I have had a passion for walking since my early teens when I first visited the Lake District with my church youth group.  We stayed in a Youth Centre at the foot of the Kirkstone Pass, in the beautiful valley of Patterdale, near the tiny lake of Brotherswater.  It was then that I fell in love with the Lakeland fells, and since then I have tried to visit the Lakes as often as possible, walking among the beautiful fells of this most special part of England.  The pictorial guides of Alfred Wainwright became my ‘bible’ of the fells and I read every book virtually from cover to cover.  I have climbed many of the fells he describes, but still have many more to do (more about that later maybe).  It wasn’t long before I discovered Wainwright’s volume on the Coast to Coast Walk, which was his own creation. I almost had the opportunity to walk it in my early twenties, but sadly missed out on the trip because of work commitments. My friends from the church youth group set out on the walk, but only made it as far as the half way point at Keld, where injuries forced them to abandon the attempt.

Since then I have thought about doing the Coast to Coast Walk many times, but never quite got round to it.  Finally, late last year I decided that 2012 was to be the year.  This was partly because the church where which I now serve as a Roman Catholic priest, Our Lady of the Holy Souls, Kensal New Town, is currently undergoing a major interior restoration.  So, I decided to combine my long held desire to do this walk with the opportunity to raise some funds via sponsorship, for the church restoration? And so here we are.

The principle purpose of this blog is to let my parishioners follow my progress along the route day by day.  I apologise to any other keen walkers who read this blog if at times it is somewhat basic, but I am principally writing for an audience who largely know nothing of the Coast to Coast walk.  Nevertheless, I hope that all readers will find something interesting and entertaining as you follow my footsteps along the way.