Coastwalkers

This is an attempt at creating a list of everyone who has walked, or is walking, the coastline of Britain. It is far from complete currently, and is very much work in progress. I am not 100% sure of the accuracy of the data, either, but over time it is becoming more accurate as multiple source become available. If you have done the walk and wish to be added, then feel free to mail me.

 

Name	Mileage	Dates	Direction	Resources / Notes
John Merrill	6,824	03-01-1978 to 08-11-1978	Clockwise	The man who led the way. He is apparently considering doing it again, taking in the islands and Ireland as well. An inspiration.
Vivienne Ibbott	Unknown	01-03-1986 to ??-??-1987	Clockwise	Started in Southampton
Helen Krasner	4,922	01-03-1986 to 31-01-1987	Clockwise	'Midges,Maps and Muesli: Account of a 5,000 Mile Walk Round the Coast of Britain', ISBN 0953380106
Ron Bullen	7,047	01-04-1986 to 07-02-1987 (313 days)	Anti-clockwise	The little information that I have is from: http://www.hartlepool-mail.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1109&ArticleID=770318. He raised money for the RNLI. He was 59-60 when he did the walk.
Paul Dyer	Unknown	14-09-1986 to ??-??-1987	Clockwise	Started from John O'Groats
Vera Andrews	7,318	01-1990 to 12-1990	Unknown	'I've seen Granny Vera', ISBN 0-951070-90-8
John Westley	9,469 (including Ireland)	05-08-1990 to 20-09-1991	Clockwise	'And the road below...', ISBN 1-869922-25-5
Bob Croucher	2,409 (England only)	20-04-1991 to 14-09-1991	Clockwise	'A walk around England'
Spud Talbot-Ponsonby	4,546.7	01-08-1993 to 01-06-1994	Anti-clockwise	'Two feet, four paws', ISBN 1-84024-150-0
Jesse	Unknown	early 1994 to mid 1995	Clockwise	Wrote a book: 'friendship spirit and freedom-jesse' Not only did he walk the coastline, he took in offa's dyke, south-north, north-south, then carried on with his walk, then he did the coast to coast e-w w-e, again continuing his walk. he now holds the world record for continuous walk.
Richard Hunt	4,298	01-01-1995 to 29-10-1995	Clockwise	'The sea on our left', ISBN 1-84024-105-5
Shally Hunt	4,298	01-01-1995 to 29-10-1995	Clockwise	'The sea on our left', ISBN 1-84024-105-5
Geraldine Pettitt	5,000	06-03-1995 to 26-10-1995	Anti-clockwise	Walked to raise money for the PDSA.
Robert Steel	4,444	06-03-1995	Clockwise	Was 75 when he walked it, to celebrate the centenary of the National Trust. Started from London Bridge.
Graham F Jones	2,035 (England only)	5 months to 12-09-1997	Anti-clockwise	'Walking the Edge', ISBN 1-897913-62-1
Paul Harvey	Complete	23-06-1996 to --- ??-??-1997	Anti-clockwise	Started in Boston. He has had a very eventful walk. See a comment at the BBC website for more detail.
James Edmonds	Complete	??-??-1997 to --- ??-??-1998 (9 months)	Anti-clockwise	Started in either Spalding or Boston He was 28 when he walked it. See a comment at the BBC website for more detail.
Alfie	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	I know very little - he is from Folkestone / Hythe, did it in the late nineties and walked for a children's hospice. The 'Kent Messenger' newspaper may have more details.
Peter Griffiths	7,000	01-09-1997 to 07-02-1999	Anti-clockwise	Peter set of from Aberystwyth and carried everything he needed for overnight survival including a one man tent. He camped over 170 nights during the walk - staying at friends, B&B's, hostels and bothies for the rest. After completing the walk he staged a photograph exhibition entitled "Footsteps on the Edge of Britain" that was exhibited at eight gallery venues around the coast. See the BBC website for more information. Sadly Peter died of cancer in 2008 - I can only hope that the BBC keep up these webpages as a tribute to his amazing achievement.
Douglas Charles Legg	5,000	01-08-1998 to 31-12-1999	Anti-clockwise	'No Fixed Abode: A Long Walk to the Dome', ISBN 0-9542051. Details of the bok can be found at http://www.rh6.biz/Colby_Press/A_Long_Walk_to_the_Dome.html. Douglas has also walked the coast of Ireland anti-clockwise, and is writing a book about those experiences.
Alison King	5,200	01-01-2000 to 19-11-2001	Clockwise	http://www.alison-and-martyn.org.uk/
Martyn King	5,200	01-01-2000 to 19-11-2001	Clockwise	http://www.alison-and-martyn.org.uk/
Tom Isaacs	4,500?	11-04-2002 to 11-04-2003	Anti-clockwise	www.coastin.co.uk/. Tom has written a book about his walk, Shake Well Before Use
Graham Harbord	4,500?	25-09-2002 to 10-10-2003	Anti-clockwise	www.carols-smile.org.uk/
David Cotton	6,266.5	01-10-2002 to 27-09-2003	Clockwise	www.coastwalk.co.uk/
