Here’s the link: https://www.davebutcher.co.uk/wainwrights-coast-to-coast-trek/

The notes are illustrated with my black and white photographs, as well as with colour photos which are a mix of colour slides that I recently scanned for the first time and mobile phone photos from the later trips.

Ennerdale from Windy Gap, between Great Gable and Green Gable. Pillar on left, High Stile on right. Lake District; negative 532209

Large stone cairns of 9 Standards Rigg, Kirkby Stephen. On Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay; negative 504504

Lower falls at Wain Wath, Keld in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales. On Wainwright’s coast to coast walk from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay; negative 504602

Kisdon Force Upper falls (highest), Keld, Swaledale; negative 504804

Beggars Bridge reflected in River Esk, Glaisdale, North York Moors; negative 232602

Reflections in a rock pool with Robin Hood’s Bay behind; negative 254406

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My wife Jan and I walked it with 3 friends in two 8 day sections, the first from Grindelwald to Montreux in 2006 and the second in 2013 from Sargans to Grindelwald. Both trips were in Late August/early September.

I wrote daily blog posts at the time and have combined these, illustrated with mobile phone pictures as well as the black and white photographs that I took on my Mamiya film cameras. There’s lots of other information there as well.

Here is the link to the new web page: Swiss Alpine Pass Route

Ascent to Hohturli Pass between Golderli and Kandersteg on the Alpine Pass Route; negative 301202

Wetterhorn from Kleine Scheidegg; negative 194113

Dave Butcher photographing Simmenfalle near Lenk-20060902

Swiss Alpine Pass Route Map

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The night before we started we stayed in the White Lion Hotel in Hebden Bridge. We only booked the accommodation for the trip about 3 weeks beforehand so not a lot of choice and the room here was very expensive, it wasn’t worth the money to us. They provided a coffee making machine but no way to make tea or any other hot drink. Very soft mattress too which didn’t help my back. The Timothy Taylor Boltmaker was okay but the Fox and Goose is still the best place for beer in Hebden Bridge. Very nice porter on hand pump when we were there.

We walked for 6 days and luckily it was dry for most of the time, just a few short showers, nothing major. A pleasant surprise for the end of October! The total distance was about 67 miles.

Our luggage was moved each day by Brigantes, we have used them a few times now and they are very reliable for moving bags in the north of England. This meant that we just carried light day sacs.

Day 1: Sunday 20th October 2019. Hebden Bridge to The Moorcock Inn, Littleborough. 10 miles

After walking through the centre of Hebden Bridge we made our way up the hillside and some woods to join the Pennine Way after a couple of miles and followed this for several miles. There was a good view to Stoodley Pike on the hill above, a bit under a mile away. I’ve been up to Stoodley Pike several times and always had poor weather, today was no exception – a very dull day, but dry. The route that followed over the boggy moors was quite easy, the path was well slabbed to avoid the bog. I remember when I did the Pennine Way in the 1970’s it was a quagmire at every stretch of peat bog (we had heavy rain every day after the first 2 days which didn’t help!). No such problem now, most of the moors that we crossed had well paved paths. We had to put waterproofs on for a few minutes while crossing the moors but took them off as we walked beside the reservoirs near the main road. We had a break at the White House pub above Littleborough, the Timothy Taylor Landlord was good. From here we headed downhill a mile or so to the Moorcock Inn on the edge of Littleborough, our hostelry for the night. Our room was a reasonable size but was more reminiscent of an alpine mountain hut than a b&b or hotel. Had to be careful of the bare floorboards, they weren’t smoothed off so splinters were a hazard. The food was okay but my pint of Theakstons Black Sheep Bitter tasted of vinegar so I sent it back and switched to wine. They obviously don’t look after their beer.

