The End of the 'End to End'

Setting off from Land's End

2020 has so far been a bit of a let down for many as far as hiking goes and my plans have certainly been disrupted. I started the year with good intentions, climbing some of the high mountains on the island LINK HERE as fitness training for my third, and hopefully final, section of my LEJOG hike that I started in the glorious summer of 2018. All of this was thrown into disarray however with the arrival of the pandemic as I was forced to abandon my plans. 

Cape Cornwall

When I set off from Lands End on that glorious July morning in 2018, my plan was to walk to John O'Groats in a single trip but circumstances dictated otherwise and I broke the walk at Hay-on-Wye in south Wales, returning the following year to complete the hike. 

Sugar Loaf, Black Mountains 

However, I was again the victim of some bad luck when my leg became infected and after two hospital visits, I was forced to stop walking for around nine days while the leg healed as the antibiotics did their work. 

Stoodley Pike on the Pennine Way

This meant that the walk was now split into three and my plans were in place to return to Carlisle, where I had finished section two, in the spring of this year. Then came Covid and all plans went out of the window. 

Offa's Dyke

Having had a number of months to reflect on the situation, I have decided that the integrity of the walk is now compromised along with my enthusiasm for it, so my LEJOG hike will become my 'England End to End' walk. The energy and enthusiasm for the hike that I had when setting off in July 2018 has dissipated and I think that even if I completed the walk, it won't feel, to me at least, that I have walked the UK from End to End. I am however happy that I have walked England End to End in two hikes totalling 788 miles in less than one year. 

Keswick from the Cumbria Way 

Looking back on my hike, despite all of the problems I encountered along the way, I enjoyed some fantastic walking and saw some beautiful scenery. I have included in this post a few of my favourite photos taken along the way. 

LEJOG Memories - Looking back from lockdown

One thing I'm finding difficult about being in 'lockdown' at the moment is the 'memory' posts that automatically flash up on my Facebook profile reminding me what I was doing last year or three years ago etc. This morning, a memory popped up from last year reminding me that a year ago I was hiking around Morecambe Bay to Ulverston on my Land's End to John O'Groats walk. This was part of a slightly convoluted section between the Pennines and the Lake District that took in a large variety of scenery. It was also where I broke one of my hiking 'rules' by taking the train. As I sat in a pub on the seafront in Arnside, looking at the railway viaduct crossing the bay, I studied the map and realised that by taking the train for a short, one station hop over the estuary, I could omit a large loop around to Ulverston saving a least a days walking, possibly two. Ulverston wasn't really on my route as it meant heading south for a while but I had decided I wanted to do the whole of the Cumbria Way, which meant I needed to divert to get to the start. After a six minute train ride, I found myself in Grange over Sands and carried on to Ulverston where I picked up the start of the Cumbria Way, which proved a fitting climax to this section of my hike from Hay on Wye.

Arnside Tower

Leighton Hall

Sawley Abbey

Pendle Hill

View towards Pendle Hill

Gorple Reservoir

Hoad Monument Ulverston

Morecambe Bay

View towards the Lake District

Morecambe Bay 

Cartmel

Hornby Road, Forest of Bowland

Arnside Viaduct

My Top Ten Hikes - My favourite UK long distance hiking trails.

A run down of my ten favourite long distance hikes in reverse order.

Land's End to John O'Groats - The Cumbria Way video

After diverting to Ulverston,  I set off on the Cumbria Way to Carlisle. Having lost so much time at the start of the hike because of the problem with my infected leg, I did not now have enough time available to complete my hike to John O'Groats. I therefore decided that Carlisle would be a good point to halt the walk and also to re-start the hike across Scotland at a later date. The Cumbria Way proved to be the most spectacular part of my hike to date.

LEJOG 2019 - Mapping my Walk

During my walk, I used Viewranger app combined with OS mapping for navigating and recorded my location through the app as I walked. This photo shows a record of locations recorded on the walk between Hay on Wye and Carlisle. In all, I walked 391.77 miles.

LEJOG 2019 - Finale

The day after finishing the walk, as I explored Carlisle's interesting and attractive historical centre, I made a point of asking in the Tourist Information Centre exactly where the Cumbria Way terminated as I couldn't find a terminus marker. I had noticed Cumbria Way markers on the way to the Castle and thought that this would make a great terminus to the walk. My guidebook didn't mention a finish point, unlike the southern end in Ulverston, so I thought the castle would be a great end to not only the Cumbria Way, but also this section of my trek. There was no marker visible when I reached the Castle so I asked in the Tourist Information Centre in the square in the town centre only to be told that it finished outside by the market cross. 'But there are signs pointing to the castle' I said. 'Oh yes, I think one guidebook finishes there' said the bored looking woman behind the desk. So there it is. The long distance walk without a definite finishing point. One thing I was sure of, my long distance walk was over, at least for now.

