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For ISLANDS magazine, contributing editor Ted Alan Stedman traveled to England, where he embarked on the historic Coast to Coast Walk. Over the course of about three weeks, he saw the island as few travelers -- and few Brits themselves -- have seen this country. Below is how his story begins, but to really appreciate the scope of this trek, click on the "view larger map" and zoom in on the detailed route: |
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Queer fish, the local fellow calls us. Which is odd because about 7,000 hopefuls like us set off from St. Bees Head every year. But even here in the Coast to Coast Bar the night before our departure, we can't convince one Englishman that our English adventure makes sense. "Why?" he asks, meaning why would we put ourselves through this. It's the prevailing question. Addled from trans-Atlantic jet lag, plus an English ale or two, I present my best case: "Our goal is to cross England, and we hope the experience enriches our souls." I'm not sure he buys it. At dawn the next day, we follow Dandy Walk path through an emerald pasture where neighing horses scatter into a gauzy morning mist befitting of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. A ways on, the eastern edge of the Irish Sea laps at our feet. With my gal, Tami Van Meter, I'm setting out to traverse England on its premier walking route. Plotted in the early 1970s by guidebook author Alfred Wainwright, the Coast to Coast Walk, or C2C, undulates across the isle's narrow midsection. The official tally from decades past pegs the distance at 190 miles, although a recent remeasure with modern gadgets supposedly fattens it a bit. We'll do it in 19 days. Or so we've been told. We make good on the C2C custom of wetting our boots in the froth and collecting a pebble that hopefully we'll toss into the North Sea. The symbolism of this act -- linking sea to sea one step at a time -- smacks us. "I hope we can do this," Tami says. I give a pep talk and avoid mentioning how roughly 15 percent of C2C walkers drop out from sprains, weather or worse.
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Still, this won't be some hardened death march -- no damp tents, finicky camp stoves or freeze-dried foods -- but a proper British walk. We'll enjoy fresh beds, warm meals & cold pints at each day's end, staying at country B&Bs and small inns -- all C2C traditions, patently English but accessible to anyone with fortitude and sensible shoes. (To read the full story, get the digital version of the June issue.)
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