I finished my pilgrimage as scheduled, on the morning on Saturday 12 July, when I hiked the last 7 miles from my campsite in the corner of a large windy field shared with a few sheep. Got to John O’Groats up there in the northeast corner of Scotland before the businesses that sell trinkets and refreshments to the tourists opened. But not before the tourists had arrived. I asked a woman who was part of a bus tour group to take my photo standing next to the iconic sign that I’d walked 75 days reach.
Read moreStarting with the First Step
My first steps were actually leaving home with Ann on Sunday afternoon as she drove me to Dulles Airport. But today I took the first of my footsteps carrying me the length of the United Kingdom.
After eating that modified full English breakfast I walked town a bit waiting for 11:00 bus, which left station at 11:08 and drove me back past Lugger Inn. We arrived just an hour later in Land’s End. (Ten miles or so took an hour due to several stops, and to the narrow teisting roads – some are really only a lane and a half wide, have two way traffic, and random parking half on and half off the pavement. Reminded me a little of driving in New York City except that everyone here seem much more polite about waiting for the other driver and taking turns.)
I walked around Land’s End for about an hour. With the several kindred other people who were also visiting. Took some photos. Met an old friend from Peru who said we should take a photo together.
The famous signpost behind us says it’s 3,147 miles to New York. Which helps explain the polite drivers maybe.
They have a nice exhibit about LEJOG end-to-enders in one of their buildings. All about the history of doing it, and the variety of ways, as well as various records set. It only attracted one tourist while I was on site.
I started walking at 1:18 pm. Walked through farmland most the day. And arrived at St Buryan around 3:15. The Anglican church there is open all day to visitors, so I went in and prayed, took a few photos of the interior, walked a little of the graveyard, and then sat on a bench outside having snacks.
I haven’t seen a device like this in a church before:
The signpost outside said it’s 5 miles to Penzance. I set off at 3:43 for the second half of today’s walk and got back to the inn at 5:45.
After dinner at the Inn, I went to a grocery to feed myself the next few days.
And, so, goodnight.
Proxy Pilgrim with Springer Fever
Among American long distance hikers there’s a thing – a real thing – called “Springer Fever.” It hits this time of year. Hard to avoid. Not that you’d necessarily want to. It’s this deep urge to go hiking again, to be back in Georgia on Springer Mountain (hence the name), starting another Appalachian Trail hike. Or, for me this year, walking church to church the length of Britain.
Read moreLEJOG overview map
I have lifted this map from the inside front cover of Cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats: LEJOG end-to-end on quiet roads and traffic-free paths by Richard Barrett. 3rd edition. Kendal, Cumbria : Cicerone, ©2021. It shows pretty much the route I’m planning on walking northbound, except for the two diversions I’ve already mentioned: the Offa’s Dyke Path, and the Annandale Way.
Read morethe non-walking world
“In a world so full of not-walking, it feels almost subversive to set out on foot. But the mind seems most keen and able to think its realest thoughts while walking, as though the two acts were tied up in some ancient, well-worn, unspoken routine. And even then it is possible to notice a difference in the texture of one’s thoughts depending on whether you are walking with our against the flow of nearby water, a phenomenon that can likely be replicated in crowded streets of people.”
Sanders, Ella Frances. “Vázzit” in her column ‘Root Catalog’ in Orion, vol 42, no. 1 (Spring 2023), p. 96.
Comment: some people think best while walking. Some people pray best while walking. And in our world, few people walk voluntarily, it seems.
Pathology: the Study of a Path 