Hiking Risk Disclaimer
Please read before using any CoastToCoast trail information. Last updated: April 2026.
Hiking the Coast to Coast Path is a rewarding but physically demanding activity that carries real, inherent risks of injury, illness, or death. By using CoastToCoast's website, mobile app, or any trail information we publish, you acknowledge and accept those risks. If you are not comfortable with them, please do not rely on our services as your sole source of planning or safety.
1. Inherent risks of hiking the Coast to Coast Path
These risks are part of the activity itself — they are not caused by CoastToCoast and cannot be eliminated:
- Exposed high fells and the trail's high points (Kidsty Pike, 780 m; the watershed at Nine Standards Rigg)
- Slippery, loose, or unstable terrain; rocky scrambles; exposure to heights and cliff edges on the coast
- Fast-changing mountain weather: low cloud and poor visibility, driving rain, wind, hypothermia in any season
- Boggy, peaty ground on the moors that can be hard going and easy to lose your footing on
- Swollen becks and river or stream crossings that can become dangerous after heavy rain
- Navigation errors in cloud or on unmarked, eroded, or re-routed sections — map, compass, and GPS skills are essential
- Limited or no mobile phone signal on remote stages, with limited emergency access
- Short daylight outside the summer months, leaving little margin if you fall behind
- Ticks in bracken and long grass; foot injuries, blisters, sprains, and fractures
- Crime, theft, or traffic accidents in transit between stages
2. Accuracy of our trail information
CoastToCoast compiles trail data from multiple sources — official route authorities, volunteer surveyors, OpenStreetMap, and local agencies. We make every reasonable effort to keep it accurate. However:
- Trail conditions change. A route that was clear last season may be overgrown, eroded, flooded, or closed today.
- Distances and elevations are estimates. They may differ from what you encounter.
- Waymarks (red-and-white stripes) deteriorate. Not all our stage descriptions may reflect the latest re-waymarking.
- GPS tracks may drift or contain errors. Offline maps are only as current as when we last synced them.
- Point-of-interest data (accommodations, restaurants, water sources, bus times) can be out of date within days.
You must verify critical information locally before setting out, and always carry a paper map (the relevant Ordnance Survey sheets, a printed route map) and a compass, and know how to use them. Do not use our app as your sole navigation tool.
3. Your responsibility
You are responsible for:
- Being honest with yourself about your fitness, experience, and health before each day's stage
- Carrying waterproofs and warm layers, adequate food and water, a charged phone plus a backup battery, a paper map, first aid, and an emergency blanket
- Telling someone your route and expected return time, and using CoastToCoast's check-in feature or equivalent
- Checking the mountain weather forecast the morning of every stage (for example the Met Office at metoffice.gov.uk)
- Having the navigation skills (map, compass, and GPS) to find your way in low cloud and poor visibility
- Knowing your route, turning back when conditions demand it, and never walking alone in remote sections if you can avoid it
⚠ In an emergency
CoastToCoast's safety check-in feature is a convenience — it is NOT a substitute for emergency services. If you are in immediate danger or need medical help:
- 999 — the UK emergency number (112 also works, including on any mobile that can reach a network)
- Mountain or fell emergency — call 999 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue
- NHS 111 — for non-emergency medical advice
- emergencySMS (text 999) — register before you set out by texting "register" to 999; useful where there is signal for texts but not calls
Share your GPS coordinates (lat/long) — emergency responders need them. Most mobile maps, including CoastToCoast, let you copy your current coordinates.
4. Guided tours booked through CoastToCoast
If you book a guided tour that we run directly, these risks still apply but the guide will manage navigation, pace, and group safety. You must still follow the guide's instructions and disclose any medical conditions at booking. See our Terms of Service.
5. Services booked from third-party providers
CoastToCoast's marketplace connects you to independent tour agencies, accommodation hosts, luggage-transfer operators, and other providers. CoastToCoast is not responsible for the safety practices or insurance of those providers. Ask each provider for proof of their own liability insurance and safety procedures before booking. See Marketplace Terms.
6. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Pixelo Mobile Ltd (trading as CoastToCoast) is not liable for any loss, injury, illness, or death arising from your use of our trail information or services, except where caused by our own proven negligence. Nothing in this disclaimer excludes liability that cannot be excluded under English law (for example, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or fraud).
7. Contact
Safety concerns, trail correction reports, or to request a data amendment: safety@walkcoasttocoast.co.uk.
Pixelo Mobile Ltd, company number 10585806. Registered office: Demsa Accounts, 565 Green Lanes, Haringey, London, England, N8 0RL.