Louis	Unknown	21-07-2004 to 11-07-2005	Clockwise	Louis set off from near Whitby on Wednesday 21st July 2004, and headed clockwise along the coast. He camped for most of the way around, relying on B&B's only when it is most necessary. He did the walk during a gap year before going to university, and he was by far the youngest coastal walker that I am aware of. Louis has a website at http://www.louiswalkingtheuk.tk/ or see some photographs that I took.
Gary Lamb	4,500	01-04-2005 to 12-02-2006	Clockwise	Gary did the walk as a 'Prayer walk', setting off from Hythe when he was 26, completing 15 miles a day. See a page on his prayer walk for more information. He has written a book about his walk, "Legs of Lamb".
Greg Whitehead	???	??-06-2006 to ??-??-????	Anti-clockwise	Greg set off from Great Yarmouth in June 2006 and walked anti-clockwise, carrying full kit. This was mentioned in the July 2007 'Country Walking' magazine, but I have failed to find any further information elsewhere. If anyone can provide me with further information, please contact me.
Jannina Tredwell	4,500	01-01-2006 to 25-11-2006	Anti-clockwise	See http://www.janninatredwell.com/wtw2006/index.html, Jannina set off from Lyme Regis with her two dogs, Jago and Tressa. She raised £33,000 money for specific projects run by four charities :- The Woodland Trust, the RNLI, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Topsy Foundation. She wrote a book about her walk: A bit far for you dear.
Wendy Bathard and Paul Barber	5,000+	13-11-2006 to approx 13-11-2007	Clockwise	Wendy Bathard and Paul Barber walked 5,000+ miles for charity, raising over £45,000 for both Guide Dogs and the RNLI. They set off from John O'Groats on 13-11-2006, and completed in November 2007. please see http://www.tvh3.com/coastalwalk.htm for more details, along with the Terra=Nova website
Seb Green	3,500	01-02-2008 to 14-12-2008	Anti-clockwise	18-year old Seb Green set off in January 2008 from Weymouth, camping out along with his dog, Flash. His website can be found at: www.sebsodyssey.org.uk. He raised over 27,000 pounds for charity. For more information on the completion of his walk, see this BBC News broadcast.
Ges Laker	5,715	31-01-2009 to 13-02-2010	Anti-clockwise	Ges Laker walked the coast with his two dogs, Sumo and Pheobe. He set off from Warsash near Portsmouth in 2009. He raised money for St Dunstans Charity who support blind ex-servicemen and women to become self-sufficient, regain their optimism and make the most of opportunities. For more information, see his website at http://www.lakerscoastline.org/index.php
David Edwards	5,020	14-03-2010 to 31-07-2010	Clockwise	David, 27, left Cardiff Basin on 14th March 2010. More details can be found on the Facebook page "Mr Duke walks the coast of Britain for Bowel Cancer Wales". He appeared to have managed 250 miles a week - to give you an idea, on my stroll I managed 126 miles a week on average! He walked the north coast of the Isle of Wight from Ryde to Yarmouth instead of the Portsmouth - Southampton area.
Andrew Redford (England and Wales)	2,602	25-04-2010 to 29-07-2010	Clockwise	Andrew walked the coasts of England and Wales in 127 days. He carried a full pack, and his accommodation consisted of camping, hostels and B&B's. He used a Satmap GPS for navigation and an iPhone to submit a daily Photo Blog. His average walking distance was 20.5 miles and his longest day was 36 miles.
Nathaniel Severs	Around 7,000	10/01/2010 to 10/11/2010	Clockwise	Nathaniel Severs, 24, set off from Portsmouth on January 10th 2010, walking clockwise. He arrived back on Novemnber 10th, an amazing time for such a long walk. See the Live for the Outdoors and his own Wordpress websites for more information. He is camping out for much of the time.
Amy Leigh	6000+	01/02/2010	Clockwise	Amy Leigh set off from Guy's Hospital in London on February 1st 2010, walking clockwise. She was walking to raise money for Kindey Research UK. She had a website at Facebook page. She hoped to walk 6,824 miles in eight months - a great achievement. Live for the Outdoors has an article about her walk.
Joe Boy Robertson	5,000?	18/03/2012 to 22/11/2012	Clockwise	Joe Robertson, 23, set off from Southend in March 2012 to raise money for Cancer Research, and completed his walk on November 22nd, walking anti-clockwise. He has a page on JustGiving, and the usual Facebook page. There is also an article on This is Kent before he set off. A very fast (and from a look at his photos) enjoyable achievement.
Dr Geebers	6,800?	2009 to the end of 2012	Clockwise	A man naming himself 'Dr Geebers' walked 6,800 miles around the entire coast between 2009 and the end of 2011, creating sculptures on the way. He started in Brighton and walked clockwise. There is a Daily Mail article on his walk, and he has a website outlining his art.

