Alternative Coast to Coast
199 mile cross-country walk from Walnet Island to Holy Island

The Alternative Coast to Coast starts on the west coast on Walney Island near Barrow-in-Furness and finishes at ancient Holy Island, or Lindisfarne as it was once known, on the east coast. The walk climbs several Lakeland hills and the full length of Ullswater is walked. The route crosses the Northern Pennines and negotiates Hadrian’s Wall before crossing Northumberland and the North Sea (tides permitting) to reach its destination.

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Holiday Packages

All our Standard Itineraries include:

  • Hand-picked accommodation in B&Bs / guest houses / inns / small hotels
  • En-suite facilities where available
  • Breakfast
  • Daily baggage transfers from our own team of local drivers
  • All booking fees

We will also endeavour to include all these in any custom itinerary you wish to build for this walk.

Day 1: Barrow in Furness (no accommodation on Walney Island) to Broughton in Furness (14.6m)
Day 2: Broughton in Furness to Coniston (11.9m)
Day 3: Coniston to Grasmere (15.8m)
Day 4: Grasmere to Pooley Bridge (16.6m)
Day 5: Pooley Bridge to Langwathby (10.4m)
Day 6: Langwathby to Alston (16.1m)
Day 7: Alston to Allendale (12.2m)
Day 8: Allendale to Hexham (10.7m)
Day 9: Hexham to Wark (13.6m)
Day 10: Wark to Elsdon (14.5m)
Day 11: Elsdon to Alwinton (16m)
Day 12: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 13: Wooler to Fenwick (12.6m)
Day 14: Fenwick to Lindisfarne (5.8m)

 

£2,335 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,895 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,765 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,700 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

Day 1: Barrow in Furness (no accommodation on Walney Island) to Broughton in Furness (14.6m)
Day 2: Broughton in Furness to Great Langdale (21.1m)
Day 3: Great Langdale to Patterdale (13.8m)
Day 4: Patterdale to Langwathby (19.8m)
Day 5: Langwathby to Ninebanks (22.5m)
Day 6: Ninebanks to Newbrough (22.7m)
Day 7: Newbrough to Elsdon (22.5m)
Day 8: Elsdon to Alwinton (16m)
Day 9: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 10: Wooler to Lindisfarne (18.4m)

 

£1,830 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,450 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,340 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,290 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

Day 1: Barrow in Furness (no accommodation on Walney Island) to Broughton in Furness (14.6m)
Day 2: Broughton in Furness to Elterwater (18.1m)
Day 3: Elterwater to Patterdale (16.8m)
Day 4: Patterdale to Langwathby (19.8m)
Day 5: Langwathby to Alston (16.1m)
Day 6: Alston to Allendale (12.2m)
Day 7: Allendale to Greenhaugh (20.4m) personal transport to Simonburn
Day 8: personal transort to Greenhaugh, walk to Elsdon (18.5m), taxi to Otterburn
Day 9: taxi to Elsdon, walk to Alwinton (16m)
Day 10: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 11: Wooler to Lindisfarne (18.4m)

 

£1,955 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,560 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,470 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,390 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

Day 1: Barrow in Furness (no accommodation on Walney Island) to Broughton in Furness (14.6m)
Day 2: Broughton in Furness to Elterwater (18.1m)
Day 3: Elterwater to Patterdale (16.8m)
Day 4: Patterdale to Langwathby (19.8m)
Day 5: Langwathby to Alston (16.1m)
Day 6: Alston to Allendale (12.2m)
Day 7: Allendale to Greenhaugh (20.4m), personal transport to Simonburn
Day 8: Personal transport to greenhaugh, walk to Elsdon (18.5m), taxi to Otterburn
Day 9: taxi to Elsdon, walk to Alwinton (16m)
Day 10: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 11: Wooler to Fenwick (12.6m)
Day 12: Fenwick to Lindisfarne (5.8m)

 

£2,045 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,665 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,550 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,495 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

Day 1: Barrow in Furness (no accommodation on Walney Island) to Broughton in Furness (14.6m)
Day 2: Broughton in Furness to Elterwater (18.1m)
Day 3: Elterwater to Patterdale (16.8m)
Day 4: Patterdale to Langwathby (19.8m)
Day 5: Langwathby to Alston (16.1m)
Day 6: Alston to Allendale (12.2m)
Day 7: Allendale to Hexham (10.7m)
Day 8: Hexham to Wark (13.6m)
Day 9: Wark to Elsdon (14.5m)
Day 10: Elsdon to Alwinton (16m)
Day 11: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 12: Wooler to Fenwick (12.6m)
Day 13: Fenwick to Lindisfarne (5.8m)

 

£2,195 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,775 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,655 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,595 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

* All headline holiday prices are shown per person, based on two people sharing.

Baggage Transfer

Baggage Transfer is automatically included in the price of all our Walking Holiday packages.

