an easier descent along the valley of Grisedale, the three options reuniting at Patterdale village. From Patterdale, a stiff climb leads to Angle Tarn and Kidsty Pike — at 2,560 feet (780 metres) the highest point on the walk. There is then a steep drop to Haweswater from where the route follows the north shore of the lake before leaving the Lake District and visiting Shap Abbey and the village of Shap itself. Westmorland and Yorkshire Dales From Shap the route crosses the limestone pavement of the Westmorland limestone plateau to the village of Orton, and on to Kirkby Stephen. The route climbs to the main west/east watershed of England (which forms the Yorkshire border) on the ridge of Nine Standards Rigg, from where moorland trails and upland streams lead down into Swaledale. To help mitigate the effects of erosion, there are alternative routes at different times of the year. At almost exactly its halfway point, the Coast to Coast crosses the Pennine Way at Keld. After Keld, there is a choice of two routes, high (open and breezy), or low (riverside, with teashops and pubs), both of which lead to Reeth. In lower Swaledale, the route passes Marrick Priory, through wooded hillside to the market town of Richmond. Vale of Mowbray and North York Moors After Richmond, the route runs close to the River Wiske (but is more direct than the river) across the flat farming land of the Vale of Mowbray (the northern extension of the Vale of York) to the village of Danby Wiske, and on to Ingleby Cross. The route then climbs up to the western edge of the North York Moors to join the Cleveland Way and Lyke Wake Walk and is coincident with these routes over the major summits of the Cleveland Hills (known as the 'Cleveland Frontline') as it rises and falls to Clay Bank Top. (Wainwright stated that the Lyke Wake Walk would form an acceptable finish to his 'A Coast to Coast Walk', though the former finishes at Ravenscar, 4 miles south of Bay Town, the end point of Wainwright's route.) The route continues with the Cleveland Way & Lyke Wake Walk, crossing Urra Moor to Bloworth Crossing, where the Cleveland Way turns north and the Coast to Coast continues east on the trackbed of the dismantled Rosedale Railway (still coincident with the Lyke Wake Walk) to Blakey Ridge and the