*UPDATE: September 2020 - I have now decided that my LEJOG walk will finish in Carlisle and become my England End to End walk. For an explanation of my reasons for this check out this link

Carlisle Castle

Market Cross

The Citadel

Carlisle Cathedral

LEJOG Day's 26 (47) - Caldbeck to Carlisle - May 22nd 2019

I left the village of Caldbeck for my last day on the Cumbria Way and this particular section of my LEJOG hike in clear sunny weather. As I climbed above the village, I had panoramic views of High Pike, the hill I had climbed the previous afternoon and the highest hill on the Cumbria Way. The early part of the walk was a delightful mix of low hills, forest trails and riverside paths. The River Caldew was now sparkling and lively in the morning sun, unlike the more sombre mood it had presented as it had meandered through the previous days lonely hills. The first half of the walk continued in much the same way until the village of Dalston, where the way took on a more urban feel. Here, it became a surfaced cycle track and although it initially still passed through mostly open countryside, the joggers, dog- walkers and cyclists signalled that Carlisle and the end of my walk was now not too far off. Somewhere along the way, as the houses came into view, I lost the Cumbria Way markers but I wasn't too bothered as I knew that I only had to stay on the cycle track and I would arrive at my destination. Soon, I was crossing busy roads in the middle of the city as I made my way to my guesthouse where, with a sigh of relief, I took off my rucksack and shoes for the last time on this trip.

High Pike

LEJOG Day 25 (46) - Keswick to Caldbeck - May 21st 2019

Today was the last day on the Cumbria Way in the Lake District and another superb day's walking. The first part of the walk involved climbing on the lower slopes of Skiddaw before veering off around Lonscale Fell to the remotely situated Skiddaw House youth hostel. This area is known as the 'Back o' Skidda' and marks a transition in the scenery as the rugged mountains give way to huge, rounded hills. Skiddaw House comes as a surprise as it is totally isolated, it's lonely position sheltered by a stand of trees. After a long track through the hills from the hostel, the Way climbs steeply from the Carrock Wolram mine on a very indistinct path alongside a stream to the highest point of the whole Cumbria Way at the summit of High Pike at 658 metres. The views from here were superb and included the Pennines, Blencathra, Skiddaw and across the Solway Firth to Scotland . After absorbing the view from the summit, I headed for Caldbeck where I am spending the last night on the Cumbria Way and also this current trip before completing the final fifteen miles along the River Caldew into Carlisle tomorrow .

Leaving Keswick

LEJOG Day's 23 & 24 (44 & 45) - Coniston to Keswick - May 19th & 20th 2019

Day two started with low cloud and drizzle but after walking to Coniston village from the campsite and having breakfast in a cafe, the cloud lifted with the sun even putting in an appearance in the afternoon. The highlight of day two was the exquisitely beautiful Tarn Hows and the ever expanding view of the Coniston Fells. 

Coniston Village

LEJOG Day 22 (43) - Ulverston to Coniston - May 18th 2019

I left Ulverston after taking a selfie or two at the start point monument. This trail started gently through quiet hills and valleys before crossing into the Lake District National Park during the morning and almost immediately the scenery began changing as the Coniston Fells become more and more imposing ahead. On trails such as the Maelor Way and the South Cheshire Way, I regularly chose to hike along quiet country lanes as a way of more easily and quickly getting to my destination with little worry of missing any outstanding scenery and also to avoid the struggle of searching for invisible paths in the many boring fields of wet grass.This was never an issue on the Cumbria Way as the exquisite scenery kept me enthralled and the paths were always easy to follow. As the Old Man of Coniston and surrounding fells became more visible, I eventually descended to Coniston Water towards the end of the day and camped at a fairly busy campsite. The site was full of groups of ´car-campers´ enjoying barbecues and drinking heavily while listening to loud music. I escaped the noise by heading for a local pub for dinner where I watched Manchester City winning the FA cup before heading back to my tent. To be fair to the 'car-campers', they did turn down the music low at around 11pm and I slept quite well in the tent for the first time on this trip.