These prices are for anyone planning their own holiday and just need bags moving from one stop to the next.

£835 per person (single)
£420 per person (based on two people)
£300 per person (based on group of 3)
£235 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

£710 per person (single)
£355 per person (based on two people)
£245 per person (based on group of 3)
£195 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

£740 per person (single)
£370 per person (based on two people)
£280 per person (based on group of 3)
£200 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

£750 per person (single)
£380 per person (based on two people)
£290 per person (based on group of 3)
£225 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

£790 per person (single)
£395 per person (based on two people)
£295 per person (based on group of 3)
£230 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

Note: If you are booking accommodation in an Airbnb, you must ensure that there will either be someone available to take collection/delivery of your bags or that they have appropriate, secure storage in the event that the proprietor is absent.

Walk Information

  • Holiday Options
  • Walk Info
  • Maps & Guide Books

Rest Days
Rest days can be incorporated into any walking holiday package at an additional £70.00 per person per night

Solo Travellers
Solo travellers please contact us or use the booking form to send your proposed itinerary including dates, and we will price accordingly. Where possible, we take advantage of existing bookings from other clients to ensure you receive a cost effective service.

Alternative Itineraries
For alternative itineraries to those provided for this route, please contact us, or use the Booking Form to submit your proposed itinerary and number of participants and we will quote accordingly.

Walking Season Dates
Prices are based on the walk starting after 1st April and ending before 30th September. For walks outside those dates, please contact us. We provide a reduced out of season service, but still manage to meet the needs of most customers who contact us during this period.

Walk Information
The Alternative Coast to Coast begins on one island and finishes on another. It starts on the west coast at the Beachcomber Cafe on Walney Island near Barrow-in-Furness. After crossing the Irish Sea (tides permitting), the walk skirts the edge of Barrow, and on into the Lake District. Several Lakeland peaks are climbed, several delightful Lakeland villages are visited and the full length of Ullswater is walked.

Between Penrith and Hexham, the route crosses the Northern Pennines. Hadrian's Wall is then negotiated before crossing Northumberland with its Cheviot Hills and wilderness areas. The ACC finishes in a grand style by crossing the North Sea (again tides permitting) and finally arrives at ancient Holy Island, or Lindisfarne as it was once known, on the east coast.

OS Explorer Maps
OL5 - English Lakes - North-eastern area
OL6 - English Lakes - South-western area
OL7 - English Lakes - South-eastern area
OL16 - Cheviot Hills
OL31 - North Pennines
OL42 - Kielder Water & Forest
OL43 - Hadrian's Wall
340 - Holy Island & Bamburgh

Guide Books
"The Alternative Coast to Coast" by Denis Brook & Phil Hinchcliffe - ISBN: 978-1852842024 - No longer in publication, but second hand copies may be found on Amazon, eBay and other sites.

Mobile Digital Mapping
Digital maps can be viewed on most modern smartphones using an appropriate app, downloaded from the app store associated with your device. Brigantes recommend that whichever app you use, it should support Ordnance Survey 1:25k or 1:50k scale maps. There are many apps to choose from, but the two main providers are Ordnance Survey and Memory Map.

Each provider’s app has its own benefits, but both provide all-important offline navigation, meaning your device does not need a mobile signal to work effectively on the trail.

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Walkers' Testimonials

Have you walked this route? Please leave a review and let others know what you think.

Use the comments form below to submit your testimonial for this walk. Rest assured, we won’t display or disclose your email address! It is only required to prevent spam – and to enable you to receive notifications of any responses to your review should you select the option to do so.

One Reply to “Alternative Coast to Coast”

  1. Hi Annette,

    Thanks very much for organising my recent walking trip.
    Also for phoning to make sure I was OK on the evening when it was getting a bit late.

    I enjoyed the trip very much. All the accommodation was excellent and everyone most helpful.
    Over 10 days it was quite a tough itinerary, which I knew when I signed up to it.

    I did the traditional coast to coast three years ago over 10 days as well.
    However this one was at least 25% more difficult.
    The reasons being greater distance, more ascent, also the ‘paths’ themselves being quite often seldom used and therefore less well defined.
    Some sections were quite remote, there were days when I saw nobody at all from leaving in the morning until arriving at the accommodation in the evening.
    I kept to the route very well – Total 223 miles, 28530 ft ascent, average 9hrs 58 mins per day
    By comparison the normal CTC – Total 196 miles, 25450 ft ascent, average 7hrs 36 mins per day

    The route is a good route. However some of the ‘paths’ that go through woods and forests are very impenetrable.
    There are lots of fallen trees and path way marker signs in the middle of forests but with no sign of a path anywhere.
    Great care needs to be taken on these sections. I had to use the compass a lot!

    Other than that I was very satisfied with everything. It was a really good 10 days.
    I am more than happy with having finished what for me was quite a tough challenge.

    Thanks again.

    Kind Regards

    John Nunn

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