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.

To see this map cookies and javascript must be enabled. If you are still having trouble after having checked both of these please contact us using the link at the top of the page

Download GPX file for GPS

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.

Itin A: 14D / 15N £1370 pp *

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)

£1,560 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,370 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,350 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,345 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Get a Personal Quote

Itin B: 10D / 11N £1035 pp *

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)

£1,185 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,035 per person (based on two sharing)
£950 per person (based on group of 3)
£910 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Get a Personal Quote

Itin C: 11D / 12N £1120 pp *

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 Carraw (18.8m)
Day 8: Carraw to Elsdon (20m)
Day 9: Elsdon to Alwinton (16m)
Day 10: Alwinton to Wooler (24m)
Day 11: Wooler to Lindisfarne (18.4m)

£1,285 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,120 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,030 per person (based on group of 3)
£985 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Get a Personal Quote

Itin D: 12D / 13N £1200 pp *

£1,375 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,200 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,110 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,070 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Get a Personal Quote

Itin E: 13D / 14N £1275 pp *

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)

£1,450 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£1,275 per person (based on two sharing)
£1,185 per person (based on group of 3)
£1,140 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.

Itin A

£515 per person (single)
£325 per person (based on two people)
£225 per person (based on group of 3)
£175 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Max 17kg per bag

Itin B

£410 per person (single)
£260 per person (based on two people)
£175 per person (based on group of 3)
£135 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Max 17kg per bag

Itin C

£445 per person (single)
£280 per person (based on two people)
£190 per person (based on group of 3)
£145 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Max 17kg per bag

Itin D

£465 per person (single)
£290 per person (based on two people)
£200 per person (based on group of 3)
£160 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

Max 17kg per bag

Itin E

£470 per person (single)
£295 per person (based on two people)
£205 per person (based on group of 3)
£165 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 £50.00 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.

ViewRanger Digital Maps
Digital Maps can be viewed on a modern smartphone using an appropriate ‘app’, which is usually provided as part of any map purchase. Brigantes are happy to recommend ViewRanger for all your digital mapping and mobile navigation needs.

The ViewRanger Shop provides Ordnance Survey maps for all parts of the UK, as well as the National Trail and selected Long Distance Paths. Map segments can also be purchased ad-hoc, allowing you to cover any walk you plan to take.

Walks you may also like...

North of England Way

The 203 mile North of England way offers a fine alternative to Wainwright's coast to coast route, across the breadth of England

Click Here

Pennine Way

Britain's first National Trail runs for 268 challenging miles along the spine of England, following the line of the Pennine hills

Click Here

Ravenber Way

The 210 mile Ravenber Way (RAVENglass to BERwick) offers a challenging alternative coast to coast route across England

Click Here

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.

Please leave your comments Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

To see this map cookies and javascript must be enabled. If you are still having trouble after having checked both of these please contact us using the link at the top of the page

Holiday Packages

Baggage Transfer

Walk Information

Walks you may also like...

North of England Way

North of England Way

Pennine Way

Pennine Way

Ravenber Way

Ravenber Way

Walkers' Testimonials

Please leave your comments Cancel reply

FOLLOW US

CONTACT US