2 months and 900miles.

[PurpleHeath]

for the past few days i have had this idea running round my head, a week ago i when on a leadership course, and to introduce ourselves to the rest of the group we had to stand up a give a talk about our goals in life. i have wanted to walk form Lands End to John'o'Groats for few years now. so i jokingly told this to a friend who told me to stand up a say it. (as we didn't have that many life goals) so i got up a told everyone my target of walking the 900miles before i was 29, (i was actually expecting a bit of a laugh, no one did! ). at the moment i am 18 which gives me 11 years in which to do it. but over the past couple of days i have realised that the best change of me actually walking it is to do it this summer after i finish at collage.

has anyone ever done lands end to john'o'groats before either cycling, running, riding or walking? if so i would love to hear your experience of it. also if i do the walk i would like to raise money for charties but i am not quite sure how to go about doing this. if anyone has any ideas of how i put my dream into action that would be great! thanks

 

[Buckshot]

In terms of raising money, have a look on some charity websites. They have loads of ideas/ tips on the best ways to maximise cash gathering. After all they rely on people like to bring the money in.
Decide who you'd like the money to go to and contact them direct - they'll probably have a sponsorship pack they can send you as well.

Cheers

Mark

 

[andyn]

That is a very good goal to have. Certainly not a laughable one!

It certainly would be advisable to do it now rather than wait till you hit your mid 20's as you'll start to find "normal life" starts to get in the way of your dreams.

Not sure how much help it is but i found this on google: http://www.mayfair.u-net.com/walk.html

Good luck.

 

[xairbourne]

You could always approach your local paper to raise your profile and drum up some extra support they love a local hero story.

 

[Don Redondo]

Laudable as charity walks are, there is always the problem that so many have done 'the walk' and so it has less impact [in terms of money raised] these days than in the past, unless you are a 'celeb' or have a particular hook to make you stand out.

since this is a bushcraft forum and you are a 'bushcrafter' [anywhere on a scale of 1 -10] then that should be your 'hook'.

So how about doing it entirely unaided, what you have you carry, no comfy bed, no back up, no food..........

 

[PurpleHeath]

i would like to get a team together so that the carrying of equipment and other things such as food and shelter can be shared between the group. and also if you have a team the likely hood of you raising lots of money increases. i was thinking maybe do it mediveal style?!

 

[Lifthasir]

I've never done this walk, but I've done years of mountain backpacking so
hopefully I can cover a few salient points.

You may have left it too late for this year. Such a long walk requires a lot of
logistical preparation. You'll need to get fit for such walking first -
mainly to find the kind of clothing and footwear that suits your body. You'll need to plan a route,
accomodation, money, food, water, emergency sheltering, maps, etc.

Your two month goal demands 15 miles each day without rest. If you are
planning to carry everything with you it will be a gruelling slog. Assuming you stay in B&B,
you will be able to eliminate tent and sleeping bag, but you will require all your other items
such as wash kit, change of clothes, underwear etc. etc.

If you have backup support, they will be able to wash your clothes and carry out
chores for you. Supply you with company, books to read at night, carry your
money, keep you on route etc..If you're walking for charity they can deal with
publicicity. Basically they can do everything and leave you to just walk. After a
week on the road, you may find that you are not sociable enough to deal with
anyone or anything other than putting one foot in front of the other for the required
number of steps.

You should think about rest days, or half rest days. This will provide a mini goal
for you each week. Something to aim for. Without such mini goals you will
struggle and more than likely fail. But your mini goals need to mean something
to you. It may have been Ian Botham who said that if it wasn't for the publicity
(and the public humiliation if he stopped), he would probably have jacked
it in and written a cheque for charity instead.

B&B at £15-00 each night amounts to £900-00. You will need much more
food than this to go on with. You'll end up eating like a horse. This will cost more
for two people. It will be much more if someone in a vehicle supports you on
certain stretches.

The hardest thing of all is the mental challenge you will face. 60 days of walking
will be a massive challenge. How will you alleviate boredom? How will you cope
when you wake up to the 8th day of pouring rain, during a particularly hilly section
when you have blisters and chaffing and all your gear is still wet.