Day 2: Monday 21st October. The Moorcock Inn to Marsden. 9.8 miles

Another dull day but dry. We crossed the road from the Moorcock and were on our first footpath. We made our way to Blackstone Edge and followed the old Roman/Medieval road to join the Pennine Way coming from the White House. Then along Blackstone Edge to the trig point and down the gradual slope to cross the M62 on the footbridge. The traffic noise could be heard from quite a distance on both sides of the road. Then on past the phone masts and a burned out Land Rover on Rook Stones Hill, over White Hill and down to the A640 at Haigh Gutter. Here we left the Pennine Way and took the Pack Horse Road to the small town of Marsden. The road was narrow, well flagged and flanked by tall brown grasses. This led down to the Close Gate packhorse bridge and along to Marsden. Our first stop was the Riverhead Brewery Tap, next to the river. An interesting pint of chilli flavoured porter was followed by something a little less fiery. Then we headed to the New Inn at the top of the town, where we were staying the night. We were well looked after here with good food and beer.

Day 3: Tuesday 22nd October. Marsden to Dog and Partridge on the Woodhead Pass. 15.8 miles

After a good breakfast we headed uphill to rejoin the Pennine Way above the Reservoirs. This is the Wessenden Alternative Route of the Pennine Way, created to avoid some of the worst peat bogs on the entire route.We left the Pennine Way once again at the A635 and headed to Holmbridge and the Bridge Inn. It was several months since our last visit and it was a surprise to see it had a new name, the Pickled Pheasant. The brewery which used to be next door had been evicted and moved a few miles away. The wall separating the two properties had gone and the space was now occupied by the bar and lots of restaurant seating. It was clearly more of a restaurant than a pub. We didn’t stay long. From here we crossed the Holme Valley and made our way uphill and across to Winscar and Windleden Reservoirs at Dunsford Bridge. There were good tracks all the way from here to the Dog and Partridge Inn at the Sheffield end of the Woodhead Pass. We stayed the night here, very comfy rooms, good food and beer. 

Day 4: Wednesday 23rd October. Dog and Partridge to Ladybower Inn on the Snake Pass. 14 miles

We left after a good breakfast and headed over the moors towards the 3 big Derwent reservoirs of Howden, Derwent and Ladybower. After leaving the A628 behind we followed a good track and Swinden Lane through some woods before heading uphill onto the moors of Mickleden Edge and on to Cut Gate. From here the tracks were less well defined as we made our way over Margery Hill and along Howden Edge. Then on to Derwent Edge over Lost Lad, back Tor, past the Cakes of Bread, Dovestone Tor and Salt Cellar (photo stop). From here it was an easy stroll along the edge over White Tor and Wheel Stones to Ladybower Tor and down to the Ladybower Inn, our end of day stop.

Day 5: Thursday 24th October. Ladybower Inn to Edale. 9 miles

This was more familiar ground from here so I didn’t really need the maps or GPS to get home, but I did have the GPS handy just in case of memory lapse!

From the Ladybower Inn we walked along to the reservoir dam and crossed over and then we were quickly on the steep path up through the woods to Win Hill. Not a good day for photos of big views, the clouds were down on the tops. We followed the ridge to Crookstone Knoll and up on to Kinderscout where we followed the southern edge to Ringing Roger rocks. The clouds had lifted so we had misty views down into the Edale valley below. We soon found ourselves in the Nags Head in Edale where we stopped for refreshments before walking the last half mile, or so, to the Rambler Inn for the night.

Day 6: Friday 25th October. Edale to Tunstead Milton. 8.5 miles

Another dull day greeted us as we walked the last section of our trek home to Tunstead Milton. It was easy walking all of the way on good tracks and footpaths. From the end of Rushup Edge we picked up the Pennine Bridleway. After a few miles we headed off to Malcoff then to Bowden Head, Past Bowden Hall, across the A6 and into Chapel-en-le-Frith by the back door. In less than 2 miles we were home. 

It was a good walk on mostly good tracks and paths. Only 2 day had mileages over 10 miles, the 3rd and 4th days and the 3rd day didn’t seem too bad since we were able to have a break at Holmbridge. We were lucky to have so little rain in October but the days were mostly dull so there wouldn’t have been many good shots if I had carried my big Mamiya 7 film camera. My bad back thanked me for not carrying too much!

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This was the last day of our Lake District Trek . Jolly good breakfast, complete with soya milk for my corn flakes, at the Royal Oak in Rosthwaite. A good start to the day.

After a few hundred yards along the valley floor we headed up to Watendlath Tarn. The old packhorse bridge at Watendlath was closed, damaged by the December storms, but there was a temporary wooden bridge next to it so we crossed the river with dry feet!

