Trailblazer Guide Books

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Trailblazer guides take some beating.
 - Adventure Travel

The route is described from west to east and divided into 13 stages. Though each of these roughly corresponds to a day’s walk between centres of accommodation, it’s not necessarily the best way to structure your trek. There are enough places to stay – barring a couple of stretches – for you to pretty much divide the walk up however you want. This is even more true if you’re prepared to camp, in which case you can pitch your tent virtually anywhere, as long as you follow the guidelines on p69.
    On pp36-7 are tables to help you plan an itinerary. To provide further help, practical information is presented on the trail maps, including waypoints (Wpt) and walking times, places to stay, camp and eat, as well as shops from which to buy provisions. Further service details are given in the text under the entry for each settlement. See box pp81-2 for navigation trouble spots.

TRAIL MAPS              
Scale and walking times
The trail maps are to a scale of 1:20,000 (1cm = 200m; 31/8 inches = one mile). Walking times are given along the side of each map; the arrow shows the direction to which the time refers. Black triangles indicate the points between which the times have been taken. These times are merely a tool to help you plan and are not there to judge your walking ability.
    Hopefully, after a couple of days you’ll know how fast you walk compared with the time bars and can plan your days more accurately as a result. See note on walking times in the box below.

Up or down?
The trail is shown as a dashed line. An arrow across the trail indicates the gradient; two arrows show that it’s steep. Note that the arrow points uphill, the opposite of what OS maps use on steep roads.
    A good way to remember our style is: ‘front-pointing on crampons up a steep slope’ and ‘open arms – Julie Andrews-style – spreading out to unfold the view down below’.

Accommodation
Accommodation marked on the map is either on or within easy reach of the path. Many B&B proprietors based a mile or two off the trail will offer to collect walkers from the nearest point on the trail and return them next morning.
    Details of each place are given in the accompanying text. The number of rooms of each type is given at the beginning of each entry, ie: S=Single, T=Twin room, D=Double room, F=Family room (sleeps at least three people). The rates are also given; some establishments quote rates per person (pp) per night (with a supplement for single occupancy) and others per room based on two people sharing (in this case there may be a discount for single occupancy). Unless otherwise specified, the rates are for the summer high season. DB&B means dinner, bed and breakfast.
    The majority of accommodation options on the Coast to Coast Path have shower facilities; ‘bath available’ signifies that at least one room has a bath, or access to a bath, for those who prefer a relaxed soak at the end of the day.

Other features
Features are marked on the map when they are pertinent to navigation. In order to avoid cluttering the maps and making them unusable, not all features have been marked each time they occur.