Reading between the lines Tony, I think he would've taken more given today's lighter equipment. At the time he'd calculated his upper limit to be around 20lbs, given the timescale and distance involved.
For my part, these days, I would reckon 12 lbs an upper limit for me to be able to include some running, which would make an unsupported crossing very tight, allowing for a max of around 3 lbs food only with current kit.
Not relying on queueing in busy pubs etc, though would be an advantage, not to mention savings on food bill...

Slogger - this may be of interest.

http://coast2coast-unplugged.blogspot.com/

To quote 'The challenge is to walk Wainwright's, 190 mile Coast to Coast path from St. Bees in the West to Robin Hood's Bay in the East or vice versa and be totally self-contained and unsupported with no re-supply. Wild camping, obtaining water from natural sources and carrying all food and equipment, the walk becomes free or "unplugged"'

Thanks for that Richard. I will have to spend some time studying it.
Certainly a lot to think about.
I guess I must have got the calorie thing right by default on my 4.5 day crossing, as I hadn't lost any weight at all by the finish. I weighed the same as at the start. My weight only increased in the days after due to the build up of fluid in my legs.
George,
I think it may have been Mick who said he likes a hot drink in the morning, as I have never taken cooking gear on my crossings.
The way I see it is, I either try for a faster more direct, or I try for a fully unsupported Wainwright route.
Two totally different objectives and of course both appeal.
Maybe try one this year and the other next year, however amidst all of this, what I and I'm sure everyone else would really like to hear about is LWM's succesful crossing.
Dave.

From the blog

The rest of the post demonstrates the difficulties in obtaining a safe water supply.Whilst I can understand people wanting to carry their own food I feel that if at all possible water should be obtained from safe supplies.When I did the Cleveland Way in 1991 I obtained water from public toilets and paid the price.When I repeated the walk a couple of years ago I purchased bottled water rather than risk drinking from dodgy supplies.Its simply not worth compromising your health to prove you are a backpacking purist.A couple of years ago I would have openly encouraged people to drink from dubious sources but after having a discussion with a scientist I was shocked to find out what I might be drinking and the long term damage it could do to the body.

From my understanding to make water absolutely to safe to drink, when sourcing from other than drinking water taps, is to boil it for 20 minutes.
The amount of water required for a C2C crossing would take an awful lot of time to do this and would neccesitate several refils during the day.
Attempting a fastish crossing makes that impracticable. The other possible way is by the use of a filtering system, but again is not the fastest thing, when needing a litre or so at a time.
If one is on a longer time schedule then as in the link given, it is possible but on a tight schedule I think Tony is right and a compromise has to be made to go, as self sufficient 'As Possible' and admit that that, does not include water.
Dave.

I had a quick scan through the blog Richard linked too, wow that guy was carry 28Kg from the off....about 18Kg more than I ever want to carry on a multi-day hike. Not my idea of fun but fair play to the guy, he must have been very fit !

You can use water purification tablets. They impart a slight chlorine/iodine taste to the water that some don't like, but there is a brand that comes with a 'partner' tablet that can be added to remove any taste. The tabs are extremely small so weight is not a problem. The good thing about them is you can biff a couple in your bottle and keep moving. I've used them where fuel is at a premium or a filter has become blocked through heavy use.
The other alternatives are boiling or using a water filter, but that is added weight in either filter or in particular, fuel & stove. The time factor in boiling or filtering needn't be a problem if you could plan your hike to end your day at a water source, though of course you'd have to carry enough water then to reach your next water location. (an argument for making your 'run' in cool months?)
Guess it's all a matter of how 'purist' you want to go. I'd personally regard a 'water source' as just that...a water source, whether it's at a place that delivers it by tap, stream,lake or rainfall. There'd be a certain reliability chance degree in any of them being available, so wouldn't that come under 'unsupported'? Delivery by car would be a bit too 'supportive' though!


.

There should never be a problem on the C2C for water.
we ran out once, from the Blue Bell to The Lion Inn,but that was just over consumption on my part. There is always somewhere you can get a safe supply of water.(Well if you are not doing it at night anyway.)

Yeah, that would be me with the tea... and coffee stop lol.
With a 12 day crossing you've plenty of time to boil your water...
I think Dave has something a little quicker in mind, though one could expect to be slowed down somewhat with the extra weight.
With desert crossings one has no option but to carry all your water as well, but to be honest with something like the c2c I can't see the point. I fail to see the difference between buying and scrounging water. You get water from whatever source is readily available. The distinction of carrying your own stuff the full distance and not be met by a support team along the route is obvious but slips into pendatics where water is concerned in my opinion

It does seem a bit of a nonsense re the water and unsupported definition, especially as the is hardly a shortage of it from one source or another.
The reason I mentioned not purchasing water was to try and get across without it costing anything from start to finish, in other words a FREE walk!
It now makes it also pointless to carry all food, just for the sake of it, so it's looking like it's going to be a direct, fast as you can attempt.
Dave.