Rishi Sunak MP joins Ian Hewitt of the Burgoyne Hotel in Reeth, Kathryn Beardmore, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's director of park services, and Councillor Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council. Photo: YDNPA

A scheme to gain national-trail status for Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk has received the backing of a top politician.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak joined authority members in welcoming proposals to upgrade the long-distance route, which links St Bees Head in Cumbria with Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire.

Mr Sunak represents the Richmond constituency, through which a long section of the path passes, in the House of Commons.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority said it is looking forward to working with Natural England and local partners to designate the Coast to Coast footpath as a national trail.

The feasibility work will take place during the current year with a view to Natural England presenting a formal proposal to government early in spring 2022.

Nick Cotton, the authority’s member champion for recreation management, said: “The designation of the Coast to Coast as a national trail is a key objective within our national park management plan 2019-2024 and we’re delighted that this is now a big step forward to making it a reality.

“There’s a lot of work to do between now and next spring working with landowners and local communities as well as our neighbouring national parks and local authorities, and of course Natural England who have the statutory responsibility for national trails.”

The late author and artist devised A Coast to Coast Walk and published a guide to it in 1973, calculating its length as 190 miles. Despite being followed by thousands of walkers each year, the route has never been officially designated a national trail, which brings a higher level of improvement and maintenance, along with grants in England, from the government’s statutory advisory body on the outdoors, Natural England.

The Coast to Coast Walk passes through three national parks: the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors.