Peregrin's Round Britain Walk
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
At the moment I have got the crazy idea into my head of walking round the perimeter of Britain. There are a multitude of reasons why I want to do this, and I'll try to list them here;
1. I like walking
2. I like Britain
3. I've got lots of time on my hands
4. I want to do something sponsored for charity
5. I want to cover it on the internet, maybe on H2G2.
6. I need some time to figure out what I want to do in my life, and this would be a good oppotunity to think.
7. I think it sounds like a fun thing to do. The average person would disagree with me on this point, but my worst nightmare is being the average person.
I've got a few vague ideas into my head at the moment. Although I'm moderately experienced at walking and camping, I'm no expert; but the terrain isn't exactly complicated or dangerous. The distance of the walk is virtually impossible to verify - I won't go into the reasons here, but the mathematician Mandelbrot pointed it out. The time of the walk will therefore also be impossible to verify, but I've not got any pressing appointments in the near future.
If I do this, I will have to establish some rules for myself; e.g. I cannot use any vehicle or method of transportation other than walking. If I get good sponsorship I might be able to have some kind of backup, e.g. somebody in a car catches up with me every few days with the equipment/food I need. It would be quite fun to have none of that though, because being Britain, most food and other things I need I can buy on the way. Also night arrangements need careful consideration. I don't really want to stay in B&Bs, hotels, etc. Nor do I particularly want to stay in camp sites, but that may be unavoidable. Ideally I would want to camp where I want, to avoid going too far out of my way. A tent would be nice but takes up lots of room. When I have gone walking in the past I have sometimes taken a bivouac bag, which is really horrible to have to sleep in, especially during thunderstorms, and wouldn't be nice for more than a few days if I couldn't dry my equipment out or something. Ideally I think I would want a tent, and be able to camp where I want.
If anybody has done anything like this in the past (e.g. walked from John O'Groats to Lands End), I would appreciate any advice. Input from anybody would be cool, whether you think it's a good idea or completely insane, etc. Also if any companies would like to sponsor me.... TDV, do you want some exclusive advertising?!