Most people plan for a year or so before attempting something like this.

Plan your days such that flat, easy stretches eat up the miles and short, hilly
stretches demand fewer miles. Don't look at a map and simply count off 15
miles each day with a map measurer. Walk south to north to keep the prevailing
wind at your back most of the time.

Buy plenty of zinc oxide tape, Spenco 2nd skin and the likes. Also Germoline for
nasty chaffing areas!

Good luck!

 

[PurpleHeath]

Buy plenty of zinc oxide tape, Spenco 2nd skin and the likes. Also Germoline for
nasty chaffing areas!
Good luck!

thanks!! i use zinc and castor oil cream

i wouldn't say that i am a well practiced walker or backpacker, but i have done a few miles. i did nijmegen in 2004 and didn't stop training. i know i have left it a little late in the year to start thinking about it now but it is just one of those things that if you don't do it now then you know that you will never do it! i would love to stay in B&B but i just can't afford it.

 

[Woods Wanderer]

ha ha ha (only kidding) no that sounds like an exelent idea id love to go along with you(itl be best if you go with a trusted mate though dont want to find you have 895 miles with somone who annoys you) but i wish you all the luck just reminds me of a man i heard about who walked around the world in 11 years i know of some cyclists whos done the 900 miles but couldnt get anything out of them but good on you

 

[bothyman]

Just so you can't get lost try this.

>> http://www.jbutler.org.uk/e2e/index.shtml

MickT

 

[KIMBOKO]

I have a friend who did it a many years ago I will ask him and get back to you. Whilst you are doing the most northerly, westerly and southerly points why not the most easterly point at Lowestoft?.

 

[PurpleHeath]

Laudable as charity walks are, there is always the problem that so many have done 'the walk' and so it has less impact [in terms of money raised] these days than in the past, unless you are a 'celeb' or have a particular hook to make you stand out.

since this is a bushcraft forum and you are a 'bushcrafter' [anywhere on a scale of 1 -10] then that should be your 'hook'.

So how about doing it entirely unaided, what you have you carry, no comfy bed, no back up, no food..........

what about very determined, very short, 18 year old collage student on a very tight buget?

 

[redflex]

I would recommend doing mini long distance walks, just to build up to it. Find local walking groups along the route get them to walk with you on their local patches, gives you company and local contacts.
If you rely on one person for support be careful the can be ill, have problem with transport etc . Always have enough money for emergency accomodation you may need it even for one night only.

 

[Emma]

As the proud big sister I should point out that PurpleHeath has done the Nijmegen march already, and as she said hasn't stopped training for it, although I gather her cadet squadrons idea of training is a few 10 or 15 mile marches, and then a couple of 25 mile ones. She's done several years of this training. Having walked with her she's very sensible.

Thanks everyone for your posts so far, excellent advice, and have got me thinking. (And I'm not even going to be doing it! (Well, maybe a few stretches...))

Anyway, if she's going to do this, I have my own questions that I'd love people to throw a few ideas around about:
What sort of support is likely to be needed? I reckon it's possible to post (dehydrated) food, maps, and books to a "friendly" in an approximate area, but is it a good idea?
How derogatory to morale is having to do ones own laundry on such a long trip? How often might a sleeping bag need to be washed? (I just do mine when it gets smelly, no idea how often I sleep in it between washes...)
What other support will be needed?
How likely is it that we can find friendly landowners who will let her and others camp on their land with a basha, when we can't meet face-to-face beforehand, and may not be able to give a definite day for staying there?
Are there any counties who don't allow tents or bashas in camp sites? I remember once we had an awful time trying to find a place near Newcastle only to eventually be told that tents weren't allowed at all.
Those of you who have done long trips, how do you cope with the monotony? It's all very well before starting to say "I've never been bored whilst walking before, I love this country, it's beautiful" but familiarity would kick in fairly soon I guess.
How dark is it in northernmost Scotland in the end of September and beginning of October? I guess it will be mostly OK in September, what with the equinox, but October? Probably seems a stupid question, but I've lived my life on the south coast...
(And how much of northernmost Scotland has mobile phone coverage?? )

 

[PurpleHeath]

awwhh thanks big sis!!!

