Last weekend, Julia Faulkes completed the 190-mile Coast to Coast walk, which became a National Trail in 2022. She says dining was a logistical challenge from the start.
“The beginning and end were a contrast. St Bees in Cumbria was very organised and proactive. When we arrived in Robins Hood’s Bay at the end, everything was closed on a Friday evening. Souvenir shops, sweet shops, cafés and cake shops were all shut. It looked like a thriving little place but everything was closed. We asked a local and he said no one could get staff.”
Along the way, she met many hoteliers and innkeepers working hard to survive.
“We saw a lot of businesses just about hanging in. Staff were doubling up on jobs and working long hours. In some towns there was no food available, especially from Monday to Wednesday. In one smart hotel there was no food at all, and no one on duty after dark.
@Flick I thought even in the 80s Cumbria had some really tourism oriented spots. I lived in York for a while and any place with tourism tends to be overwhelmed with retail jobs (although a lot of school leavers went to Terry's, Nestle Rowntree, or ABB coach works.) Robin Hood's Bay always shaded a little by Whitby and Scarborough (Leeds-sur-mer)
@Flick @sullybiker There was a hotel…can’t remember where off hand, but Highland… that bought another one just to house staff, because they could not find anywhere to live locally.
@sullybiker These days, a lot who can get out to places with better paid, less seasonal jobs (and more affordable housing: work from home, second homes and holiday lets have really made rural housing a nightmare for young and lower-paid people).