Walking from London to Edinburgh

[hranken]

Hello all,

So I am walking from London (Twickenham) to Edinburgh in May 2015.

I am not a professional walker, just your average 24 year old wanting to do something for a good cause. (I am raising money for charity) I just feel I need an adventure! London life is draining my soul....

So I have sort of started training, trying to walk 4 miles to and from work every day, I am also trying to do a 10-15 mile walk once a week... I am planning my route now, I want to stick to the safest and quickest way I can really as some of the walk I will be alone. I will be camping and maybe a hostel/hotel once a week? I want to complete the walk in 6 weeks MAX. so maybe 15-18 miles a day with 1 day off a week.

I will also be carrying everything on my back.

Am I completely crazy or is this do able? I am so determined!

What do I need to think about? I think a GPS system is the best idea instead of maps?

Please help as I know there are lots of professional very experienced people out there who I could really do with supporting me

Thanks,

hope to hear from you all!

Hannah

[NickyRannoch]

15-18 miles per day with a day off per week should be pretty manageable.

In my experience if you can do 3 days you can go forever. When i am doing long distance walks it is always day 3 that is the hump.

I would always go for 1:50k maps for a long distance walk but I have no idea what the OS maps are like or how useful they would be in urban England. You say the quickest way which i assume would be to follow the A1 but i takeit you will going a bit more off track? In any case maps dont run out of battery so are good to have and you can post them home as you go or post them forward to places you will be staying so they neednt take up too much room.

[razzah]

Maybe think about an app where you can print off your route so you don't have to lug about giant OS maps, such as OS getamap. Have GPS as a back-up but I wouldn't rely on it - it will be very hard to keep that charged and if it did stop working for whatever reason you would have no back-up.

Safest and quickest won't always be the same thing. I'd always go for safest. If you can, steer clear of walking on motorways or major roads - it will not only be unsafe but will be extremely hard on your feet - try and pick (unpaved) paths where possible. Maybe look up online people who have walked right through Britain, look up the routes they took and check them out. Once you're at the Borders you can follow the route of the Scottish National Trail to near Edinburgh at least.

Try and keep your pack as light as possible. Question everything you pack whether you absolutely will need it. Also look up how to pack your pack properly so there's not bits hanging off it and so it fits you properly - this will make sooo much difference when walking!

Think about how you will feed yourself - will you be stopping at places along the way, cooking yourself - if so, what foods? Dehydrated is definitely the way to go, although can be demoralising after loads of days eating it!

It's absolutely doable - I am jealous and wish it was me going! Just ensure you've planned as best you can as that will help your morale, confidence and enjoyment.

[jmarkb]

You might find these useful for planning your route:

http://www.ldwa.org.uk/index.php
http://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=London+To+Edinburgh
http://www.traildino.com/trace/continents-Europe/countries-United_Kingdom
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/scottish-national-trail.shtml

[mrssanta]

Read Dan Scheer's reports on this site of his walk from Aberdeen to Luxembourg. It will be helpful I'm sure.

[rohan]

Absolutely do-able. I echo Mrs Santa's recommendation of Dan Scheer's reports of his wlk. I did a much shorter (150miles) with my granddaughter (aged 11) from Ratho to my home in July ( also reported in the long distance walk forum in 2 parts) and would echo the "3 day" comment above. By the end I felt we could go on forever. I would recommend trying to keep your socks dry , wet socks = blisters. We were able to do a lot of paddling (boot and sockless) which was bliss on the feet and neither of us suffered foot blisters. Stay off tarmac too, wherever possible. Paths and tracks are far more interesting and kinder to your feet.
I spent hours in preparation going over WH GPS planner ( I love it so it was no chore) and where appopriate lookiing at Google Street View. We printed off the necessary maps from getamap in advance. We were going to dispose of them on the way but ended up keeping them as a souvenir. My GPS never came out. Built up areas were boring so we devised games to get through them, not sure what you can do on your own.... music? We also kept a journal. This was good fun and now a lovely record. We took our time but this made for a more relaxed walk and on your own you should be able to comfortably walk faster.
I was concerned that my Granddaughter would become bored with my company so invited people to join us for short sections. This worked well for both of us.
One final warning, long distance walking is addictive. There is something very liberating about walking out from your own front door without the use of any transport.
I look forward to your TR next year.

[KeithS]

Hi, you could always include the Pennine Way in your route. That would get you from Derbyshire to over the Scottish Border, with very little road walking (a bit boggy in places though)

[Dan Scheer]

haha thanks for the advertising mrssanta and rohan
here is the link to my report, it is kinda long, but especially the first parts might give you some ideas about gear, planning, route etc.