:You_Rock_

 

[Mat]

My wife and I were going to walk the Coast to Coast path in 2001 but the Foot and Mouth breakout stuffed our plans. We decided to cycle John O'Groats to Lands End instead, and without a doubt it was the best holiday we have ever had - it even beat cycling in Tuscany for our Honeymoon!

We used a combination of Youth Hostels and B&B's. Youth Hostels are cheap and friendly and you can wash your clothes and cook your own meals. We stayed in a B&B every few days as a treat (as Lifthasir said, it's good to have something to look forward to) but it does add to the expense as you have to eat out.

We enjoyed the trip so much we have made a pact with ourselves to do it again when we retire, and walk it.

We didn't raise money for charity - we do 'our bit' in other ways and did not have a support crew. Scotland was easy, Devon and Cornwall nearly killed us! We live on the South Coast so starting in Scotland meant that it always felt like we were 'heading home'.

If you are going to walk you are faced with a crucial dilema. If you do not take your own tent, sleeping bag etc and stay at B&B's you could find that after a long days walk you could still be a very long way from any accomodation (in Scotland we cycled one road that was 30 miles long and did not see a single person or car for 2 hours!). If you do take your own accomodation (tent, sleeping bag, cooker etc) you will have to walk every day with a heavy weight on your back. OK, for a couple of days, but 60?

My advice would be cycle it now (we took 2 weeks, but you could have a crack at the record of 63 hours ) and walk it when you're retired!!!!!!!

 

[Nemisis]

Its a shame the BCUK members map no longer works that might have been of help with advice and logistics when planning the trip. You mentioned mobile phone coverage, I think a bigger problem might be recharging the battery even with the latest your looking to recharge it at least 12/15 times in 90 days.
Dave.

 

[PurpleHeath]

all my plans are going nicely so far, all the advice poeple have offered has been really helpful. i plan to start around the 4th august in the summer and hopefully it should not take me more than 70 days (if i average over 13.5 miles a day i should be o.k)

the thing is at the monment i can not decide which charity to walk for. any suggestions would be great.

also if anyone is interested in joining me sent me a PM and sent you some info!!
:You_Rock_

 

[rcorbett10]

Are you going to start in Scotland or Cornwall? let me know of the dates you'll be in cornwall, i live in penzance (about 8 miles from lands end) and would love to see you off/congratulate you at the finish, which ever it will be!

Rob Corbett

 

[capacious]

for the past few days i have had this idea running round my head, a week ago i when on a leadership course, and to introduce ourselves to the rest of the group we had to stand up a give a talk about our goals in life. i have wanted to walk form Lands End to John'o'Groats for few years now. so i jokingly told this to a friend who told me to stand up a say it. (as we didn't have that many life goals) so i got up a told everyone my target of walking the 900miles before i was 29, (i was actually expecting a bit of a laugh, no one did! ). at the moment i am 18 which gives me 11 years in which to do it. but over the past couple of days i have realised that the best change of me actually walking it is to do it this summer after i finish at collage.

has anyone ever done lands end to john'o'groats before either cycling, running, riding or walking? if so i would love to hear your experience of it. also if i do the walk i would like to raise money for charties but i am not quite sure how to go about doing this. if anyone has any ideas of how i put my dream into action that would be great! thanks

Hey,

I cycled it last summer, and it was fantastic. Thurso was amazing. It really is an eye opener about the different cultures within this country. The route I took was a touch longer, because I had to bivi it all the way cos I couldn't afford b&b's etc, so it was almost 1500 miles

You'll have the time of your life on it, I assure you.

One tip though - start in Land's End. There is no public transport further north than Thurso, and if you start in Scotland you have all the beautiful scenery to begin with, and finish up in the massively tacky Penzance, which is depressing.

Also, you should go to Dunnet Head (which is where I finished up) because that is actually the point furthest away from Land's end, so adds an extra few miles that you can brag about

If you want to know any more, then PM me, I've got **** loads of photos somewhere (I think they may be in the loft....)

Jake.