My husband and I are open to suggestions for our 2 week walk self-guided trip to England in September. We'd prefer remote countryside over village after village. Are we correct in thinking the Cotswolds would be village after village? We are tending toward the alternative coast to coast walk. Would love all recommendations.

If you meant the northern coast to coast through the Lake District and across to the Yorkshire Moors - that would fit your criteria for sure. The Lake District has relatively few villages and by Sept the crowds will have thinned considerably. And across the Dales and Y. Moors - crowds won't be a problem.

Or the Peak District - few villages and terrific scenery.

You also might want to consider N Wales or parts of Scotland (yes, I know they aren't England -just another suggestion)

The Cotswolds are much more developed - a village around every bend in the road. Still lovely scenery and all - but not remote in any sense of the word.

Jabergal, It would be hard to walk far in England without encountering villages. That's what the footpaths link, after all. The farther north you get the more open space you'll find. It isn't unusual in England to think you are almost to the middle of nowhere and find a tour bus already there!

You'll probably find what you want more in Yorkshire and the lake district than in the Cotswolds so the coast to coast walk might be a good plan. Look at the photos of the lake district on my current thread to see the kind of scenery you can expect in the lake district, even near villages. http://tinyurl.com/eawhd

Hi,

Our family has done several long distance walks in England and other parts of Europe. We have done self-guided walks, though with the support of a company to make accommodation arrangements and move our luggage. (We are not backpackers.) We have used Sherpa Walking Holidays for most of our walking trips.

Our very first walk was in the Cotswolds. We did a circular walk beginning and ending in Cheltenham, part of which was on the Cotswolds Way. The countryside is just beautiful with a lot of variety-- ancient burial tombs, castles, stately homes, farmland. I wouldn't describe it as "village after village," though you begin and end each day in a village with hotels and places to eat and most days pass through one or two small villages. The southern part of the Cotswolds Way (not where we walked) is more remote.

We did the Coast to Coast walk in August 2004. Our family did this walk over 2-1/2 weeks with one rest day. The two week schedule is quite aggressive and the walking is much more strenuous than the Cotswolds. This was an incredible experience for us and we saw three distinctive areas: The Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors. Some days we didn't go through any villages until we reached our next destination, though there were days where we passed through a few villages. There were also a couple of days with little of interest, and we did have a few days of awful weather.

I have a detailed trip report on our C2C walk that you might enjoy here: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=800

And here are some more photos our C2C walk: http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3235

We love experiencing England on foot. I would be happy to give you more info about the Cotswolds (we have visited several time) or the Coast-to-Coast walk.

Kathy

I just returned from a trip in which I completed half of the Offa's Dyke Path in England and Wales (in a week). Though I stayed each night in a village, many's the day that I went through no villages during the day, and saw very few other walkers on the path. The scenery was fantastic, and I often felt very remote. I've not done the coast-to-coast (yet!), but if that doesn't work out, consider Offa's Dyke.

Hi
The North Yorkshire area (I am lucky enough to live here!) would certainly fit the bill. The Yorkshire Dales cover a huge area and parts of them can be very remote. I go walking there most weekends and still don't feel I have seen a fraction of them. The Yorkshire Moors area is also excellent for walking (very different from the Dales) and close by the Moors you have some wonderful scenery (around the Robin Hoods Bay area).The coast to coast walk, should you choose to do this, ends at the Bay (where you get a free drink at the pub!).
This website has some lovely illustrated walks in the Dales.
www.walkingenglishman.com

Folks who have replied here have ignored or not noticed the adjective "alternative" modifying coast to coast walk in jabergal's post. I presume she is talking about the HF Holiday's alternative C-to-C,starting at Arnside on Morecambe Bay and ending at Saltburn-by-the-sea, avoiding both the big hills in the Lake District and the highest points on the North York Moors. If that is the case, the walking is no more strenuous than the Cotswold Way. And if avoiding villages is important, there will be fewer villages than on the Cotswold Way. So, I'd recommend doing the alternative C-to-C.

Thanks to all. Ron, you're right about the alternative walk...less aggressive than the full route. I love this site. We have pretty well decided on the coast to coast due to everyone's input. I will certainly check out the links provided.

I thought the alternative C2C was from Walney Island to Lindisfarne which is a lot tougher than the Wainwright version

Having done the Wainwirght Coast to Coast walk - I would certainately recommend it - when I did it there was no sherpa type vans which would carry you luggage - but now there is.

You can miss out some of the more serious mountains in the Lakes (take the valley route). If the weather is good, it is a good walk to do - but will take 2 weeks.

Mark

The alternative coast to coast walk we'd like to do is through Contours and goes west to east starting in Arnside and ending in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. My sister used Contours for a Hadrian's Wall walk and thought very highly of them. Has anyone done this particular walk? Thanks.

KDCWood: Thanks for those links...WOW!!! THAT is a trip and I use that term in the best sense of the word.

This is starting to get me very interested is the Cotswold Way as a possible beginning...

Kathy, I've only just begun to read the link to your journal of the C2C walk. I do look forward to reading all of it when time permits. Thanks so much for sharing.

I'm sure I'm replying to this post too late to my of much help to jabergal in her planning but as I did see the HF holidays alternative coast to coast (Arnside to Saltburn by the Sea) walk mentioned, I thought it may be appropriate to add a comment. My husband and I did this walk with HF holidays last September. It was fabulous - one of our best holidays ever. Our accomodations were lovely, the food was incredible (is this the England I remember?) and our fellow hikers (none of whom we'd met beforehand) delightful. I wasn't planning on turning this into a trip report but for anyone considering this type of holiday or this route I would have to give it an emphatic thumbs up!

kamark, we leave for our arnside to saltburn 2 week walk in just 3 1/2 weeks. Your post gives us renewed excitement. Thanks. jabergal