Hullo. How are you? I hope you are having a good day. I’m Mark and I’m walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats…
Following a light breakfast at The Land’s End Hotel, where I had spent the previous night, it was time to set off on a walk I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember.
The weather was glorious, with clear blue skies and visibility far out to sea.
The usual Land’s End sign post (on which you can have a special message included) is currently being refurbished, so a temporary one is in place and doing the job just as well as far as I can tell.
John O’Groats is a mere 874 miles away by the traditional road route, but hikers tend to avoid this and favour more miles for less tarmac. My working assumption at the moment is my walk will be approximately 1200 miles.
Pretty much the moment I decided to march off, the weather turned from sunny and dry to dark and stormy, which meant a quick change of jacket and the raincover hastily added to my backpack.
The short walk to Sennen Cove was spectacular nonetheless – not even a hailstorm could temper the majesty of the coastal path.
Dropping down into Sennen Cove brought back good memories. I adore Cornwall and have spent many a happy summer day here.
I love that power places have to bring back to mind such strong memories that one could almost be back in time. I hope that will happen often on this walk to the far reaches of Scotland.
Climbing the hills from Sennen Cove (a climb I am much more used to doing in shorts and flip flops), brings great views of the Cornish coastline. From here, however, it was inland across farms and tracks towards Penzance.
I had decided to take a bit of a rambling route to Penzance, avoiding the much more direct and much flatter path of the A30.
With England experiencing a pretty wet January and February, the tracks and fields were saturated, but still glorious.
The rain continued to pour for the first 5 miles or so, but I’ve never minded walking in rain or the cold. I’m pretty happy walking in any weather actually.
Walking across Carn Brea and Tredinny Common gave the first glimpse of Penzance in the distance, which became a full view as I walked along Sancreed Beacon.
It was then an easy 4 mile stroll to Penzance town centre and the end of Day 1.
The route I had plotted for today was 10.86 miles, but with a few detours, today’s walk came in at just over 12 miles.
A beautiful way to start LEJOG.
The Day 1 Vlog
Fundraising for MacMillan Cancer
As I walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, I am hoping to raise £10,000 for MacMillan Cancer Support, who do such a wonderful job of supporting families through the most difficult times. If you are able to spare any amount and would like to donate to MacMillan, please do so through my Just Giving Page.
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