Hiking Wainwright's Coast to Coast Trail

I haven't done it, but I know people who have (with a group that sent everyone's luggage ahead in a van).

On TripAdvisor there are many reviews of this walk. Here's a sample.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186217-d588704-Reviews-Wainwright_s_Coast_to_Coast_Walk-England.html#review_443175474

Our stays were as follows: Night 1 -- St. Bees (Manor House); Night 2 -- Ennerdale Bridge (Fox and Hounds B&B, Shepard Arms dinner); Night 3 -- Rosthwaite (Scafell Hotel); Night 4 -- Patterdale (Crookabeck Farm); Night 5 -- Shap (Brookfield Guest House); Night 6 -- Kirby Stephen (Fletcher House); Night 7 -- Keld (Keld Lodge); Night 8 -- Reeth (Burgoyne Hotel); Night 9 -- Richmond (Easby Hall); Night 10 -- Ingleby Cross (Park House); Night 11 -- Chop Gate (Buck Inn); Night 12 -- Egton Bridge (Horseshoe Inn); Night 13 -- Robin Hoods Bay (Victoria Inn). All of the lodgings offered breakfast and packed lunches. Some of the lunches were amazing (Brookfield Inn and Fletcher House). We tried to separately review the lodgings and food.

Hope this gives you something to start with.

Almost all of the C2C walkers we encountered overnighted under roofs and almost all used luggage transfer services that picked up bags in the morning and delivered them to the next night's accommodations. We used the Contours Walking Holiday booking service for our self-guided trip. Contours booked overnight accommodations to our schedule specification (including one layover day), arranged for the luggage transfers, and provided OS maps, guidebook and detailed instructions on finding our overnight accommodations.

Accommodations ranged from B&B country inns, to private house B&Bs. Most of our accommodations were on or close to the C2C route. One exception was an country inn a couple of miles from Burn Banks exiting Haweswater Reservoir as we left the Lake District. Contours instructions were to find the red phone booth in Burn Banks, call the specified number and the pre-paid taxi service came and transferred us Crown and Mitre Inn in Bampton Grange. The taxi picked us up the next morning and took us back to the trail head at Burn Banks.

Another off the beaten path overnight stay was a farmhouse B&B that was only a kilometer or so off the C2C trail near at the Clay Top Banks trail head. Other walkers had arrangement to call their B&B host for a pick up from Clay Top Banks.

We did see come camping barns where campers could pitch tents under a roof but camping in the rain after walking for 8 hours in a steady drizzle would be more of an adventure than fun (in my opinion).

We did the two week version with one layover day in Kirkby Steven. That "leisurely pace" included a 23 mile day from Richmond to Ingleby Cross in a steady drizzle. Knowing what I know now, I would have split the 23 mile day into two walking days. And the last day, Glaisdale to Robin Hood's Bay felt like a pretty long day after two weeks of waking.

I would add that breakfasts was included as part of the B&B package while lunch and dinners were on our own. That said, Contours arranged for dinner with our B&B host as an optional extra because there were no nearby pubs in Keld and Clay Top Banks. B&B hosts would also typically offer pack lunches on days were we were in the bush from morning to evening (e.g. Patterdale to Burn Banks). In some villages, one could buy a meat pie for the mid-day meal. Contours warned us of those days.

We walked it in 16 days, staying in hotels and B &B's. Booked through Mickledore Travel. We've also done the West Highland Way and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path with Mickeldore and have been very happy with them.

Thank you for your replies! This is all good information. It will probably make things more difficult for me since I'm a vegetarian! I think the walking group tour will most likely be the best option for this exhausting hike. I was hoping to go it alone and avoid a single supplement fee, but I might have to look into it. I was thinking of approaching this trail as one would the El Camino in Spain, but this seems to be entirely different.

RE: I'm a vegetarian!

I would guess that the Full English Breakfast wil be off your menu, but alternative such as fruit and cereals are available. Hope you aren't limited to a vegan diet.

https://www.contours.co.uk/general/frequently-asked-questions.php#27
Food and Meals FAQ

What meals are provided?

Breakfast is provided each day.

In keeping with the flexible nature of these holidays we do not
provide packed lunches - these can be ordered from your accommodation
the evening before, but there is often an inn, café or restaurant
along the route where you can obtain lunch. The itinerary we provide
lists all the inns, café's, restaurants or tea-rooms along the trail.
Evening meals are not normally included; they can be obtained from
your accommodation each night or from an inn nearby. Your Holiday Pack
contains recommendations on places to obtain evening meals.

I'm a vegetarian / have a special diet, can you cater for this?

Yes. Vegetarian meals are always available. Please tell us of this
requirement when booking. We may also be able to cater for more
restricted diets, but please check with us first before booking.

