What is the main setting in the novel, You Are Here?

The Coast to Coast walk is the primary backdrop for the events of You Are Here. In Part One, Cleo "task[s] [Michael] with plotting the route" and he is careful to choose a path that is "challenging but not punishing, picturesque but not touristy" (22). The route "start[s] at the west coast" and follows "a high belt cinched under Scotland's arm, cross[es] the Lakes, over the Pennines, along the Dales and across the Moors, then descend[s] down the Yorkshire coastline," where Michael plans "to dip his toes into the North Sea" (22). The Coast to Coast walk is almost entirely inspired by a route "devised by Alfred Wainwright, 190 miles usually covered in twelve or thirteen days" (22). At the novel's start, Cleo, Marnie, Anthony, and Conrad only plan to hike the first three days of the route. Michael plans to complete the whole hike himself. However, he and Marnie end up completing the majority of the trek together. Ultimately, Marnie drops out in Richmond and Michael stops two days from his destination.

This overarching setting is defined by an ever-changing landscape, which features limestone, slate, hills, forests, and other natural sights and scenes. The Coast to Coast walk immerses the characters in the outdoors and in turn inspires their emotional, psychological, and interpersonal revelations.