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=34902

Like you, I was completely inexperience going into my adventure and well it has easily been the best thing I have ever done in my life! As a warning, it may change your views on life quite a lot, I know it did for me but all in a positive way

I don't have much time to write now, but feel free to message me with any questions, happy to help where I can and for 37.5 hours per week I have a looot of time to answer any messages

[shane1974]

if your looking for something slightly off the track for the walk, you could walk from Newcastle upon tyne and follow the coast all the way up to Edinburgh using several recognised routes along the way.
if you do decide to come this way (Newcastle give us a shout and if im free might join you for a few miles and give you some company along the way.

[stirlingdavo]

It would probably be good idea to do a practice walk before you set off on your adventure. Something like a 40-50 mile walk over a long weekend would help you learn a lot about things such as - what you are able to manage distance wise each day, how much food you need, what items you need/don't need, is your footwear/clothing comfortable etc etc.

I'd also certainly go along with what the other posters have said about avoiding tarmac and urban areas. Unpaved tracks and the countryside are far more enjoyable. A smartphone with some appropriate apps is likely to be more useful to you than a GPS. But don't rely on it too much, make sure you've got some kind of paper maps in case your phone breaks/gets wet or runs out of battery. Another good idea might be to have a list of all the hostels/campsites on your route in case the one you've planned to stay at is unexpectedly closed or booked up. Its always good to know you have other options.

[denfinella]

This caught my eye as I'm the same age as you and grew up in Twickenham (I wonder if I know you?)!

I was going to suggest you read Dan Scheer's report but looks like that's already been suggested. Avoiding tarmac will be more scenic and more comfortable on your feet, and using long-distance footpaths (Pennine Way is the obvious one) will make some sections much easier to plan (and probably easier to navigate too).

For planning your route, have a look at Bing Maps (zoom in as far as possible after clicking on the Ordnance Survey tab). And for preparation, maybe try some longer multi-day walks with a heavy backpack.

And of course, good luck!

[Sgurr]

Is it too late to change your plans? Took a look at the Ordnance Survey of London and the buildings just go on and on and on. Some of the Midland towns are pretty built up too, that's why butterflies find it a struggle flying north. It might be nicer to walk somewhere you wouldn't hurt your feet so much. It would make the walk only marginally shorter by walking the Severn Bridge(Chepstow) to the Forth Bridge (20 miles shorter and through much nicer country i.e. all up the Welsh border). Don't think that the longer you walk, the more you will raise: people will adjust their sponsorship to their pockets, not to the immensity of your journey. I found this out the hard way when I thought I could get people to sponsor me on a cycle ride across Scotland and to John O'Groats. When they worked out how much it would be, people started sponsoring at 1p per 10 miles rather than the 1p per mile I had hoped for.

[EileanB]

You might find it helpful to look at the UK trailwalker's handbook. It lists most long distance paths and how they link together, and might give you some ideas for routes. It is good for working out ways round big urban areas, motorways, and other such hazards of long distance walking. I think it's published by Cicerone.

[Phil the Hill]

Is it too late to change your plans? Took a look at the Ordnance Survey of London and the buildings just go on and on and on.

As a Londoner who has to find good walking where he can, I beg to differ. There are plenty of parks, waterways and other green space that can be linked together. It depends where your home or startpoint is, but I'd get onto the London LOOP asap and then leave London by the Grand Union Canal walk. That should minimise the urban walking, or at least make the route more enjoyable. You can follow the Grand Union as far as Birmingham, but probably best to divert onto other long distance paths beforehand for a more rural route.

[hranken]

Hello everyone!

Firstly can I just say a huge thank you to everyone who has stopped and looked at my post, I really, really appreciate all the help. I have had a skim read over everything, will sit in more detail with my mum so we can properly plan the route.

I am 100% sticking to my guns it is all about the London to Edinburgh thing that is my dream walk!

If any of you want to join.. you are more than welcome! My facebook link is at the bottom if you want to contact me if you do feel a little urge to get your boots on and get walking.

I need to work out the map thing because I will need a lot of maps and this can all add up quite costly, what do you think? How can I keep map cost down? Also I have no idea how to use a GPS system and I do prefer the old school map thing I must say... tricky one.

Also do you think I am safe to walk some parts of this on my own, I am a female... ? I will try my hardest to get people to join but you know how it is.

Will get back to you again once I have had a proper read of all the recommendations etc. SO EXCITED. I feel my buzz coming back again, you know you can get so bogged down with worrying about setting up the facebook... sponsorship... promoting bla bla. The whole point of this is to enjoy!

Thanks again, I will be posting on here again I am sure! If anyone else has any further advise, tips etc. everything is welcome.

All the best,

Hannah

facebook: /LondontoEdinburgh