Wainwright Coast-to Coast mum complete 192-mile solo trek

Becky Williams defied wind, rain, hail, blisters, and gruelling 20-mile-a-day slogs across mountain and moor to complete Wainwright’s infamous Coast-to-Coast challenge in just 10 days. 

The 41-year-old reached the North Sea at Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire mid-morning on Thursday, July 18, after setting off from the Irish Sea at St Bees in Cumbria on Monday, July 8.

She wild camped in remote locations along the way, carrying all her own kit, food, and water, spending just two of the 10 nights in B&Bs so she could do some 'strategic washing’.

Becky’s seven-year-old son, Jack, is autistic and non-verbal, and goes to Hebden Green Community School in Winsford, which she describes as ‘a phenomenal place’ and ‘nothing short of amazing’.  

Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast is one of the UK's most challenging long-distance walking routes (Image: Becky Williams)

So far, she’s managed to raise £1,585 for the school through her JustGiving page, but hopes her success completing the gruelling 192-mile challenge will inspire even more people to give. You can donate here. 

As a full-time carer for Jack, as well as her other three children, this was the first time Becky has spent more than a few hours apart from her children in 17 years.

She said the trek was ‘the most mentally and physically challenging thing I’ve ever done’, adding: “You discover reserves of strength you never knew you had.

Becky had to traverse rugged mountains and desolate moors en route (Image: Becky Williams)

“I’ve still not taken in all in really. It was phenomenal.

“It didn’t stop raining for the first five or six days, which is why the blisters were so bad. It was the constant wet feet.

“I’ve still got all my toenails, but I can’t wear trainers yet. I’m still in my sliders.

“The high point was then I came to the edge of the North York Moors and I saw the North Sea in the distance for the first time.

The mum-of-two wild camped in some beautiful and remote locations (Image: Becky Williams)

“I got very emotional. I cried for about five minutes.

“The low point was the Lake District as the terrain is just so rugged. I couldn’t even see the map on my phone because it was so rainy and windy.

“There was hail at one point, and it was so scary not being able to see anything. But I knew if I could get through that bit, I’d be alright.

“Two things kept me going. First, my partner was absolutely phenomenal in terms of moral support over the phone.

It gives you time to enjoy being you. (Image: Becky Williams)

“I also put little videos on Facebook every evening, and some of the messages, comments, and donations they attracted made me feel everyone was on the journey with me.

“The donation amount has gone above and beyond what I thought we’d get, which is just fantastic.”

Becky was a bit of a novice hillwalker when she set off, and certainly new to wild camping and map reading.

Despite these challenges, and the awful weather in the first half, she said she’d ‘definitely recommend doing it to anyone'.

She added: “If you can do it by yourself, do it, because it gives you time to enjoy being you.

“It sounds cheesy, like someone on the X-Factor might say, but it is genuinely a proper journey.

“In spite of the blisters and the aches and pains, if someone said I could do it again in six months’ time, I would bite their hand off.

“Outside of children, it was the most wonderful thing I’ve even done.”

Hebden Green head teacher, Helen Ashley, said: "What an amazing achievement by Becky Williams completing the Coast-to-Coast journey, and raising so much money for our school. 

"We are so grateful for her support, and cannot thank her enough. 

"Well done!”