Sectional Walkers

This tables outlines people who have done (or are doing) the walk sectionally, i.e. not in one go.

Name	Mileage	Dates	Direction	Resources / Notes
Iain Gilbert	5,500	1993 to 2001	Clockwise	Started at Skegness; he lives in Nottinghamshire.
Jane and Jenna Morgan	In progress	1998 to ---	Anti-clockwise	Started at Sandbanks, and have currently got as far as Peacehaven, and have named their walk 'A Gentle Stroll around the Coast of Britain'.
Susan Long	In progress	08-1999 to ---	Clockwise	Started in Cley-next-the-Sea (North Norfolk, has walked as far as Lymington (800 miles).
Adam Doble	2,450	28-04-1997 to 28-07-2004	Clockwise	Adam did England only in 125 days walking; he cut across Wales using Offa's Dyke, and from Gretna to Berwick. One of his next plans is to walk the Welsh coastline.
Spencer Lane	Completed	--- to 1996	???	Sectional walker, he started the walk in the 1970's. He was the customer service manager at City University.
Ted Richards	3,583	02-07-1985 to 12-05-2004	Clockwise	Ted has now completed his walk around England and Wales; he did not take ferries and walked around any island connected by bridges to the mainland. He has a retrospective blog at http://walesenglandcoastalwalk.blogspot.com/.
Paul Bennett	In progress	02-1999	Anticlockwise	Paul starts at St Dogmaels, and is walking England and Wales, although he may extend it by doing Scotland at a later date. He has completed 1,183 miles so far. For more information, see his website at http://pab.angellane.org/coastwalk.html.
Leon, Dick and Chris	In progress	25-08-2005	Anticlockwise	These Cobblers (Coast of Britain'ers) set off from Land's End, and are now as far as Torquay, a distance of 236 miles. They have a nice rule; each walk must start and end with a pint in the same pub! Their website is at www.cowp.co.uk/photos.
Tom Whittaker	In progress	???	???	Tom is walking in sections around England, See his website at http://t.e.whittaker.googlepages.com/home
David Oldman	5,700	??? to 2008	???	David started in 1996, and has now completed his walk. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidonsea/, and London Informer for details.
Mike Rice and Christine Parker	In progress	??? to ???	???	MIke and Christine are walking in sections; they started off by doing the South West Coast Path, and have extended it in either direction. So far they have completed Burnham/Highbridge to Dymchurch.
John Gale	In progress	21/02/2006 to ???	Anticlockwise	John is doing a sectional walk around the coast. He set off from London, and so far he has been walking for four years. See his excellent blog for details.
Andrew Goodall and wife	In progress	15/07/2007 to ???	Clockwise	Andrew and his wife are walking the coast in sections. They started from Dover.
Gilbert Campbell (Scotland only)	Completed	??? to ???	Anticlockwise	Gilbert wrote an entertaining blog about his sectional walk around the Scottish coast - see www.scottishcoastalwalk.co.uk. He has also set up a website that has google maps of his walks - see www.nationalcoastalpath.co.uk.
Eve Richards	In progress	??/??/2007 to ???	Clockwise	Eve set off from Dover and has reached Barnstaple. She walks 8-9 days at a time.
Sue Gisborne and Mary Diffell	In progress	??/10/2007 to ???	Clockwise	This duo set off from Emsworth and are doing the coast in sections; so far they have reached Sterte in Devon, Woolacombe to Morwenstow, Aust to Weston Super Mare and Cromer to Hunstanton. A great way of doing the walk.

