Lands End to John O’Groats
Some of us know David Lloyd as the Gooner who brings the Arsenal banner to The Polwarth Tavern when we gather to watch televised matches.
More now about David the Gooner who has already walked 500 miles, and will walk 500 more, to raise money for Leuchie House, a charity-run organisation which provides respite care for adults with neurological conditions.
Here he is wearing his Arsenal scarf at Land’s End, the conventional start for the ‘LEJOG walk’ to John O’Groats.
Having started last Easter, with intention was to stop off to watch Arsenal matches en route and to have finished by mid-July. And perhaps put in an appearance at the Arsenal Scotland AGM on Sunday 3rd August 😉
But as with many plans …
Walk 500 More
“The plan now is to complete the walk through Scotland in two stages, with a few days rest between. If it all works out well, I might finish in time to join the crew in the Polwarth Tavern for the first game of the new season!”
Arsenal Scotland Supporters Club has had a long tradition of charitable fund raising. And pleased to report that this fund-raising is going well, with opportunity to contribute still open, the Just Giving page found here
For the full story from David Lloyd, read on:
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“Somehow, I had the idea fixed in my head that I should try to walk the length of the country from Land’s End to John O’Groats, commonly known as LEJOG.”
There is no fixed route, so part of the challenge is working out which paths and trails to follow. I did this using an old AA Road Atlas in which I highlighted the various trails to see how they would link up. I reckoned my route would be about 1200 miles and maybe take me about three months from start to finish.
“I planned to set off on Easter Sunday and finish in mid-July, in time to return home to Edinburgh for my wedding anniversary.”
When first I said this was it just for the challenge, I was always told that I was crazy. When I decided to do it for charity, no-one said I was crazy anymore! The charity I chose was Leuchie House which provides respite care for adults with neurological conditions. If anyone would like to donate to this, here’s the link to the Just Giving page.
“As is traditional, the journey starts with a picture at the signpost at Land’s End. They charge £12 for a photo at the post – but not if you get there early! So I arrived at 8am and another walker there took the obligatory photo.”
I was trying to carry as little as possible but, as you can see, I had my Arsenal scarf as my route would include key stops to watch the Champions League semi-finals and hopefully the final (alas, not to be). The other walker had just finished walking from John O’Groats to Land’s End. When I said I hoped to finish by mid-July, he said, “Hmmm, thirteen weeks? Bit optimistic.” I hadn’t even left the signpost and here was someone raining on my parade!
That was much the only rain I would get for five weeks as I had chanced upon the longest, hottest springtime in the UK since records began. My route took me along the coast of Cornwall and Devon with stunning views and some tough walking.
“The path kept going from the cliff tops down to the sea and then sharply back up.”
From there I had the blessed relief of flat terrain until I reached Glastonbury and then on towards Bath to climb up Solsbury Hill, where I found myself on the exposed hilltop just as a thunderstorm arrived. Thirty minutes of heavy rain was a fair price for the glorious weather of the previous three weeks.
The sunshine returned as I walked on the Cotswold Way, glad to be finally heading northwards. This is a beautiful trail which attracts lots of tourists who walk southwards towards Bath. Many of the people I met on this trail were Americans, happy to be escaping the crazy politics of the USA.
After the clearly marked Cotswold Way, I moved on to minor trails to get through the Midlands. These trails were easy to follow near towns due to all the dogwalkers but the rural parts became tricky, navigating across open fields from hedgerow to hedgerow and hoping the stile at the other side hadn’t become overgrown.
Five weeks on and the weather broke, again becoming very changeable. Days of rain alternated with days of sunshine but always with a very strong westerly wind. Despite this change, my spirits were still high and I was making good progress.
My confidence was soon to be challenged by the Pennine Way. This was designed as a wilderness trail, so there are long treks across open moorland with few options for wild camping or getting food. It took a while to adjust and accept that I would need to stay at campsites near the towns. However, I did have one night in the ruins of the building that was said to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. Very spooky!
“As I reached the halfway point on the Pennine Way, my shoes finally fell apart and had to be held together with a bit of cord.”
With that repair I managed to get to the next town where I could get a bus to a rail station and then go home for new shoes.
And so, a visit to my house! It was great to meet up with my family again, but I was shocked to find that I had lost two stones in the seven weeks. With at least five weeks to go, it was clearly not sustainable or healthy to go straight back to the trail. Turned out that I had been a bit optimistic after all!
I spent three weeks, resting and fattening up, before heading back and walking the northern section of the Pennine Way in miserable weather. Seeing the regenerating stump of the tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall gave me the inspiration to be resilient.
The weather improved as I left Hadrian’s Wall and the next week was a glorious heatwave as I moved through the Borders, being met by my wife for the walk near Melrose and by my three kids to walk into Edinburgh from Carlops. The downside was that I had lost all the weight I had regained.
“The plan now is to complete the walk through Scotland in two stages, with a few days rest between. If it all works out well, I might finish in time to join the crew in the Polwarth Tavern for the first game of the new season!”
I’ll then be taking round the hat for Leuchie House, the charity I chose. But if you can’t wait, here’s that link again to the Just Giving page. 😉
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