The vast majority of walkers choose to walk from West to East, that is from St.Bee's to Robin Hood's Bay. Some walkers who have walked the route the other way round say they prefer this because they have not travelled the entire route with pretty much the same people all the way. The accommodation described below follows the popular direction starting at St.Bee's.

Note : one thing many walkers forget about long distance footpaths is the rare occasions you will actually stay in a village or town of decent size to either do your laundry or, more importantly, withdraw much needed cash from the bank! (there are a few cash machines in Richmond and Kirkby Stephen).

THE START
St. Bee's is on the railway. This enables many people to travel from Carlisle or other areas to start the walk without having to stay in St. Bee's itself.

The bits inbetween
Its all down to ability. My recommendation would be to work out as much accommodation along the route as possible then ring for availability. It is possible you will struggle to find somewhere on certain nights and may need to reconfigure your plans.

I like Youth Hostels so would suggest you use these as often as possible. They are a great way to meet similar minded people and still relatively affordable (for now!).

The END
Robin Hoods Bay does not have a railway link and has limited accommodation. 'Boggle Hole' Youth Hostel is about one mile from Robin Hoods Bay. It does, however, have a good bus service to Whitby or Scarborough both of which have alot of accommodation and rail links. Whether you want to stay and celebrate your final day before heading homeward is a small decision but I have found the celebration is well worth while!

The best way to work out your accommodation requirements is to get the maps / route cards, calculate your abilities, then plan each nights requirements along the route. I would recommend a day or two's rest in the truly spectacular locations along the route.