RE: approaching this trail as one would the El Camino

Some C2C walkers we encountered did go the budget direction with respect to accommodations using the hostels enroute. The booking services such as Contours are more geared to upscale housing and will provide en-suite accommodations when available.

If you self-book, you can search for hostel or bunkhouse accommodations: http://findabunkhouse.com/st-bees-shap/4533625821
However, be warned that I've heard that the bunkhouses tend to be frequented by the younger folks who often still have energy left after a day's walk. After all, they are on holiday and don't need sleep.

Example of camping barns:
http://findabunkhouse.com/swirral-camping-barn/4532703003
Swirral Camping Barn

Swirral Camping Barn is located high up on the Helvellyn range in
amongst some old mine buildings which include the YHA hostel, a field
study centre and Helvellyn Ski club hut. This peaceful location
commands great views of the Lake District fells and is the starting
point of some classic hill walks like Striding Edge, Helvellyn,
Swirral Edge (from where the barn gets its name) and Catstycam.

Swirral Camping Barn is only a mile from Glenridding where you will
find pubs serving food and Real Ale, restaurants, and shops. You
will need to bring with you everything you would normally take on a
camping trip (except the tent) including food, stove and sleeping bag.
Wythmoor Farm Camping Barn is really handy for walkers who wish to
take in Striding Edge and Helvellyn on Wainwright’s Coast to Coast
walk.

Example of hostels:
YHA Borrowdale
http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/borrowdale

YHA Borrowdale is perfect for outdoor activity breaks, school trips
and family breaks. This large Lakeland hostel has a fabulous valley
location with fine mountain scenery and a warm, informal atmosphere.
The hostel is a longstanding Lake District favourite, a recommended
stop on Wainwright’s Coast to Coast and an ideal bolt-hole for anyone
with their sights set on a stress-free high level activity holiday.

This is a landscape of epic proportions and pioneers; not only is the
Lake District England’s largest National Park, it is home to the
country’s highest mountain – Scafell Pike, and its deepest lake –
Wastwater, plus Great Gable is believed to be the birthplace of
British rock climbing. High-level adventure for climbing holidays or
hiking holidays, and family-friendly walking holidays await you and
bustling Keswick is only seven miles away. Enjoy river bathing in
crystal clear water during summer and cosy log fires in winter.

YHA Borrowdale has dorm beds, private room, camping and camping pods.

FREE WI-FI available in communal areas for guests!

Also, we highly recommend this book: Coast to Coast Path: 109 Large-Scale Walking Maps & Guides to 33 Towns and Villages - Planning, Places to Stay, Places to Eat - St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay (British Walking Guides) by Henry Stedman.

There are three websites that are quite useful...
Coast to Coast Definitive Guide - great for general information and a suggested itinerary.
Walking Places - Itineraries - I like this one since it gives various itinerary options for the length of days you want to walk. It also has a nice grid a ways down the page in case you want to make up your own itinerary..
Accommodation Website - This lady has been maintaining this website for years that covers accommodations in all of the locations you might want to stay in depending on your itinerary.
With these three sites you can plan the whole thing yourself! My son was planning this walk a few years back and these were very helpful.
I have done a lot of camping in the Lake District/northern England and would not recommend it for the C2C. Although there are a number of campgrounds along the way it rains on a very regular basis and trying to pack up a wet tent and continue the hike with your wet things would be miserable. It used to be that you could pitch a tent in the corner of a farmer's field just by asking for permission but I know that with the volume of walkers now this isn't really done very much any more. There are a few pubs where they will let you pitch your tent in the back garden areas but again, not as many as there used to be. It's easiest and most comfortable just to book into a b&b or inn each night.
Edit...I noticed that camping barns were recommended in a previous post. I have stayed in many of these and you should know that they are EXTREMELY rustic and basic. Usually they only have a wooden sleeping platform, sink, toilet, and counter area. That's it! If you're lucky the farmer's wife will cook breakfast for you for a fee but that is not guaranteed at all.
Youth hostels in the lakes are actually quite nice...

RE: ...camping barns were recommended in a previous post.

If you read my note about camping barns, I did not "recommend" camping barns, but responded to the OP's interest in economy accommodations like those on the "El Camino in Spain" without singles up charges. I was assuming that the OP was thinking of Camino de Santiago pilgrims where physical suffering is part of the adventure.

I suspect that the origin of "camping barns" are local farmers mucking out their barns for the added income of walkers who want to shelter under a somewhat more substantial and drier shelter than a fabric tent. I understand that camping barns, many run by the YHA, price like hostels and charge by the bed (or sleeping platform) and usually have running water.

That noted, I would not recommend camping barns or just camping to the more genteel RS forum readers unless the reader is in need of economy accommodations. I enjoy the "holiday" side of "walking holidays" and that means a comfortable bed, hot showers, and a full English breakfast. Holiday also means a nice pub to compare adventures with other C2C walkers.