The Great British Walk

A personal record of my three month walk of the full length of Great Britain from north to south with written journal and photographs. Tracklogs for GPS units and for use with Google Earth are available for download for each stage.

The Great British Walk is my creation and my personal tribute to the regions of Great Britain. I walked over 1,000 miles from Faraid Head, a peninsula on the northern coast of Scotland and near to Durness which is the most north westerly village of Scotland to Lizard Point in Cornwall, the most southerly point of England in one continuous journey which took three months to complete. On the journey I sought out some of the best and most spectacular places for walking in our magnificent diverse landscape including dramatic mountains, cascading waterfalls, limestone pavements, enclosed gorges, beautiful lakes and rivers, buildings of incredible beauty and much more besides. And apart from the land we are blessed to share with all the wonderful animals I encountered I lived and absorbed the culture of Great Britain, both past and present, by engaging with people I met on the walk in a land of such diversity. I made the company of a complete range of characters I met on the journey and conversed with people of varying dialects and cultures, enjoying all. I had the most fantastic journey which is covered in all my daily reports so if you are interested in finding out more then please read them. I sincerely invite you to read my story.

As for the route I spent many hours looking at maps to determine a course in which every day offered the best walking possible in the local environment. Fortunately in Great Britain we have many Long Distance Paths, National Trails, walks, paths and tracks and I tried to utilise as many as possible to plot my course down the length of Great Britain. I set off from Faraid Head near Durness on the north-west coast of Scotland and took advantage of the Cape Wrath Trail to Fort William. Note the trail is not marked and not signed. It showed, many parts were difficult terrain to walk and in parts there were no paths to follow which meant I had to navigate my own course. From my reports you will note my following of the Cape Wrath Trail was a tough challenge. Once in Fort William and sufficiently recovered I followed the West Highland Way to Glasgow and then I made my way through Glasgow. South of Glasgow I plotted a course through the spectacular and under rated Southern Uplands before I reached the Borders and crossed into England to begin a short journey through the Lake District, on my course bagging a few more Wainwright Fells for my collection. Then the Yorkshire Dales and Pennines were negotiated before reaching the Peak District. Middle England beckoned and by utilising the sadly neglected Staffordshire Way but much better Limestone Way and Heart of England Way I skirted Birmingham to start the Cotswold Way which took me on a wonderful week long walk to Bath. After the old roman centre I walked the West Mendips to Cheddar Gorge and then headed west to the coast of Somerset. The edge of the Quantock Hills was next before I headed for Dartmoor and then Bodmin Moor before making a course south to the coast and eventually reaching Lizard Point.

GPX Route File
Google Earth File

Feedback and Suggestions:

I am always pleased to received feedback on the structure and content of the website. I also welcome suggestions on how I can improve the website which may include new areas to cover, new walks or route alterations to existing walks. To contact me with feedback and/ or suggestions please complete the Walking Englishman Feedback Form. Thank you.

(Note: Walking without proper preparation can be dangerous. Information and downloads on this website are provided free of charge; it is each walker's responsibility to check the material and use accordingly. Postscript: My walk reports are not route guides and should not be treated as such. They are written with personal reflections of my walks)