It was a beautiful autumnal morning in September when I took the train to St Bees for the start of the 192 mile long distance walk through the three national parks of northern England as described by Alfred Wainwright. AW's book described the route in twelve stages, each day ending in a town or village. This makes it ideal for an overnight stay. On this trip I planned to camp and be self-sufficient. This gave me more freedom to wild camp and enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains and moorland.

Like any camping trip or expedition, planning is essential. This doesn't always guarantee success, but does ensure an enjoyable experience but probably more importantly a safe one. Like most outdoor enthusiasts I have a garage full of all sorts of kit, with tents for all occasions and sleeping bags for all seasons. Most of my kit is great for a weekend overnighter in the Lake District, but not necessarily ideal for a multi-day trip. I did a lot of reading and research about light weight hiking and also delved into the extreme world of ultra-light back packing. I became fanatical about the weight of gear but ensuring this never compromised its efficiency whether it is a jacket, stove or tent. I aimed to get my kit around ten to twelve kilos plus food and water. The coast to coast walk is not exactly wilderness so there are plenty of places to purchase food on the trail.

I chose the Granite Gear Blaze AC 60 rucksack for this trip. It received outstanding reviews from users on forums and was voted best back packing rucksack in the states. It comes in at 1.3 Kg and has great external stretch pockets for stowing essential items such as a water proof jacket or snacks. Dehydrated trail food was my choice of fuel so I was only boiling water. I already owned an Optimus solo pot, so I treated myself to the Crux stove, which folds neatly into the base of the gas canister and brought my whole set up to 675g which was 200g lighter than my other stove system.

I already owned a lightweight tent, and my Helsport Ringstind 1 Superlight was perfect for this trip. The best advice I received from Mike Rushton at Tamarack was the type of footwear to use. A lot of long distance trail walkers are moving away from the traditional boot to trail shoes. I used my Inov8 lightweight shoes and they stood up to the miles perfect, it allowed me to move quickly and comfortably.

The weather in the second half of the trail deteriorated with low cloud and rain and visibility was down to yards for several days. I just opted to get the hammer down and get through the miles. Towards the end I was covering 28 to 30 miles a day and completed it route in ten days. It was great to mix up the wild camping with a few camp sites. This allowed me to shower and dry off some kit. I completed the trip by throwing the pebble I carried from the beach at St Bees into the sea at Robin Hoods Bay. Oh and a quick pint of Wainwright to celebrate. If you're looking for a great walk, I would recommend it and you meet people from all over the world.