Walks
The Coast to Coast through the North York Moors
Alfred Wainwright's 190-mile crossing of northern England became a National Trail in March 2026, and its last and least-known third belongs to us. Fifty miles from the Cleveland Hills to the slipway at Robin Hood's Bay, across the biggest heather moor in England and down the Esk Valley to the sea.
England's newest National Trail
Wainwright devised the Coast to Coast in 1973 as a suggestion rather than an official route, and for fifty years it ran on goodwill, rights of way and the good sense of the people who walked it. That changed on 26 March 2026, when the 190-mile path from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay officially launched as England's newest National Trail, following £5.5 million of investment in waymarking, path surfacing and accessibility improvements, with annual maintenance funding attached.
In practice that means acorn waymarks, better surfaces on the wettest sections and rather more walkers. For the North York Moors it means the final fifty miles, long the quietest part of the route, are about to get a good deal busier.
The moors section, stage by stage
The route enters the national park above Osmotherley and shares its first miles with the Cleveland Way over the Cleveland Hills before turning east across the moor.
| Stage | Distance | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Osmotherley to Clay Bank | 12 miles | Enters the park over the Cleveland Hills, shared with the Cleveland Way. |
| Clay Bank to Blakey Ridge | 9 miles | The old ironstone railway line across Farndale Moor to the Lion Inn. |
| Blakey Ridge to Grosmont | 13 miles | Glaisdale, Egton Bridge and the steam railway at Grosmont. |
| Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay | 15 miles | Littlebeck, Falling Foss, then the cliffs to the finish. |
The crossing from Clay Bank to Blakey Ridge follows the trackbed of the old ironstone railway around the head of Farndale, level, fast and utterly exposed, with the Lion Inn on the skyline as the only shelter for hours. In cloud it is a compass-and-map stage, National Trail signage or not.
Down the Esk Valley
After Blakey the walk changes completely. It drops into Great Fryup and Glaisdale, crosses the Beggar's Bridge, follows the wooded Esk through Egton Bridge and reaches Grosmont, where the North Yorkshire Moors Railway keeps its engine sheds, one of the few places on the whole 190 miles where you can watch a Black Five being coaled while you eat your lunch.
The last day climbs out of Grosmont onto Sleights Moor, drops to Littlebeck and Falling Foss waterfall with its tea garden in the woods (see our waterfalls guide), crosses the moor edge to Hawsker and joins the cliffs for the final three miles into Robin Hood's Bay.
The finish
Tradition: carry a pebble from the beach at St Bees, walk it 190 miles, and throw it into the North Sea from the slipway at Bay Town. Then dip your boots, sign the book in the Bay Hotel, and face the fact that you still have to walk back up the bank. If you are driving in to collect a walker, park at the top of the village. The old town has no visitor parking at all.
Doing it as day walks
You do not need a fortnight to enjoy this. Three sections work well as days out: Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay (15 miles, with the steam railway there and the bus back), Glaisdale to Grosmont along the Esk (about 5 miles, returning by Esk Valley train), and Clay Bank to the Lion Inn and back for a taste of the big moor. More ideas in our walks section.
Coast to Coast FAQs
- Is the Coast to Coast a National Trail?
- Yes. Wainwright's 190-mile route from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay officially became England's newest National Trail on 26 March 2026, after £5.5 million of investment in signage, surfacing and accessibility. It is now waymarked with the acorn and receives annual maintenance funding.
- How long is the Coast to Coast?
- 190 miles (306 km) in total, from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea, crossing the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. Most walkers take between twelve and sixteen days.
- How much of the Coast to Coast is in the North York Moors?
- Roughly the final fifty miles. The route enters the national park near Osmotherley, crosses the moorland spine by way of the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge, drops through Glaisdale and Grosmont, and finishes over the cliffs to Robin Hood's Bay. Usually four or five walking days.
- Where does the Coast to Coast finish?
- At the slipway in Robin Hood's Bay, where walkers throw in the pebble carried from St Bees, dip their boots in the North Sea and sign the book in the Bay Hotel at the bottom of the bank. Park at the top of the village if you are driving in to meet someone.
- Which is harder, the Coast to Coast or the Cleveland Way?
- The Coast to Coast, comfortably. It is nearly twice the distance and includes the Lake District fells. Within the North York Moors alone, the two are similar in character, though the Cleveland Way's Cleveland Hills section has more repeated steep ascent than the Coast to Coast's moorland crossing.