Coast-to-Coast England

The first part of this section is flat — some would say monotonous — through farmlands. Then the path climbs into the Cleveland Hills, and enters the third national park on our route, the North York Moors. If you've read Wuthering Heights, you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect in the next fifty miles. The wind-sheared high moors are exposed and harsh, but they have a stark and wild beauty.

There's quite a bit of variety in this section. The highlight is the Cleveland Hills, where for several miles the Coast-to-Coast is contiguous with the Cleveland Way, one of England's official long-distance walking paths. The route mostly winds through high heather moors, descending into various towns, where you'll pass an old toll road and one of England's steam train lines (still in service as a tourist attraction and well worth a detour) before finally arriving for a grand finale along the rocky cliffs of the North Sea.