Coast to coast walk may soon be on official map

Alfred Wainwright devised the route in 1973

Alfred Wainwright's famed coast to coast walk may soon be added to official Ordnance Survey (OS) paper maps for the first time.

Author Wainwright devised the 197-mile (318km) walk, from St Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire, in 1973.

The route is due to be designated a National Trail next year. Natural England said it was still working on the final details of the route and hoped to complete this work by Christmas, after which it is expected to be added to paper OS maps.

An OS spokesperson said the route had been previously included in two "bespoke leisure maps" it produced in the 1990s.

The Wainwright Society said it was expecting the route to be given official National Trail status in March 2026.

The plans for the designation were first announced in 2022 by the then-Conservative government.

At the time, Natural England said the status would lead to improvements in the route's accessibility, more signage and better promotion.

In the years since, work has been done to repair parts of the route, the Wainwright Society said.

The walk goes from St Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire

Liberal Democrat Westmorland and Furness councillor Doug Rathbone said the route's new status would help allow more people to "share the beauty of the countryside it goes through".

"Whether they walk it all or dip in to do one or two sections at a time," he said.

The OS said it was still waiting to receive more details about the proposed National Trail route.

Once it has received this information, it will decide whether to include the route on its paper maps.

It said the route was already present on the online version of its map.