About

My name is Adam Lewis and over the summer of 2022 I walked from John o’ Groats to Land’s End (aka the jogle) to raise funds for World Land Trust. This website is home for all the details from that trek – blog, photos, and perhaps more usefully, route information.

For anyone thinking about doing it themselves, I thoroughly recommend it. We live in a country with so much amazing scenery and there is something special about walking through it.

If a very long walk doesn’t appeal then I would really encourage you to get out and do your own challenge. You’re never too old.

A few statistics:

  • Money raised (including Benefact Group fund-match):  £8770 + £798.75 Gift Aid. So £9,568.75 in total.
  • Time taken: 69 days.
  • Days off: 3
  • Total distance walked: 1382 miles.
  • Total distance I thought I was going to walk before I started: 1140 miles.
  • Number of times transport was used: 0.
  • Average daily distance walked: 20.04 miles.
    • minimum distance in 1 day: 11.9 miles
    • maximum distance in 1 day: 33.7 miles
    • days walking 10 – 15 miles: 5
    • days walking 15 – 20 miles: 23
    • days walking 20 – 25 miles: 25
    • days walking 25 – 30 miles: 11
    • days walking 30 – 35 miles: 2
  • Total ascent: 108,102 ft. (Everest is 29,031 ft.)
  • Accommodation: 45 campsites, 8 wild camps, 7 hostels, 3 nights staying with friends, 3 AirBnBs, 1 hotel, 1 backpacker barn.
  • Go-to snacks: Nuts & raisins, oat cakes, bananas, apples, Cadburys Fruit & Nut, granola slices.
  • Number of photos taken (on Samsung S10 phone): 2475.
  • Number of Wetherspoons pubs visited: 11.
  • Number of times I needed to dig a hole with my The Deuce #2 UL Trowel: 0

So, why World Land Trust? I am very interested in Environmental issues and sometimes it is too easy to just be an armchair activist where you complain about the state of things but don’t actually do anything. WLT have a very pragmatic approach that does do something. They help local non-governmental organisations around the world to purchase land and then work with local communities to ensure vital habitats are protected.

Why the Jogle? Purely by accident I came across a YouTube video by Liam Brown: Backpacking Britain and thought, foolishly, I might be able to do that. I think it was the fact that if you really, really cut down on everything, you could get your backpack light enough to carry it over a long distance. For some reason I had always assumed it would have to be 20kg or more and there was no way I was going to be able to manage that. Without food and water, my backpack ending up weighing around 10kg.

Had I done this kind of thing before? No. But I do walk a lot, I am very stubborn, and I do like a challenge …

  • At the age of 7, I completed a 20 mile sponsored walk.
  • At the age of 26, I hitch-hiked around 13 countries in 9 days for Comic Relief.
  • At the age of 31, I travelled solo around Africa.
  • At the age of 40, I travelled solo around South America.
  • At the age of 44, I attempted to get from the UK to Australia without taking a flight (got as far as East Timor).
  • At the age of 58, I attempted to find a film worth watching on Netflix that I hadn’t seen already.

For the many of you who donated, thank you so much.

A few links:

Gratitious plug

Since completing this trek I have completed a Masters in photography. Part of this was an attempt to  encourage people to get out and explore their local area (as opposed to catching a flight to somewhere ‘exotic’). The website is: A World Closer To Home – Exploring ideas about how we can achieve a sustainable future by looking locally with an online gallery at: An incomplete visual guide to health and happiness | Stone Kicker

It would be really interesting to hear from anyone who has in any way been inspired by my trek. Thanks.

Contact: Email address is the same as the Instagram name @gmail.com