I feel like I've been waiting months for this: finally, the North Sea. Powerful gusts of wind pummel me and waves shatter against the rocks below as I reach North Yorkshire's towering cliffs.
It's almost a repeat performance of the day we left St Bees and walked Cumbria's Irish Sea cliffs. Was that really just two weeks ago? Time has slowed down since we abandoned our hectic lives and began the day-to-day simplicity of putting one foot in front of the other, absorbing the landscapes, nature and history surrounding us.
My partner Heleyne is a few hundred metres behind me, walking with Jack and his sons. We've been leap-frogging this family and other hikers for most of the Coast to Coast, sharing our highs and lows whenever we catch up - tales of tottering on the edge of Kidsty Pike to peer down on the red deer below; getting soaked to the skin in the Yorkshire Dales; being silenced by the seemingly endless vistas as we strode out along the curving lip of the Cleveland Hills.Overnight: North Ings B&B, Robin Hood's Bay
THE BASICS
"Surely there cannot be a finer itinerary for a long-distance walk!" wrote guidebook author Alfred Wainwright when he devised the Coast to Coast in the early 1970s. It's hard to disagree. For 192 miles, this route meanders across northern England's three most spectacular National Parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
Most people tackle the route from west to east so they have the prevailing weather, particularly the wind, at their backs. This means starting the journey at St Bees in Cumbria reached by train from Carlisle on the West Coast Main Line - and concluding at the fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay.
Ultra-runner Damian Hall completed the route in 39 hours and 18 minutes in 2021, but most people take a more relaxed approach.
This story is from the July 2024 edition of BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2024 edition of BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians. Livestock farming around the world is facing scrutiny because of its greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the sector contributes somewhere between 11.1% and 19.6% of total emissions. Meat production is roughly twice as bad as the production of plant-based food, according to some analyses. And beef is the worst of all. Study after study has suggested that, in order to curtail the devastating effects of climate change, we ought to shift to a diet containing less meat - or even go vegetarian or vegan.
Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks
Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks. I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me. The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.
TOP 10 WILD AUTUMN FOODS
Make the most of seasonal abundance with foraging tips and recipe ideas from wild food expert Liz Knight
The taste of England
Amid pastures farmed by her family for more than four centuries, Mary Quicke is reviving forgotten dairy traditions to produce delicious Devon cheeses
How to eat 30 plants a week
As science proves the many health-boosting benefits of eating at least 30 different plants each week, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shares recipes to help you meet the magic target
RARE RAFT SPIDER MAKES A COMEBACK
Thanks to dedicated conservation work, this impressive but vulnerable arachnid is resurgent in East Anglia
SPECTACULAR STONEHENGE FINDS
Following the latest astonishing revelation about the Stonehenge Altar Stone's Scottish origins, Dixe Wills looks at recent discoveries that have changed the way we view this impressive and enigmatic Neolithic monument
GALLOWAY NATIONAL PARK DEBATE
Would this protected status bring welcome recognition and attention - or overcrowding and problems for farmers?
Farmers are valued, so why do they feel we don't care?
For farmers out in their fields in all seasons, worried about the future as dramatic levels of rainfall blamed on climate change damage their crops, inflation and uncertainty push up their costs and what they see as unfair imports threaten their livelihoods, here's a spot of unexpectedly good news: the rest of us think you are doing a good job.
Pumpkin patches
Find the perfect jack-o'-lantern for Halloween at a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Some are simple affairs in tranquil countryside; others offer activities ranging from ghost trains to spooky mazes.
