2 10.8km / 6.7 miles / 8-9 hours Ascent 1224m/4016ft

7 11.3km / 7 miles / 4.5 hours Ascent 680m/2231ft

AS hotel names go, this one’s a little unusual. Across Church Street, where I’m standing in the Welsh Border town of Chirk, is the Hand Hotel. Parts of it date back to 1610, during the reign of James

Half a century after its inception, the Coast to Coast path becomes a National Trail this spring, opening up the wild landscapes and historic villages of Northern England to a new generation of hikers

3 6.3km/3.9 miles/3-4 hours Ascent 760m/2493ft

■ Distance: 10 miles/16.5km ■ Time: 7 hours ...