# UK walking holidays and mud **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842 "2009-03-09T16:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/21 "2009-03-10T01:03:11Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I am English. You remind me of a section of the Pennine Way where we hiked over Cross Fell in “a bit of mist”. Five of us spread out keeping each other just in view and we criss-crossed the top several times without ever finding the trig point. Mrs. Piper again - I suspected you were being sarcastic but wouldn’t have guessed English too. Wainwright preferred the Coast to Coast to the Pennine Way, you know. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/22 "2009-03-10T01:09:25Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Mrs. Piper again - I suspected you were being sarcastic but wouldn’t have guessed English too. Wainwright preferred the Coast to Coast to the Pennine Way, you know. Maybe, but does he buy you a beer at the end of the CtoC? A Yorkshireman will walk a long way for a free beer. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/23 "2009-03-10T03:42:29Z")
Just one thing mentioned upthread - what people in the US would call “regular” Benadryl is actually available OTC in the UK. However, it’s sold as a sleep aid. I think the main brand is Nytol, but Boots do their own version which is a bit cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/24 "2009-03-10T12:09:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Something else we discovered after the fact - here in Canada, you can get antibiotic creams for scrapes and cuts without a prescription, but when Mrs Piper’s sunburn went bad, we found that that antibiotic cream is not available without a prescription. We’d forgotten to bring some! :smack: I’m not sure what you mean by “antibiotic” cream - if you mean antiseptic cream for putting on minor scrapes etc (Germolene, Savlon, etc) then you certainly don’t need a prescription! Any chemists or decent size supermarket would have it. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/25 "2009-03-10T12:37:37Z")
sorry - wrong thread ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/26 "2009-03-10T13:18:56Z")
If you’re still pondering which walk to choose I thought I’d mention that Scotland also has a couple of long distance walks, including a coast-to-coast one along the [Southern Upland Way](http://www.southernuplandway.gov.uk/cms/). Quite spectacular in parts. The othr main one is the [West Highland Way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Highland_Way), which also has plenty of scenery! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/27 "2009-03-10T18:44:40Z")
Thanks for the suggestions. Do either of them have any cliffs or paths along ridges or anything like that? I am deathly afraid of heights and get vertigo way too easily. It has kept me from some very nice views in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/28 "2009-03-10T19:17:52Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > was that the peat bogs between Kirkby Stephen and Keld? it’s infamous for sucking down unwary hikers, to their knees or even their waists. Fortunately, when we were doing that section, it was reasonably dry and stable, although tricky in parts. Perhaps it was Keld-ish, through truthfully I couldn’t say exactly where we were at the time (I was only 16 and let the British Grownups hold the map). However I do remember that it wasn’t low-lyng boggy area, it was on the side of a hill. The trip itself was a sort of James Herriot themed trip so it may be that at times we were on the Coast-to-coast and then other times on the Penine Way? I know we were at the Grinton Lodge, Aysgarth Falls, Hawes, and I think Settle hostels (not in that order) and at one point we stopped at Bolton Castle, and then at another point we were in Richmond. Its all gone a bit foggy in the details. Back in the day each hostel would stamp your little hostel booklet with its own personal decorative stamp - do they do that anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/29 "2009-03-10T21:20:59Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Maybe, but does he buy you a beer at the end of the CtoC? A Yorkshireman will walk a long way for a free beer. Sadly, no. At the end of his Coast-to-Coast book, Alf says: [QUOTE=Alfred Wainwright] Now you can rest on your laurels in the Bay Hotel with a pint but (let there be no misunderstanding about this) you do so at your own expense. It’s not use saying “charge it to Wainwright” as you did at the Border hotel at Kirk Yetholm. No, sonny, that game won’t work here. I’m skint. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/30 "2009-03-10T21:22:03Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > If you’re still pondering which walk to choose I thought I’d mention that Scotland also has a couple of long distance walks, including a coast-to-coast one along the [Southern Upland Way](http://www.southernuplandway.gov.uk/cms/). Quite spectacular in parts. > The othr main one is the [West Highland Way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Highland_Way), which also has plenty of scenery! One of those might be our next one! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/31 "2009-03-10T21:27:09Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Thanks for the suggestions. Do either of them have any cliffs or paths along ridges or anything like that? I am deathly afraid of heights and get vertigo way too easily. It has kept me from some very nice views in the past. Okay, this might be a problem with the Coast-to-Coast - at the beginning and at the end, you’re walking along the cliff tops over the Irish Sea and the North Sea, respectively, and the C-to-C also involves some hill climbing, particularly in the Lake District (remember the waterfall I mentioned upthread?) If you know that cliff edges are a problem for you, there are probably some work-arounds the coastal bits, and there was one spot in the Lake District where we got advice about a variant path to avoid the highest part of the trail, because of bad weather. You’d probably want to plan those in advance, so you don’t loose time casting about for alternative routes. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/32 "2009-03-10T21:28:30Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Back in the day each hostel would stamp your little hostel booklet with its own personal decorative stamp - do they do that anymore? we were B&Bing, so I’m afraid I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/33 "2009-03-11T13:49:38Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Thanks for the suggestions. Do either of them have any cliffs or paths along ridges or anything like that? I am deathly afraid of heights and get vertigo way too easily. It has kept me from some very nice views in the past. I’ve not actually walked either of them myself but I’ve been in the areas they cross. I can’t think of any particular problems on The Southern Upland Way - it starts and finishes at sea cliffs, but it’s easy to skip those bits. Flickr has hundreds of [photos](http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=southern+upland+way) from all along it, and even more of the [West Highland Way](http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=west+highland+way&m=text) but I think this one does have some bits you might not like. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/34 "2009-03-11T14:08:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Mrs Piper has just reminded me - make sure you get some blister bandages. You will get blisters - how you deal with them may decide whether you can get through the hike. > > The new blister plaster can be put right over the blister and both prevent infections and may prevent the blister from bursting. They form a second skin over the blister. Very important. We think the brand name was something like Compede? > > We also got walking sticks - like ski poles, only designed for walking. They were very important for going up and down the hills. When we were last in England, during 2003, we discovered Spenco blister pads. I loved them. They can sometimes be found here in the Boston area, but they are scarce, and becoming more scarce since Johnson & Johnson put out their own (inferior, IMO) version of them. When we go we’ll look for both Spenco and Compede brands - thanks for the suggestion. I find them invaluable when doing a lot of walking. They are great for blisters that have formed, as well as for putting on chafed areas to halt incipient blisters. I was seeing a lot of walking sticks in the travelogue pictures. Are there kinds that fold up for easy storage, and if so, are they sturdy and reliable? If we decide on walking sticks, I’ll probably go to The Walking Store to get some advice, but any tips on what one looks for in a walking stick? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842/35 "2009-03-11T14:49:35Z")
We got titanium ones that you could extend or collapse - very light but strong. When fully collapsed, they were about two feet long and could be strapped to our back packs. Fully extended, they were good for somebody up to about 6’2" or so. Some walkers use them for flat areas, but we didn’t use them for that - it was when we were climbing up or down the hills that they were invaluable. Going up, they gave better leverage, and going down, they helped to keep your balance. I’m sure they saved us from a few turned ankles. Even though they were a titanium alloy, Mrs Piper managed to break one of hers while crossing a stream in flood (same day as the waterfall climb - it was rather eventful, all around). It got wedged between two rocks in the stream bed and the tip snapped off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-walking-holidays-and-mud/488842.md?page=1)