Nice day to start a walk of 1105 miles

What an absolutely lousy start to the day. It lashed down overnight and it looks as if it's going to last well into the afternoon.

I wonder what it looks like in John O'Groats? Marginally better but still not wonderful. Why the interest in the far north of Scotland do I hear you ask?

Because today's the day that friend and colleague John Wilmut sets out from John O'Groats to walk to Land's End. He's calling it his JOGLE 2016. In 2012 he walked it in the reverse direction when he termed it LEJOG 2012. His intended route is in blue in the above map.

John will be walking between 12 and 20 miles a day, with the occasional rest day thrown in. If things go according to plan he should reach Lands End down here in sunny Cornwall at the end of August. Hopefully we'll be part of the welcoming party.

Why is John doing it? This is what he says on his website (http://wilmut.wix.com/jogle2016) Laudable aims for a laudable endeavour and well worth supporting. Why not go to John's website and donate? Start your day with a good deed.

 

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This is my second (and probably my last) attempt at a walk from end to end of mainland Britain.

 

In 2012 I walked from Lands End to John O'Groats in support of Christian Aid's work in education in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. But the problems and the need are huge so, after an interval of 4 years during which I dithered over whether I wanted to make another effort of this kind, I've decided to do another walk, but this time walking south instead of north. But, again, it's in support of education for poor children.

 

As a one-time specialist in educational development I had the good fortune to work in a number of developing countries over many years of my career. I saw some of the impact that poverty had on children's education - drop-out from school, poorly qualified and poorly paid teachers, the lack of books and the decrepit state of many schools. As part of its wider commitment to the improvement of the living standards and wellbeing of people in poor countries, Christian Aid and its partners are working to improve conditions for some of the children. The aim is to improve learning, to enrich their lives and to extend their opportunities. I think that's something worth walking for!

 

So this is my website in support of my new walk. Use the menu buttons above to find out about the route and timetable, to read my blog, to find out about the work of Christian Aid and to see what happened on the 2012 walk.

 

Above all, please support this walk in any way that you can: just click on the DONATE button above. There's a donation site or you can support us by sending something directly. And please do spread the news of this walk by telling or emailing your friends and colleagues..

 

Last time we raised over £10,000. I'm hoping that we can at least equal that this year. Please help if you can! 
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