Skip to main content

Planning


Whilst I've been recovering from the op, I've had plenty of time to plan my walk.  I had originally intended to simply stop when tired, camping most of the way and booking a bed and breakfast once a week or so.

My nerve has deserted me!  I have now broken the walk down into roughly 12 mile days, and I've booked campsites, bed and breakfasts, and ear-marked possible wild camping spots. For much of the time, this tent (Durston Xmid Pro 2P) which I trialled on the Dales Highway in July, will be my home:



I have to say, getting stuck into the planning has made me more and more excited that the walk is possible and will actually happen now, with renewed determination to get myself fit and well for the start of the walk.

I'm currently walking about a mile a day - sounds awful considering where I was before the op, but never mind.  The target is to increase that over the next 8 weeks to 12 miles, gradually adding weight to the backpack as I fully heal and gain strength.  

The high level plan for the walk is as follows:

  • Days 1-10            Penzance to Tintagel                                                  120 miles
  • Days 11-20          Tintagel to Quantocks                                                240 miles
  • Days 21-30          Quantocks to Hay-on-Wye                                         360 miles
  • Days 31-40          Hay-on-Wye to Thorpe                                                480 miles
  • Days 41-50          Thorpe to Horton-in-Ribblesdale                               610 miles
  • Days 51-60           Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Byrness                            730 miles
  • Days 61-70           Byrness to Linlithgow                                                850 miles
  • Days 71-80           Linlithgow to Kinlochleven                                        960 miles
  • Days 81-90           Kinlochleven to Loch Broom                                   1080 miles
  • Days 91-100         Loch Broom to John O'Groats                                1220 miles


Splitting this a little differently according to the National Trails, the route looks like this:

  • Days 1-16             South West Coastal Path (Penzance to Barnstaple) (16 days)
  • Days 17- 25          Barnstaple to Chepstow                                                  (9 days)
  • Days 26 - 32         Offa's Dyke Path (Chepstow to Knighton)                     (7 days)
  • Days 33- 42          Knighton to Edale                                                            (10 days)
  • Days 43-62           Pennine Way (Edale to Kirk Yeltholm)                         (20 days)
  • Days 63- 73          Kirk Yetholm to Drymen (Loch Lomond)                     (11 days)
  • Days 74- 81          West Highland Way (Drymen to Fort William)              (8 days)
  • Days 82-91           Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William to Oykel Bridge)         (10 days)
  • Days 92-99           Oykel Bridge to Keiss                                                        (7 days)
  • Days100 -101       Keiss to John O-Groats                                                    (2 days)


 As you can see, the walk isn't quite as neat as 1200 miles (its more like 1220), and I'll likely take a bit longer than 100 days, but you get the drift! 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 17, 2025 at 8:09 AM

    Dear Anne, thank you for clarifying the Lairg conundrum as I was wondering which route you’d be taking when you first mentioned it! Must have been amazing passing under an Osprey nest, wow. Good luck on this last stage - and fingers Xd with your boots! Mark (Lethbridge)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 19, 2025 at 7:39 AM

      Thank you Mark! Fortunately I had my old boots to fall back on, so all good!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Please do leave a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Choosing the Route

  Since I was first diagnosed with CLL, and started long distance walking, I've been fortunate enough to walk the North and South Downs Ways (2018), the Norfolk Coastal Path (2019), Coast to Coast (2021), the Menorcan Coastal Path and the Ridgeway (2023), the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, the Dales Highway and the Cotswold Way (2024). In amongst those, I walked the Pennine Way (2020) and the South West Coastal Path (2022) for charity.   In walking these routes, I realised that I love walking on my own, enjoy being immersed in the surroundings around me, able to go at my own pace, stop, observe, and simply be. I love the high moors and mountains but also our beautiful rugged coast - especially the north Cornwall coastline. I very much wanted to re-walk that part of the South West Coastal Path but extended to Penzance - a stretch with which I had been particularly taken.  I also wanted to re-walk the Pennine Way - eventually postponing this so as to incorporate it into t...
2 comments
Read more

The Home Stretch: Looking back on my journey so far

I can’t quite believe I’m writing this… but there are only 19 days left of this wild, beautiful, crazy journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats! In some ways, it feels like I’ve been walking forever - through rain or shine I have so far walked 1,110 miles! And yet, I can still remember the excitement and the nerves I felt setting off at the very bottom of Cornwall - but that does seem a lifetime away. But this isn’t just about the miles. It never was. It’s been about the extraordinary and varied natural world of the British Isles, which I’ve had the chance to really savour at leisure.    It’s been about the people I have met and the huge range of conversations and support I’ve had.   It’s been knowing that my father is meticulously following me on the map with a piece of precious bluejohn and willing me on every step of the way - as have so many others. But most of all it’s been about remembering my beautiful, wise and ever-patient mother, who I will always treasure ...
7 comments
Read more

Day 80: Kinlochleven to Braveheart Car Park (Fort William) (13.5 miles)

The previous night we had been delighted when a pine marten came to visit the bird feeders while we ate dinner. The feeders were also drawing in chaffinches, coal and great tits, and siskins.  Having decided to delay my rest day to the following day when bad weather was forecast, I still pleaded for a slower start that morning, which meant that with a 90 minute drive back to my start point we didn’t set off until 11am. It was a steady and in some places, steep climb out of Kinlochleven, but with a breeze blowing, no midges and plenty of interesting geology to work out. In these lower stretches there was metamorphosed limestone which almost looked like marble in some cases. Further up we saw slate bedding which had been skimmed off by glacial erosion…. Martin acted as model for my photo. We got to the first col at 12 with fine views back to the north face of some of the Glen Coe crags up the Kinlochleven valley, and into the High Pass where I would continue to walk. Granite was now ...
2 comments
Read more