Day One: Wednesday June 8, 2011 - St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

 Our walk began at St. Bees, a little village on the northwest coast of England.  Having arrived the prior afternoon by train, we began to wander through town looking for our B&B.  It immediately began to rain, leading us to open our suitcases on the street and pull on our rain gear.  This was not a propitious beginning!  Once settled into our room at the lovely Abbey Farmhouse, we found our way to The Queen's Hotel, where we met and dined with Chris and Wendy, a British couple who were also walking the C2C.  Wendy had done it before, so, anxious with anticipation, we pumped her for information about the days to come.  There was still daylight after dinner - until 10 pm - so we took a walk down to the beach to preview our starting point for the next morning.  We were done for the day.

The next morning dawned with some overcast.  After a hearty breakfast at the B&B with several other groups of walkers, we donned our daypacks and set off for the beach.  (Our baggage would be transported between B&Bs by Packhorse, a very efficient service which also booked our accommodations.)  At the beach we asked a fellow walker to take the above photo of us at the starting point sign.  We then followed the traditional routine of dipping our boots into the Irish Sea and picking up a pebble to carry across the country.  And finally,  after all many months of research and planning, we were off!  It was a great moment.  The path climbed gradually from the beach to the top of a cliff, and then followed the coast north along a high headland for several miles before turning east to begin the crossing.  Here's a look back after the first mile of walking:

At this point, as the path turned east, the clouds opened up and we were baptized by the C2C.  We walked in rain for an hour or so, which gave us a chance to get our gear worked out and to see if that Gore-Tex stuff really works.  Fortunately, it does.  However, no raingear is quite as good as a nice cozy phone booth!

 
The trail took us through the villages of Sandwith, Moor Row, and Cleator before ascending to the top of Dent Hill, a long grind which made us both think about the mountains ahead in the Lake District.  Here's the view from the top of Dent Hill, where we had lunch.  In the distance you can see the Irish Sea, with the miles of farmland villages which we had crossed so far.  Getting there was a long, slow slog through forest preserve and sheep grazing land, but it was well worth it for the view from the top.


 
 The opposite side of Dent Hill was a very steep descent through grassy pasture - sort of like walking straight down the fall line on a ski slope.  The trail then followed a beck (stream) through a lovely valley called Nannycatch.

On the final leg of the day's journey, we walked along several miles of roadside trail to the village of Ennerdale Bridge - 14.5 miles and 7 hours from our starting point.  Here's Laura, showing some excitement about reaching the end of the road:

Laura and I were glad to finish our first day in relatively good shape, with only a few blisters and no major back or knee issues.  A pint of ale and dinner were quickly followed by unconsciousness.