21st April to 29th May  |   301 miles

On a chilly late April morning in 2014, I set off to walk from Cape Cornwall in South West England to Cape Wrath on the north-west tip of Scotland. The 1250 mile-long backpacking trek was planned as a pre-retirement celebration of my fast-approaching seventieth birthday. It was to be an amazing journey, taking me through some of Britain’s finest hill and wilderness country, sharing the woods and high moors with skylarks, curlews and shuffling creatures of the night.

Starting out at Cape Cornwall near to Land's End, I follow the South West Coast Path along the stunning sea cliffs through Cornwall’s historic tin and copper mining district. At Newquay I turn inland to head across Bodmin Moor, sleep among the dead at Brisland and almost get invited to a wedding in Launceston.

After crossing the historic River Tamar into Devon, I head across Dartmoor and Exmoor, and then turn east towards Glastonbury and Bath, where I get a free pair of boots. On Day 30 of the walk I cross into Wales on the ‘old’ Severn Bridge, letting out a defiant ‘Yeah’ as I clock up my first 300 miles.