There was a chilly old wind as we climbed up the slope behind the Tarn so I stopped to put on my waterproof, the only windproof that I was carrying. It was still quite bright.

There was a pretty good path to the top of High Tove which we reached as the rain started. Proper rain driven by strong winds of over 25mph.

The next bit to High Seat was horrible. Peat bog with deep soft areas. We had to weave around to find a way through. I was jolly pleased that my boots (Meindl Dovre Extreme GTX) were 10 inches tall so no problem keeping my feet dry, unlike Al with normal height boots.

We reached High Seat after a couple of hours, now with the rain beating down. The next section was a bit easier. No deep boggy bits but it was very wet. We passed lots of people coming the other way. Looked like there was some event on, must have been over 40 people in 4 or 5 groups.

Bleaberry Fell was similarly wet but the rain eased off and stopped as we made our way down. Interesting at times, rain, wind and sunshine, all at the same time. A bit over an hour of rain in total.

There were a few hillocks to the side of the path as we descended and it was brightening up so we went up a couple of them. The last was called Falcon Crag. Quite a view with nice light over Derwent Water and Keswick so I pulled my Mamiya camera out of the rucsac to take a few pictures, the only ones of the day.

We called in at Castlerigg stone circle on the way to Threlkeld. Lots of people here. Just a few phone photos as I already have lots of photos of it, summer, winter, normal, infrared, with and without snow in the background (visit davebutcher.co.uk to view them!).

From here it was a short hop to the end, the Horse and Farrier in Threlkeld, which was where we started 5 days ago. I celebrated with a Snecklifter or two!

Our evening meals were good but having 5 dogs in the pub, which is effectively a restaurant as all tables are booked for food, spoilt it. I’m allergic to dogs. The place was packed so I just had to rely on my Ventolin spray for my asthma to get me through the evening.

It was about 50 miles and 12 mountains/hills in 5 days. Just 1.5 hours of rain in total, this compares with 7 days of rain in 8 in Snowdonia last year! I also took 46 proper black and white photographs, all on Ilford 400 Delta 120 film, with my Mamiya 7 camera and 65mm lens.

We also managed about 14 miles to the gallon…..of beer.

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It stayed dry for the first 40 minutes or so, then we had very heavy rain for 15 minutes, just long enough for us to put full waterproofs on. The rest of the day was dry with sunny spells from midday. So much for the forecast for rain showers all day!

It was very peaceful walking along beside Buttermere Lake, we didn’t see anyone until we reached the other end of the lake.

We started up the steep main ridge of Fleetwith Pike from the road and made good time, passing a couple on the way up. I’ve been up by this route a few times before but I always like the steep rocky bits, you can get into a sort of rhythm on them.

Jolly good views at the top. Chatting to the couple that we passed when they reached the top, the woman worked in Macclesfield just 10 miles from home! Small world.

Lots of sunny spells as we made our way across to Honister Slate Mine. We refrained from using the zip wire for fear of being disqualified from our trek and walked down.

We originally planned to go straight down to Rosthwaite, our stop for the night. As it was early we changed our minds and headed for Stonethwaite. The Langstrath Inn is open all day and always has good beer. From there it was just 1.5 miles along to Rosthwaite but it was still early so we dashed in to the Scafell Hotel, next door to our hotel. The last time I can remember being in here was on my first Coast to Coast trek in 1979. They had 6 real Ales on today so well worth the visit.

The Royal Oak Hotel was a little bit different to our other hotels. We booked dinner, b&b for a change. Our 4 course Dinner started at 7.30pm. Quite a few of the others were walking Wainwright’s Coast to Coast so a lot of others were staying just one night. We couldn’t get in to the Scafell or Langstrath because of it being just a 1 night booking.

The bar area was very small with just 1 real ale and a keg beer. It was local beer from near Ullswater but not my favourite. The meal was excellent and they catered very well for my allergies.

After the meal we ran next door to the Scafell in the rain for a couple of nightcaps, of the Snecklifter variety!

Last day tomorrow. We walk up to Watendlath Tarn then over 3 peaks to Castlerigg stone circle and back to the Horse and Farrier in Threlkeld to finish.

