Dave Byrnes' Adventures

Land's End to John O'Groats - 2010

Overview     Planning     Schedule     Map     Diary     Pictures

History

The history of walking between Lands End and John O'Groats dates back to 1871 and is described in Wikipedia as follows:

The first recorded end-to-end walk (actually from John o' Groats to Land's End) was undertaken by the brothers John and Robert Naylor in 1871.[1] Since then the walk has been undertaken many times, more particularly since 1960, after a well publicised road walk by Dr Barbara Moore. In 1960 the entrepreneur Billy Butlin organised a road walking race, which gave further impetus to the idea.

Since the 1960s, walkers have mostly chosen off-road routes, using the growing network of long-distance footpaths. A classic account is from 1966 by the travel writer John Hillaby.[2] Off-road walkers usually complete the journey in two to three months. There is a considerable choice of off-road routes, but all are much longer than the shortest road distance, usually 1,200 miles (1,900 km) or more. The walk is still undertaken by road walkers, often doing the walk, like Sir Ian Botham, for charity, or as a "challenge walk". They typically take a month or even less.

The first naked walk from Land's End to John o' Groats was done by Stephen Gough.

The first recorded walk from Land's End to John o' Groats via the summit of every UK mountain above 3,000ft was undertaken by Steve Perry. It included 15 mountains in Snowdonia, 4 mountains in the Lake District and all 284 Munros in the Highlands of Scotland. The walk was completed between 18 February 2003 and 29 September 2003.

My Route

There is no "official" route for walking the 2,000 kilometres from Lands End to John O'Groats.  I researched a number of alternative routes, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.  My primary criteria included

  • staying off roads as much as possible,
  • visiting areas of scenic beauty,
  • avoiding large metropolitan areas, and
  • utilising renowned national trails where feasible.

In the end, I decided that I would try to follow the route described by Andy Robinson in his book "The End to End Trail" published by Cicerone.  He has a website here.

His route seeks out hills and wild country where practical, rather than cultivated farmland, and is described by him as follows:

Section 1: Land's End to Barnstaple (Devon) The first section follows the spectacular northwest coast of Cornwall and Devon all the way. Most of it is on the South West Coast Path, which is a waymarked National Trail.

Section 2: Barnstaple to Knighton (Welsh borders) The route leaves the coast at Barnstaple and crosses Exmoor, the Quantocks and the Mendips to skirt Bristol and reach the M42 bridge over the Severn Estuary. Across the bridge it picks up the Offa's Dyke Path, another waymarked National Trail, and follows it up the Wye valley and over the Black Mountains to Knighton, halfway up the Offa's Dyke Path.

Section 3: Knighton to Hebden Bridge (West Yorkshire) From Knighton the Trail heads northeast through the Shropshire hills to cross the Severn again at Ironbridge. It then continues in a more easterly direction into Staffordshire, joining the Staffordshire Way and following it across Cannock Chase and north towards the Peak District. It crosses the Peak along limestone valleys and gritstones edges on the line of the Alternative Pennine Way, to reach Hebden Bridge in the Calder Valley.

Section 4: Hebden Bridge to Jedburgh (Scottish borders) Just north of Hebden Bridge the Trail joins the Pennine Way, following it as far as the Scottish border in the Cheviot Hills. It then makes a beeline for Jedburgh, following Dere Street, a Roman road.

Section 5: Jedburgh to Fort William The route crosses the Southern Uplands via Melrose, Peebles and West Linton to join the Union Canal west of Edinburgh. It follows the Union Canal to Falkirk, then the Forth and Clyde Canal most of the way to Glasgow, leaving it for a disused railway track which is eventually joined by the West Highland Way. The Trail now follows the West Highland Way along Loch Lomond, along the edge of Rannoch Moor, and past the foot of Ben Nevis to reach Fort William.

Section 6: Fort William to John O'Groats Initially this stage follows the Caledonian Canal to the northeast along the Great Glen, before cutting north into wilder areas of the Highlands. The route visits Glen Garry, Strath Cluanie, the head of Glen Affric, the tremendous Falls of Glomach and Kinlochewe, to reach the head of Loch Broom on the west coast. From here the direction changes to northeast, crossing wild and remote country to Oykel Bridge, round the northwest end of Loch Shin, then out of the mountians to the lower moorland around the Helmsdale and Thurso valleys. The last few miles follow the cliffs of the east coast to Duncansby Head and John O'Groats.

You can find a map showing his route here.

 

ADVENTURE LIST

 

Round Ireland
(2016)

Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)

Via Alpina
(2012)

Australian Alps Walking Track
(2011)

Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)

Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)

Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)

Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)

Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)

Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)

Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)

Three Peaks Race
(2004)

Appalachian Trail
(1986)

Alpine Track
(1983)

You can email Dave directly at dave@davebyrnes.com.au or subscribe to his Adventure Blogs here.

You can see Dave's Running Blog here.