spacekadet

Tim and I have both found ourselves without a job - lucky us! (Until the money runs out, that is.) So how's this for a cheap holiday: we're taking a train up north to St. Bees and hiking the "Coast to Coast" trail all the way to the other side of England at St. Robin Hood's Bay. Each day, we'll walk 10-20 miles, and at the end of it, pitch camp at a farm, pub lawn, or if we're lucky, a bona-fide campground.

The route is one originally tracked by a dude named Alan Wainwright He wrote a beautiful little book about it called A Coast to Coast Walk which is worth its price in artwork alone. AW's sketches of English countryside are beautifully stark and the hand-drawn map detailing adds a personal touch to the adventure. Better still, the book is appropriately tiny, small enough to carry along in the backpack.

What started out as a whimsical idea two weeks ago is now just a few hours away from reality. Yeah, the bag is heavy and my legs are going to be really sore in a couple days, but I'm totally psyched.

As a side note, walkers have an interesting reputation here in England. There are people like Tim and I who walk, and then there are walkers. While searching for info on GPS's and the Coast to Coast, I found this heady debate about GPS's on a coast to coast forum. "c0pperfield" provides this beautiful description of "genuine" walkers:

I am not a "walker" and if you see some of my earlier posts about my experiences, you will see references to some of the "saddos" that you may meet en route. These people are stuck in the past, navigate by the stars, sleep wild and can walk 300 miles in one day. They are the the "genuine walkers" and never fail to tell you of their exploits at every opportunity.

Avoid them at all costs - Norman Walker has given you a good insight into their pathetic little minds. They can easily be recognised by their 30 year old leather boots, knee breeches and Kodak camera.

So in addition to the lovely scenery, I'm looking forward to spectacular people watching. I'm really glad I will have someone with me to make sarcastic comments to.