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Walking Land's End to John o'Groats with Mark Moxon

Wick to John o'Groats

The A99
The long and winding A-road

A walk of 1000 miles might start with one step, but it ends with three corking blisters. It's the tarmac; the A99 goes all the way to John o'Groats and it takes its toll. If today hadn't been today, it would have been bloody awful.

The John o'Groats Hotel
The John o'Groats Hotel

Doing the Tourist Thing

Mark posing by the signpost at John o'Groats
Posing by the signpost at John o'Groats, a very happy man

I finally arrived at the John o'Groats Hotel at five to two and limped across the finishing line that's painted on the tarmac outside the bar. The hotel itself has closed and looks rather drab and unloved, but the bar still manages to pump out standard Scottish beer and there's a guestbook to sign while they stamp your form to show you've completed the walk. Outside there's the twin of the signpost at Land's End – they're owned and operated by the same company – so Barry and I did the honourable thing and had our pictures taken for posterity.

Barry at Duncansby Head
Barry at Duncansby Head

After the Party

Duncansby Stacks
Duncansby Stacks

It still hasn't sunk in that I've finished this walk. I've walked 1111 miles in 89 days, walking for 70 of those days at an average of 15.9 miles per day; I've completely worn out one pair of brand new trekking boots and broken in another pair; I've used over 50 blister plasters and got through six different pairs of socks; I've taken 1129 photographs and two video clips; I've navigated my way across 54 Ordnance Survey Explorer maps at a scale of 1:25,000; I've walked with food poisoning, sprained leg muscles, inflamed tendons, multiple blisters, whisky hangovers and suspicious friction burns; I've met four other End-to-End walkers, two going my way and two going the other; and at this stage it really doesn't feel like it's over.

THE END