Day 1. The Start - St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

After months of planning, the start of the big adventure has begun!  I had asked the three walkers what their feelings were about this day.  All three were excited that, at last, here was the start, here was what they had been preparing for.  Not only in studying the route they'd take, and gathering the equipment and items they might need, but in training, in building up stamina and muscle strength.  There will be some hard walking and climbing along this route, particularly in the early stages through the Lake District.  We don't want anyone falling by the wayside through lack of preparation!

We had decided that the route we would follow would be that planned by Alfred Wainwright and described in detail in his Coast to Coast Guide.  This is the route they will take. :-

We all congregated at St. Bees to conduct the "Dipping the Boots" ceremony in the Irish Sea which signifies the start of the long journey. :-

Unfortunately the tide was out so getting our feet wet added a mile or so to it! :-

Other people were doing the Coast to Coast journey.  These two were cycling, but not the same route of course. :-

Our Intrepid Trio were doing it on foot.  I would be doing it by car, carrying all the paraphernalia we would need in the days ahead, and via  various supermarkets in the North of England to buy food for their packed lunches!

Here they are with wet feet.  St. Bees Head is in the background. :-

Another tradition on this walk meant that they each had to collect a pebble on the beach, and carry it all the way to Robin Hood's Bay where they would throw them out to sea.

The Intrepid Trio then set off over St. Bees Head accompanied by Patrick's wife Clare, who wanted to walk with them for the first few miles.  This is a view from St. Bees Head towards the north.  That's South West Scotland in the distance, the Kirkcudbrightshire coast :-

Our walkers were heading for Ennerdale Bridge, the first overnight stop. The route took them in a northerly direction, over St Bees Head then turning east across country.

Having seen them off, it didn't take me long to get to the Shepherds Arms Hotel.  As it was too early to check in I pulled on my walking boots and headed back along the route to meet up with them.  I found them lazing around in the sunshine at the highest point of this section, the hill called Dent.

Here I am, looking a bit worse for wear!  It's a very steep climb to the top of Dent from the Ennerdale side! :-

Here's the cairn at the summit. :-

The way down from Dent is pretty straight forward...... :-

though very steep in parts.  Looking up.. :-

Looking down. :-

There was some relief when I told them it was mostly downhill all the way to Ennerdale Bridge from there, but there was still time to chat to people on the way.  This fellow was rebuilding a stone wall. :-

They'd made good progress throughout the day and were looking forward to a cold beer or three at the Shepherds Arms!  They disappeared inside very quickly after I'd taken this photo! :-

Tomorrows journey takes them into the Lake District National Park. They'll experience some tough going over a 15 mile hike (23 km), the highest point of which will be 1740 ft (530m).