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St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay walk to get £5.6m upgrade

Getty Images View of the beach and sea at St BeesGetty Images
The route starts at St Bees in Cumbria

A popular coast-to-coast walk is to have a £5.6m upgrade.

The 197-mile (318km) walk from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire is to become a National Trail, Natural England has said.

About 6,000 people complete the route, which was set out by Alfred Wainwright in 1973, each year with three National Parks crossed.

The upgrade will include new surfaces and signage with work to be completed by 2025.

Natural England Julia Bradbury hols Wainwright coast to coast book at St Bees beachNatural England
TV presenter Julia Bradbury has supported the plan to make the coast to coast route a National Trail

The walk, which crosses the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, was described as "just stunning" by TV presenter Julia Bradbury.

"I'm so pleased that this well-trodden route is to become an official national trail," she said.

Getty Images Houses and buildings of Robin Hood's Bay reflected in rockpoolsGetty Images
The route ends at Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire coast

Chairman of the Wainwright Society Eric Robson said: "This is a very exciting and important step and we look forward to working with partners along the route to establish the walk as one of the UK's great National Trails.

"As Alfred Wainwright said of the walk he devised, 'Surely there cannot be a finer itinerary for a long-distance walk'."

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