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After a big breakfast at the Royal Oak in Braithwaite we were on our way at the crack of 9.45am. Golly what an early start!

From the village we climbed steadily to the summit of Causey Pike. Views improved as we waited a few minutes but it wasn’t that bright.

From here we followed the ridge over Scar Crags, Sail, Eel Crags and on to Grasmoor. That’s 5 Wainwright’s in a day. We didn’t realise this until we looked at the Harvey’s map, that has them all marked, down in the valley.

We came down beside the stream between Grasmoor and Whiteside. So many waterfalls, what a beautiful walk! In several places the path had been washed away by the December storms but it was mostly easy to find an alternative since water levels weren’t that high.

The pictures in black and white I also took on medium format film with my Mamiya 7 camera. The images here were taken on my Moto-X phone so that they were immediately available but I did take 16 photos today on my Mamiya.

We’re staying at the Kirkstile Inn tonight, complete with it’s own brewery. The Grasmoor Dark Ale was excellent!!!

Tomorrow is a short day to Buttermere, over Mellbreak then on to Scales Force. Keeping fingers crossed it stays dry.

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View near Blencathra Centre

Waterfalls Above Keswick

Woods near Keswick

Keswick Oddfellows Arms Bar

Skiddaw from outskirts of Keswick

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Al was dropped off by his wife Carol as we are just a couple of miles from their house. We couldn’t stay with them as they now have a dog and I’m allergic to dogs, cats, horses, sheep, giraffes, etc.

We left our hotel in Witcombe by 10.30am. It was an 11 mile day but relatively straightforward. Painswick Beacon was our first objective, reached in an hour or so. Should have been good views but the rain came in. We briefly watched lots of golfers getting wet as well as being entertained by a golfer chasing his runaway trolley down the hill. Fortunately for him it hit a divot and fell over just before a cliff, he was nowhere near catching it!

Lunch was in the Royal Oak in Painswick, a tasty home-cooked ham sandwich shared with Jan, washed down with an excellent pint of Exmoor Ale.

Next we headed for Randwick and the Vine Tree Inn, reaching it at 4pm, the end for this half of the Cotswold Way. I ended with a couple of pints of Hobgoblin before Al whisked us back to our hotel.

We walked 52 miles in 5 days managing about 14 miles to the gallon……. of beer!

I took 3 rolls of film in 5 days. Not the best return for a 5 day trip. I try not to take pictures on my film camera unless I think I can sell them so that’s still pretty good. It will add a few shots to my Cotswolds collection. I didn’t take any today, too wet or overcast.

Next year we hopefully finish the trek by walking the 50-odd miles from Randwick to Bath.

The church in Painswick dates back to mid 11th century. It has a hundred yew trees in churchyard; Negative 471004

Painswick church dates back to mid 11th century. It has 100 yew trees and many old tombstones, like this pyramid shaped memorial; Negative 471004

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It was 10 miles in total, starting in the rain but mostly dry with bits of sunshine here and there.

We walked a lot of high ground above Cheltenham, stopping for lunch at the Air Balloon pub, before coming down to our hotel near Gloucester.

I was able to take a few proper photographs too on my Mamiya 7 camera. I’ve now taken 30 proper black and white photographs in 4 days. I’m carrying just 3 or 4 rolls of Ilford 400 Delta a day but am still not using anywhere near that number.

All of the photos in my Cotswold Way blog posts were taken with a Motorola Moto-X phone. The ones posted in black and white I also took on my Mamiya so they will be available as proper darkroom prints at some stage, the others were just phone snapshots.

Dinner was interesting. We drove to the Royal William just a few minutes from our hotel. Timothy Taylor Landlord was a pleasant surprise so I tried it a couple of times to make sure it was in good form.

The menu had some unusual meats on it including Kangaroo, Buffalo, Ostrich and Wild Boar. I had something from the Specials board, Camel and chips. I’ve had Buffalo, Wild Boar, Horse, Donkey and Chamois, for example, but I’ve never seen Camel on the menu before (we lead a very sheltered life in the Peak District!). It tasted similar to beef steak but maybe a bit more chewy.

Tomorrow is our last day for this trip. We will have completed about half of the Cotswold Way.

Here are some shots from today.

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