LEJOG 2017

Poste restante is a free service where you can forward mail including parcels to a post office in the UK which you will then collect at a later date. I used Poste Restante to forward supplies and clothing to six different Post Offices between Land's End and John O'Groats. If you want to use Poste Restante in the UK but don't know how to set it up, here's how I did it: First you need to know four things: 1. The address of the Post Office you would like to use. If you're sending letters, any Post Office should accept your request. If you're sending a parcel, you will need to select a larger Post Office which has the space to store it. Select the largest Post Office in the area you intend to visit. This is important. Note: you will need to pay regular postage charges on whatever you send. 2. You need to give them a date on which you expect to pick up your mail. If you cannot give a precise date, give a range, preferably no more than two weeks. 3. You need...

I've posted my walking calendar for 2016 because it outlines what walking means to me in its most basic units: time and distance. It also hints at fitness, stamina, endurance, fortitude and other nice words. Some of the day walks were done alone. All of the larger multi-day walks involved my walking buddy. Note: these are bare-bones calendar entries and they miss out the details that made those walks unique. January 23rd Jan (Sat): 25 miles (Basingstoke circular/training route) TOE INFECTION - OOA until - [correction: it was gout as I suspected; I was misdiagnosed by the GP] February 21st Feb (Sun): 10/12 miles (Sarah's route around town) 27th Feb (Sat): 25 miles (Basingstoke circular/training route) March 1st March (Tue): 15 miles (work and back x 5) 4th March (Fri): 18 miles (out to Sherfield on Loddon via Wildmoor Lane and back) 6th March (Sun): 20 miles (Winchester to Basingstoke) 13th March (Sun): 23 miles (Reading to Basi...

Distance walking has a habit of uncovering truths and secrets one did not know about oneself.  I'm interested to see what's left of me after LEJOG. How it shapes me as it's shaped others.  Journalist Michael Herr heard a soldier remark after surviving combat in Vietnam, "I've been scaled. I'm all smooth now." Now that's interesting...I want to know what smooth means.  Mountaineer George Mallory knew that to struggle  leads to understanding. I want to understand what it's like to live to move and move freely, to experiment being nomadic, to slip anchor and drift north east with the wind until the end of the land. Hopefully this journal will be of interest to fellow LEJOGers and JOGLEers, or anyone else who's setting out on what LEJOGer Mark Moxon called "this ridiculous walk." If you have any questions, get in touch. Sam.