‘Technical Detail – ‘The Geeky stuff’
Route
There is no one defined route. Some choose the shortest possible (which is defined as 874 miles) but this involves a lot of road walking. I wanted to use National Trails, Cycle Paths, Canals, dis-used railway lines etc. as much as possible. I.e. to stay off the roads and away from motorised traffic. The baseline for my route was the Cicerone guide which was extremely useful and the strip maps provided are excellent.
Essentially the route was South West Coast Path, Exmoor, Somerset Levels, Offa’s Dyke, Staffs Way, Shropshire Way, Pennine Way, Southern Uplands Way, Union Canal, Forth and Clyde Canal, Strathblane disused railway, West Highland Way, Great Glen Way and then the A9/A99. I had no issue with missing off bits of the official parts of the above segments if it made for a ‘better’ day’s walking. My rationale was that I was walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats and if that meant incomplete sections of the constituent parts then so be it. The signage was generally very good and I was probably only ever slightly lost a few times (Pennine Way take a bow) and the GPS/compass/basic map-reading skills required were not that taxing.
The other consideration was whether to camp or not. I decided that whilst it makes accommodation finding easier (and this was harder than expected), enables greater flexibility over days’ durations and significantly reduces costs this was out-weighed for me by the extra poundage, the probable need for self-catering at least some of the time and the benefits that B&Bs, pubs and hotels provide.
The decision to LEJOG rather than JOGLE was based on maximising hours of daylight, likelihood of good weather and timing was largely based on midges as well as climatic considerations.
Equipment
Boots – the most important element, looking after your feet. I’ve been a long-time fan of Brasher (now Berghaus) GTX SupaLite IIs: light, good all-round performance. They didn’t let me down. I know there are some concerns over the change of production venue but the only issue I had was the heels of the insoles wearing through so replacements were got. No blisters and only one toe-nail lost. These were my only item of footwear as they are light enough for evening wear and again saved weight. People didn’t seem to mind or care if I was padding around in socks.
Socks – everyone will have their own view on ‘single’ or ‘double’ socking. Whilst once I was a firm advocate of the latter I find that today’s socks are good enough and my preference is for Bridgedales.
Walking trousers – again, a very commoditised and personal item. For my money the Eddie Bauer First Ascent ones are superb: flexible, hard-wearing, easy and quick dry.
Base and outer layers – again everyone will have their favourites and the choice is vast. I found that with the heat generated by walking then one base and at most one extra layer was all that was needed.
Waterproofs – obviously essential and worth investing your money for the (probably in my experience) few times they were needed. I took gaiters but only used them 3 times and probably could have done without.
Cold weather gear – luckily I don’t feel the cold too much so the buff and fleece were only ever used in the evenings when off trail. Didn’t take gloves and didn’t miss them.
Misc. – I find a walking pole to be a great asset; the poundage on the knees and the inevitable ascents and descents meant that I would have really struggled without one. The Lekis are obviously well-known and I would recommend the shock-absorber types as being worth the extra money.
Rucksack – Ospreys do a great range and have very good customer support too. I think the main consideration is that whilst you need enough space for all your stuff you must avoid the temptation to over-pack it just because you have the space. I had no more than 3 of any item (one being worn, one dirty and one drying or ready) and got away with 40 lbs.
Electronica – iPhones, iPads and iPods of course have many benefits if not essential nowadays. I used Strava primarily as a means of recording progress and providing some night-time entertainment looking at the day’s stats. Its GPS option did on occasion prove useful when I was disorientated on some moors.