Advice From Other Hikers: The Coast to Coast

We asked our Facebook community of Coast to Coast finishers one question: what single piece of advice would you give somebody setting off tomorrow?

The answers reveal a version of the trail with less to do with the grand scenery everyone knows and more to do with the small, unglamorous things: sock choices, honesty-box change and a very firm collective opinion about a chip shop in Shap. Here is what they learned.

Where the Coast to Coast is actually won or lost

Ask this group what mattered most and feet win by a distance.

"Choose your footwear carefully and do some long hikes in it, with a loaded pack if you intend to take one. Shoes or boots with a tough sole are advised — I suffered using standard trail runners and a 15kg pack."

Put a blister plaster on at the first hint of a hot spot, several people said, not once it has already become a blister. Waterproof socks had strong support too, alongside a less conventional but well-defended addition: sandals for the evening, giving feet a proper chance to breathe before it all starts again.

Nobody’s judging your pace

"It’s not a race."

"Take it easy. Stop lots. You’ve made your plan. You will get to your destination at the end of the day, so don’t worry."

One finisher’s answer doubled as good advice for most things: take the online opinions on board, have a loose plan, but row your own race and remain flexible. Several walkers also mentioned turning round. On a coast-to-coast line, the view behind is one you only get by making the effort to see it.

You’re carrying more than you need

"Carry as little as possible. We got to Ennerdale and dumped half our stuff in the bin, and I spent the next ten days washing my knickers and socks in sinks and rivers."

Committed, and not an isolated view. Poles were the one item that split the group: half would not do the trail without them; half did not miss them. Even the best trail advice is individual. Decide using your own knees, not a stranger’s certainty on the internet.

Local knowledge

There is no shop in Patterdale. Shap’s chip shop is closed on Mondays. Cafés can be sparse and their opening days unpredictable, so plan around what is genuinely available. Ennerdale Youth Hostel is farther from Ennerdale Bridge than its name might suggest.

And yes, there is genuine scrambling on the route, including a stretch by Anglers Crag that one 77-year-old finisher described as terrifying. Know where the harder ground is and choose alternatives where they suit you.

Eat little and often

"Take plenty of good food snacks — we expected to eat lunch in villages but timing didn’t always work, and walking hungry isn’t fun."

More than one finisher recommended grazing rather than saving all your food for fixed mealtimes, particularly on the longest days. A hydration bladder with a drinking tube also makes it far easier to sip regularly without stopping to excavate a bottle.

A rest day isn’t cheating

"Build in a rest day or two if you can. We did, but several we spoke to wished they had."

Keep stages around 20–25km where that works for you, and use baggage transfer if it is within budget. Your knees may be grateful by day ten. One finisher’s approach to the harder climbs is worth borrowing whatever your fitness: deal with what is under the cap, and the rest is none of my business.

Forget the worries of the world before you set off. Life is then one blissful adventure with new connections every day — both with the landscape and fellow humans.

Advice collected from our Facebook community of Coast to Coast finishers.