Contact Me: I want to walk the walk

Subject: I want to walk the walk
Posted: 4 Jul 2010 10:31 pm

Hi,
I was reading your website and I know from what you have said that it was the hardest thing that you have done. Firstly I want to say congratulations on such a wonderful achivement. Secondly I would really like to ask for your help. What I am wanting is for you to tell me where I can find maps and information on cheap or free camping when I do it, I am going to be walking for both the Guide Dogs Association and also for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. I personaly think that theese are really great charities, I am not asking you to sponser me, what I am asking for is just your help in planning my own walk. I will hopefully be taking my Jack Russell Terrier with me. Please will you tell me in a bit more detail everything about your walk and how you managed to survive. what you ate where you sslept etc, many thanks from Helen.

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Subject: LEJOG advice
Posted: 6 Jul 2010 9:03 am

Hi Helen.

That's a good question - though I'm afraid I don't know the answer myself. I bought my own maps and I stayed in B&Bs all the way (I gave up on camping a few weeks into my walk), so I have no personal experience of getting hold of cheap maps or camping for free.

However, there are loads of other accounts by people walking from Land's End to John o'Groats out there, and some of them have done exactly that - they've done the walk without spending a fortune on maps or campsites. There are also some who have done the walk with dogs, which would be useful for you to read about. You can check out a selection of those on my links page, here:

www.landsendjohnogroats.info/walking_tips/links.html

I particularly recommend Pete's account 'Gyp tackles LEJOG', which covers most of the angles you're after, and it's a great read, too.

As for the details of my own walk, I've written down everything I can think of in the 'Doing the Walk Yourself' section, which contains information on where I stayed, what it cost, what I took, and so on. Take a read through that, and if you've got any questions that I don't answer, feel free to post to my Guestbook - other walkers pop in there from time to time, and it can be useful hearing other people's answers too.

I hope this helps, and good luck with the planning!

Best wishes,

Mark

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Subject: Dogs and camping
Posted: 8 Jul 2010 9:52 pm

Thanks for the kind words, Mark.

Hi Helen,
I have just updated my blog

http://gyptackleslejog.blogspot.com/

and the spreadsheet now shows details of all of the campsites I used (Grid Ref, telephone numbers, notes and prices) I hope they will give you some idea of prices and what to expect.

As for wild camping, there are loads of opportunities on the South West Coast Path and on the River Severn, especially if you don't want to be near civilisation. From there to the border is much more tricky. As you may know you can legally camp anywhere in Scotland as long as it is not near houses or running water.

I also wrote a bit about camping with a dog. It makes life very difficult at times but I never considered not taking Gyp. Be aware that very few pubs in Scotland allow dogs in, generally only those that don't serve food.

A fellow LEJOGer also took his dog this Spring and wrote a good blog about his travels

http://theaaaway.blogspot.com/

Hope this helps
Pete

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Subject: Sophie and Patch
Posted: 12 Jul 2010 10:06 am

I should also point out Sophie Easterbrook's blog:

http://longestdogwalkinbritain.blogspot.com/

She did JOGLE with a dog, Patch, though sadly Patch had to go home early. It's well, worth reading, if only to see the challenges involved.

It makes Alfie and Gyp's achievements all the more impressive!

Mark

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