31 December 2013

Sea to Sea

It's almost 19 years since I first walked Wainwright's Coast to Coast route and discovered a love of long distance walking that has stayed with me ever since. 

Walking from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay in the spring of 1995 spawned not only a new hobby but a new career as well. It was the inspiration for the creation of A Dales High Way and the establishment of Skyware Press.


A Coast to Coast Route Guide is the 6th walk guide book to be published by Skyware and in many ways the most challenging.  We didn't want to replace Wainwright's original guidebook, updated in 2010 by Chris Jesty, but to complement it. To create a book of route maps that were light to carry, easy to follow and above all accurate to make the practical task of route finding as easy as possible. It took over a year of research, returning to each section again and again to walk the trail, to take photographs and make notes and to test the out the maps. 

Finally, when everything was complete we handed over the draft publication to our friends David and Bridget, who set off from St Bees in September 2013. Only when they safely reached Robin Hood's Bay two weeks later did we commit to printing. Our Coast to Coast Route Guide is published on January 1st 2014. Happy New Year to everyone who walks this wonderful trail.

Watch David and Bridget's Coast to Coast adventure here.