Time to walk: July 2011

Weather: Cloudy with gentle northerly

Distance covered today: 14.6km (9.1mi)

Last night's B&B: Sinclair Bay Hotel (£45)

Cumulative distance: 1934.0km (1201.7mi)/ % Complete: 100.0%

GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 93 (click!)

Journey's End

In the tables which follow, the headings refer to the following geographic areas:

SW England: Land’s End to the Bristol Channel, including Cornwall, Devon and Somerset

Wales: This refers essentially to Offa’s Dyke, some of which is in England, but for simplicity’s sake, I have grouped the whole of this part of the trail as “Wales”. It includes the tongue of land that is Wales sticking into England in the north.

N England: This includes the cross-country bit that took me to the start of the second leg of the Pennine Way and then all the way up the Pennine Way until I left England after Byrness to follow the Roman Road of Dere Street into Scotland

Scotland: Obviously this refers to the rest of the journey, including the route across Scotland from Jedburgh to Milngavie, up the West Highland Way, across the Great Glen and then up the A9 (and A99) from Inverness to John o’Groats

Metric	SW England	Wales	N England	Scotland	Overall
Total Distance (km)	466	257	487	724	1934
Avg daily dist (km)	18.6	21.4	20.3	22.6	20.8
Walking Days	25	12	24	32	93

Total Up (m)	16918	11044	17915	27103	72979
Total Down (m)	16995	11091	17625	27411	73122
Avg Up (m/per day)	677	920	746	847	785
Avg Down (m/per day)	680	924	734	857	786

Avg speed walking (km/h)	4.6	4.2	4.5	4.9	4.6
Avg speed overall (km/h)	3.5	3.2	3.6	4.3	3.8

For those of an Imperial persuasion:

UK (Imperial)	SW England	Wales	N England	Scotland	Overall
Total Distance (mi)	289.5	159.8	302.6	449.8	1201.7
Avg daily dist (mi)	11.6	13.3	12.6	14.1	12.9
Walking Days	25	12	24	32	93

Total Up (ft)	55505	36232	58775	88920	239432
Total Down (ft)	55757	36388	57826	89931	239902
Avg Up (ft/per day)	2220	3019	2449	2779	2575
Avg Down (ft/per day)	2230	3032	2409	2810	2580

Avg speed walking (mph)	2.8	2.6	2.8	3.0	2.9
Avg speed overall (mph)	2.2	2.0	2.3	2.7	2.3

The numbers show the relative difficulty of Offa’s Dyke, which is a much underestimated national trail. Although there are no great peaks, the grain of the land means that there are many ups and downs and the daily distances are extensive. In my case, I had my most severe physical problems on this stretch, but the advantage was that it toughened me up for the challenges in the Pennines and Scotland. I find it fascinating that I did more climbs and descents in Wales than in any other leg of the journey.

The numbers also show the vast area that is Scotland. For those Southerners who rarely get north of Watford, it is always interesting to learn just how large a proportion of Britain Scotland occupies. It seems unfair that the Scots have both the most beautiful scenery and the most land. A pity about the weather, though I was dead lucky! See below!!

In terms of height, which for me was initially the most demanding, the figures show that my journey included the equivalent of climbing and descending Mount Everest 8 times, or Table Mountain in Cape Town 80 times, or almost once a day!

The figures show a gradual increase in fitness. After the early, easy times in the South West, there is the shock of Offa’s Dyke, but after that the daily distances and the speed of walking gradually increase. The figures also show that walking on roads is easier and faster than on the National Trails, though it may be less enjoyable!

It is also apparent that in Scotland, I needed far lest rest during my walking day, and although the midges turned out to be no problem at all despite my initial concerns, I became quite used to walking the whole daily distance without stopping. I found that stopping half-way merely increased my aches and pains, so the right answer was to press on and relax at my destination. (The recorded stopping times are slightly misleading: they include stopping for checking a map, reading a notice, changing my rain gear, having a pee, and all other temporary interruptions. The machine was unrelenting!)

For me, the other lesson from the statistics, coupled with my own experience, is that I didn’t actually get that much fitter along the way. I had expected that by the end, I would be finding it very much easier to cover the daily distances than at the beginning. The statistics do show an improvement, but less than I would have expected. And certainly, there was no decrease in the amount of effort required. Probably a sign of age!

The Weather

Probably the single most significant indicator of enjoyment on a long-distance walk is the weather. I tried to convince myself that bad weather didn’t make a difference provided I was dry and warm, but sometimes I was drenched to the skin and it did make a difference! As it turned out, I couldn’t have been luckier! I chose the perfect year for my walk and the perfect timing within that year! April was the driest month on record and although the whole country went through a wet patch in May and June, by July Scotland was dry and all the rain was in the south!

The statistics don’t indicate much about regional weather patterns; they just show how lucky I was!

	SW England	Wales	N England	Scotland	Overall
Sunny days	18	4	9	12	43
Cloudy days	7	3	6	14	30
Rainy days	0	5	9	6	20

% sunny	72%	33%	38%	38%	46%
% cloudy	28%	25%	25%	44%	32%
% rainy	0%	42%	38%	19%	22%

(By the way, if you have been reading any of this blog and would like to stay in contact after it closes, please just email me at kevinslejog@gmail.com . Alternatively, if you are already receiving emails of the posts, just hit the reply button in your email. I would really like to hear from you.)

The new Keiss Castle

The old Keiss Castle!

Sedimentary rocks, sloping into the sea, just as I had been told by Jerry way back in March

A last thistle, to remind me of my time in the Scottish wilds

I saved this fowl's life! It was wandering on the A99. I was able to alert its grateful owner, Ann-Marie, who lived nearby. I earned a cup of coffee for my efforts!

My last moor, Warth Hill

Just as it says. A moment of deliverance

With Veronica at the John o'Groats signpost

I was surprised and absolutely delighted that my brother-in-law John had taken the trouble to join us at John o'Groats! He had driven over from Cape Wrath where he and his family were spending their summer holiday and his arrival was a huge surprise! His welcome included a tot of Lagavulin Malt Whiskey which seemed somehow appropriate to the occasion!