Uncharted Thoughts.

What was it like?

It has been seven years, three months and ten days (I think) since I finished the pilgrimage. So remembering every aspect of the walk, or attempting to remember it without rose tinted glasses is difficult. I could easily sit here and tell you it was the best eighty one days of my life, that there were no hardships and each day ended with a sunset and a cold beer.

However, this isn’t strictly true. John O’ Groats to Lands End was full of hardship, wet and cold weather, desperation and the occasional violent episode (I’ll get into that later).

I’ll start with the good, in which there was an abundance. In Scotland I lay before nights of endless stars, below the canopy of snow capped mountains, tall creaking trees and gentle passing rivers. In Northern Ireland I witnessed the kindness of a thousand strangers, each greeting me like an old friend, letting me rest my head wherever it may have lay. In Ireland I understood the meaning of charity, wherever I drank, ate and slept I was showered with charitable people. Without hesitation a hat was passed around the pub, hostel or restaurant, gifting my cause with generosity. In Wales I walked among farmlands of purity. Green fields, livestock and raging sun that pushed me further south. In England, I learnt how lucky we are to have such outstanding beauty. In which one night stands out among the rest, while coming to a close, the earth showed me one of its most wonderous sights, one that has yet to be topped. I lay on a stone slab, looking west at the burning setting sun, no tent, just me in the sleeping bag with the waves of the northern shore lapping gently at the beach. I watched the sun dip below the sea, leaving its slowly melting pink shadow behind.

Yet, there were times of desperation, of lack of hope. Be it coughing my lungs out in my tent in the town centre of some small town, throwing my guts up after drinking poor water, being beaten senseless by an angry drunk man in a pub, freezing on the side of a mountain, sleepless nights and long wet days are all part of the experience. Ones that you look back on fondly, but at the time seemed like the end of the world.

What should you take?

Thinking about doing your own Thru-hike? or following my footsteps from John O’ Groats to Lands End? here are some of the key things I found most useful when packing from such an adventure.

(Recommended gear)

• Light Weight Tent. (Terra Nova Laser Compact 1 Person Ultralight)
• Light Weight Sleeping Bag (Time of year dependent but RAB is a good option)
• 65+ Litter Backpack (Ospray Ariel Plus 85)
• A Jet Boiler (Flash 2.0)
• Spend Liberally on Boots (Scarpa Marmolada Pro HD)
• Money (£1000-£1500)
• Something to do (Music, Diary, Drawing Pad, Camera)

My bag at the start of the walk weighed in at roughly thirty kilograms, maybe thirty two after a water stock up. However, this was unnecessary, by the end of the walk my bag probably weighed in at twelve or thirteen kilograms.

I threw away a lot of clothes. I did the walk in May, if you had a look into my bag at that time you would have thought I was attempting a summit within the Himalayan region. Thick jumper, woollen soaks, hats and gloves and even winter trousers. By the time I arrived in Wales, these were in bins scattered across the Northern parts of the U.K. and in Ireland.

Additionally, I had thrown out large gas canisters and replaced them with smaller ones and I no longer carried six days worth of food with me. Even now, I will plan a day hike across the Lake District and pack enough food to supply a small legion of soldiers. Old habits die hard.

What should you expect?

One thing that you should definitely expect from this epic adventure is a lifetime of fond memories and joy. There isn’t a month that goes by that I do not find myself gazing into space, remembering all the incredible moments that still remain in my life tapestry. Sadly, some of those moments are lost to time and will never be revisited. Yet on the whole, I remember enough to keep me smiling through bad times. I hope, when I am old and grey, I will sit around a Christmas tree with my grandchildren and tell them my stories.

What preparation is needed

I was twenty one when I started, so my body was a lot more adaptable than it is today. I walked once every week/two weeks across Dartmoor with most of my kit and added supplies to make up the weight. I was relatively fit anyway, having done a numerous amount of sports in my late teens. However, I was a smoker, and I drank a lot and I have had long episodes of being chunky. So depending on your own fitness level, I would structure training to your own accord.

To be able to complete John O’ Groats to Lands End, you need to be able to walk, comfortably, at least twenty miles a day consecutively. I don’t suggest you train to be walking twenty miles a day for weeks on end. Your body will adapt as you make your way south. However, I would recommend walking 20+ miles 2x a week with all equipment until it is comfortable to do so.

Strength training is also important, having that weight on your back and any additional weight on your body could prove to be difficult at the beginning of the walk. Each section of the walk has its difficulties, starting at John O Groats was beneficial as it was relatively flat. I was able to adjust to the weight better than if there were coastal hills. I’d recommend press ups, pull ups and squats. Be able to average eighty press ups a session, four to five pull ups a set and squat one hundred and forty or more a session.

Honestly, the best training that can be done is to get out there are walk. At the time I was working in McDonalds five or six days a week with nine to twelve hour shifts. I was on my feet all day every day, so I had a better start than most do. Additionally, I think that will power and a positive mindset is far more important to completing this challenge. A body can adapt to walking with weight easily, however I would say that each time I considered giving up it was my mind that brought me down, told me I couldn’t do it. After a week, arriving in Inverness I looked at a map and realised that I was perhaps 1/10 of the way. It was my mind that filled me with doubt.

What did completing it feel like?

I remember arriving at the cape of Cornwall, less than a days walk from Lands End. I set up my tent in a car park overlooking the ocean, completing my usual routine of cooking, writing in my daily diary and washing. As the sun set creating a explosion of orange and burning red across the dying blue sky, I was finally able to look back at what I had achieved.

Crowds gathered to take photos of the setting sun and endless ocean, some stared at me and my pen and pad. I must have been one hell of a sight, I don’t blame them for staring. My beard had grown out wild, my hair long and matted, my clothing falling from my body as I now weighed in at ten stone. My eyes bright blue contracting against my tanned, weathered skin.

I remember after watching the sun dip behind the horizon, climbing into my sleeping bag one last time full of hope for the future.

As I approached the Lands End finish line I remember almost passing my dad as he ran ahead to try and get photos of me walking alone the coastal path. I was so fit and quick at walking at this point that my dad had to near sprint back to get photos of me. My mother clapped and waved, my father smiled, my grandmother and grandfather near cried and I smiled like the world was at my feet. From ear to ear my skinny face beamed with delight. I had done it. I had done something. I was not worthless. My teachers can go to hell.

Utter euphoria.