the day they actually occurred, based on notes I take each evening on the trail.
Start with the Journey to St Bees below and follow along day by day!
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UK C2C Journey to St. Bees (Jul 30–Aug 1)
Thursday morning, I said goodbye to Lee as he left for work, finished reading The Salt Path, did a 45 min yoga flow with Zacharias, and gave the pups their goodbye greenies. On the way to SFO I called my brother for his birthday (promised to send cool C2C gifts later) and chatted with Mom. I was feeling excited but anxious… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 0: Around St Bees
After breakfast and a visit with the rambunctious puppies, I set off a little after 9am, stopping at Beach Road Bakehouse for a latte to take on my walk. There are so many dogs in Cumbria! On the way to the beach, I petted a cocker spaniel who’d just been for a swim… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 1: St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge
I wasn’t ready to leave St Bees, or Stone House Farm. Breakfast was at 7am, but it wasn’t until 8:50 that I actually set out (partially due to one last visit with the dogs). I also wanted see the coast one last time so I went back to the beach instead of heading for the trail… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 2: Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite
What a day! This is what I came here to do. Well, almost, since I didn’t end up doing the high route (more on that later). Even without it, today was physically demanding and full of beautiful scenery. Sitting here now, I feel almost overwhelmed… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 3: Rosthwaite to Grasmere
Today really took it up a notch! Although the distance was shorter, the weather was worse and the route was harder. Still, I felt exhilarated (and hungry, and sore) by the time I was walking into Grasmere… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 4: Grasmere to Patterdale
On paper, today seemed like it should have been about as hard as yesterday, but it didn’t feel like it. I think the weather made a big difference; there was no rain today… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 5: Patterdale to Shap
Today was like 3 walks in one: climbing to Kidsty Pike with its amazing views, trudging around Haweswater Reservoir, and then (leaving the Lake District behind) walking through rolling pastures. I knew it would be a hard day, maybe the hardest of the whole walk… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 6: Shap to Orton
Many people take full rest days on the C2C. When planning my walk, I thought keeping to the routine of walking every day would be better for me. Plus, I didn’t know what to expect of the walk or the villages along the way, in order to pick the right places to stop. Instead, I decided to split some of the 20+ mile segments into 2 days… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 7: Orton to Kirkby Stephen
Today was the second half of the segment I’d split with a stop in Orton. I did the short half yesterday (~8 miles), so today was expected to be 12.5 miles. Not quite a rest day, but not a lot of elevation gain (less than 1,800 ft), so it shouldn’t be too bad, especially compared to the Lake District, which is still fresh in my memory… Read the full post →
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UK C2C Day 8: Kirkby Stephen to Keld
Today was a day of transition. I crossed the Pennines (the boggy “backbone of the British Isles”), the watershed (I’ll now be walking with the flow of rivers, toward the North Sea), and from the county of Cumbria into Yorkshire (the only two counties on this walk)… Read the full post →
Joanna On The Trail 