Pre-Departure: All About the Hikers and the Hike

Greetings All! We are so glad you are joining us on our journey as we tackle England's Coast to Coast Trail. From St. Bees, Cumbria to Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire, we hope to share our adventures and mis-adventures as we tackle this 15 day hike.

A little about us: A father-daughter veterinary duo from Ida, MI, Drs. Brian and Kelsey DeLand share a love of animals, fantastic food, the MSU Spartans, and of course the great outdoors. We've been discussing this trip for about three years, and thanks to our generous colleagues, family, and co-workers, we were able to make it happen in 2023.

A little more about England's Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Trek: The C2C stretches 190 miles over the "skinniest" part of England, from St. Bees on the west coast to Robin Hoods Bay on the east coast.

In addition to what we Americans would consider normal "hiking trails", the path also utilizes access land and permissive paths on private property. We will travel through national parks, country lanes, quaint villages, and many farms (with lots of stone walls to climb over!). Our daily hikes will range in distance from 8 to 22 miles, with the steepest terrain occuring in the beginning with the national parks. Notable areas of England we will cover in clude the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales (home to fellow veterinarinan and author James Herriot), and North York Moors. At night, we will stay in village inns, some of which date back to the 1500s. We'll carry day packs, but have the luxury of transporting the majority of our gear through a porter. Also, just so you know that we were expecting it: it will probably rain most of the days we are there. However, we are hopeful for at least a few sunny days on the trail.

Thank you for stopping by our blog and taking interest in our trek! We look forward to sharing our journey with you over the coming days.

Cheerio!

Kelsey and Brian