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

Land's End to Penzance

Mark posing by the Land's End signpost before setting off for John o'Groats
Posing by the Land's End signpost before setting off for John o'Groats

I never intended to get caught up in something as blatantly uncomfortable as walking across Britain, but back on the sandy beaches of Ghana it had seemed like an excellent idea. That's absolutely the last time I make a life-changing decision when I've enjoyed one too many cold beers in the sun.

Eastward Ho!

Dr Syntax's Head from the south
Looking at Dr Syntax's Head from the south, the evening before I took my first steps towards John o'Groats

Today I floated along, which is no mean feat when you're carrying a 17kg pack on your back. I still can't believe that I've actually set out on this ridiculous walk, and instead of concentrating on the lush countryside of west Cornwall, I spent most of the day thinking about something that I read on a website a few days ago. 'Take an empty pint bottle,' it said, 'and add one-and-a-half teaspoons of water to the bottle each day; when the bottle is full, then that's how long it takes to walk from Land's End to John o'Groats.' I don't know if I'm going to have the patience, but if it's all as pleasant as today's 11-mile hop, I'm in for a treat.

The Land's End Hotel
The Land's End Hotel sits perched on the most extreme point of England
The RMS Mülheim, Castle Zawn
The RMS Mülheim, Castle Zawn
Sacreed Church
Peaceful little Sancreed Church, where I stopped for a rest and a chat with the locals

1 For more details see the Guinness World Records site. Meanwhile, the fastest woman to run from Land's End to John o'Groats is Marina Anderson, who ran it in 12 days, 15 hours and 46 minutes in (which you can also see on the Guinness World Records site).