About

Ex-rayray LeJog 2019-2021 and other long distance walks

I wanted to do some walking after I retired and I thought it would be a good idea to walk from Lands End to John O’Groats (LeJog).  This is a well known charity walk, often done on roads (e.g. by Ian Botham).  There are a number of books and blogs that describe the walk cross country which increases the distance from 874 miles by road to 1100 miles or more, depending on the route. The route can be done, of course, from South to North or North to South (becoming JogLe!).  The advantages of LeJog include walking with the prevailing wind (and rain!) coming from behind the walker and improved fitness by the time the more demanding terrain of the Pennine Way and the Highlands are reached.

Unlike recognised long distance paths like the Pennine Way, there is no fixed route for Le Jog. Most walkers do the walk continuously but for me, I think this is unrealistic.  I therefore set myself the challenge as follows:

  • To walk the route in stages, usually of 2
    weeks duration, each stage to start exactly where the last finished
  • To avoid road walking as much as possible
  • To use B and B as much as possible rather
    than camp
  • To include the Southernmost point (the
    Lizard) and the Northernmost point (Dunnet head) of the mainland.
  • To include, where possible, areas of the
    country that I particularly like, or where I have wanted to walk, that lie on a
    sensible route.

My plan was to start after I retire at the beginning of June and to do the following stages in 2019

  • The Lizard to Bodmin on the South West
    Coast path walking via Lands End then along the North coast to Padstow, then using
    the Camelford cycle trail to Bodmin
  • Bodmin to Bath via Bodmin Moor; the 2
    Castles way to Okehampton; then turning North to just east of Barnstaple where
    I will pick up the Macmillan Way West. 
    This then crosses Exmoor and the main Quantock ridge before descending
    to the Somerset levels to reach Castle Cary. I will then turn North to reach
    Bath.
  • Bath to Edale via the southern half of the
    Cotswold way, then turning North-west to cross the Malvern Hills. I will then
    head around the west side of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, hopefully calling in
    to see my son before turning North-east on the Peak district to Edale

In 2020 had hopes to complete LEJOG, but with the COVID lockdowns I was only able walk the Pennine Way.

In 2021 I followed the “conventional” route across the Southern Uplands and crossed the central lowlands by following the canals to reach the West Highland Way via part of the John Muir Trail. From Fort William I followed the Great Glen Way to Inverness and then the nascent John O’Groats trail.

When I told friends, most thought this was a good project. Others though I was mad, not having done any long distance walking for years. Some then asked me whether I was doing it for charity.  I had not thought of this and, at first, I was not keen because I am not sure I will be able to complete the trek and I was primarily doing the walk as my own challenge.  However, after further reflection, I thought it was a good idea to try to raise money for a charitable cause. For Lejog I chose to support cystic fibrosis.

Two years on, and a lot fitter (and a bit older!). I have decided to continue the blog. In 2022 I walked Offa’s Dyke path and the walkers Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt.

The next project was to tackle GR5, which runs from Hoek Van Holland to Nice. I started in 2023 and reached Maastricht, an attempt to reach the French border was aborted by COVID. I took 2024 off to walk the Camino Norte (from Irun to Santiago de Compostella. I returned to GR5 in 2025 and reached Custines in north-east France. This was followed by Alta Via I in the Dolomites, which I did not blog.

In 2026 I returned to GR5. I now have doubts about whether I will be able to cross the Alps so, rather than continue from Custines, which looked uninteresting, I walked the Traverse of the Vosges, which starts near the Franco-German border and rejoins GR5 near the Col du Vonon. I ended at Giromagny. The next stage will be to cross the Jura to reach Lake Geneva. I will then have to decide whether to tackle the Alps or whether to join another Camino and walk from Geneva to Santiago, about 2000km which will take me at least 3 years. Meanwhile I have a 10 day hike booked in the Jungfrau area which I am not planning to blog.