I will say that the walk exceeded our wildest expectations, not just as we approached the end which we did with some degree of sadness but really each day. Each day had its own adventures, its own thoughts, its own views and experiences, and each day was glorious in its own way,even when high on the moors in gale winds and miles to cover.

Americans need first to be told somehow that the assumptions about hiking are different in the UK and that one needs to familiarize oneself with what is considered normal in order to enjoy the whole experience.

• The biggest surprise is how wild and rugged the Lake district is.
• Hiking in the UK is different than what we experience here, Brits hike AND USE maps and compasses continually as they hike, that trails are neither necessarily obvious nor signposted.
• It WILL rain and the wind will blow but that when one is properly prepared it is perfectly comfortable hiking in those conditions this is normal and something with which Brit hikers take as a normal conditions.
• It’s your walk not Wainwright's.

I do think that much of our enjoyment was due to spending the first two days with you. there were several times I would have turned onto an incorrect trail that "looked" right, or failed to turn on a trail that didn't look right. You taught us to trust the map and our ability.

You gave us "permission" to leave Wainwright's C2C and strike off on a different trail should we desire. An example was a trail we took on the last day that turned out to be a glorious walk through seaside fields and flowers to meet up with the coastal trail that was probably the prettiest single morning we experienced. . . . but never would have taken if you hadn't said "its your walk,not Wainwright's".

“The walk was a period whose memories we will always treasure and there is little doubt that a good bit of the enjoyment can be attributed to the first two days we spent with C2C help”