A dishonourable mention has to be made of Matthew Brown, who was jailed for 16 months in 2011 for fraud whilst pretending to raise money for Help for Heroes. I suppose there has to be one bad egg amongst all the coastal walkers.

Around Britain Walkers Association

In his book, Douglas Legg states that he would like there to be a association for people who have walked the coast, called the 'Around Britain Walkers Association'. This was something that I was thinking of before I started the walk, and it is becoming increasingly appealing. I am not quite at the stage where I am ready to form such an association, but if anyone thinks that it is a good idea, then email me at discjirm@hotmail.com.

The best bits

You cannot afford time off to walk the entire coast? Why not try some of the bite-sized chunks that I liked best. I have only walked most of these once, and impressions are mostly based on weather and your mood, but these, for me, are the places that are ultra-memorable:

• Blairmore to Durness, via Sandwood Bay and Cape Wrath, 41.4 miles. A superb and memorable walk around the northwestern tip of the mainland. Scottish coastal walking at it's best, and the most atmospheric bothy that I have ever stayed in. See walks 522, 523 and 524.
• Abbereiddy to Strumble Head, 16.1 miles. Superb scenery and views, with an outstanding sunset behind Strumble Head lighthouse. Pembrokeshire at its best. See walk 390.
• Worth Matravers to Lulworth Cove, 14.3 miles. A hard walk through the military firing range at Lulworth, and past the deserted village of Tyneham. See walk 315.
• Gorleston-on-Sea to Southwold, 18.8 miles. Lovely and understaed coastal scenery, through Lowestoft and past the easternmost point on the mainland to Southwold, a superb little town with its own fine brewery. See walk 259.
• Tudweiliog to Clynnog Fawr, 20.2 miles. Some of the best scenery that the Lleyn peninsular has to offer, plus some stiff climbs. All in an area of Wales that is relatively unvisited by tourists. See walk 403.

WWW resources

An interview with Amy Leigh on livefortheoutdoors.com. There is also a second interview with her after the walk on the same website.

An interview with Peter Griffiths on the BBC News website.

On April 11^th 2002 Tom Isaacs set off on a 4,500 walk around the coast of the UK. Tom suffers from Parkinson's disease, and is raising money for the Parkinson's Disease Society. This is a massive acheivement for anyone, yet alone someone suffering from Parkinson's disease. If you can afford to, please donate to this well-worthwhile cause. He completed his walk in mid-April, and topped it off by running the London Marathon two days later!

Imagine my surprise when I was walking towards Brighton one day and I met a gentleman who was walking the coastline in the opposite direction whom I had not heard of. Graham Harbord completed his 4,500 walk around the coastline of Britain on the 10th October 2003, and I was honoured to be there on what turned out to be a sadly tragic day. Graham was raising money for a charity, Carol's Smile, that he set up in memory of his wife who died of cancer.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency also raised money for the Jubilee Sailing Trust (sailing for the physically disabled) by walking around the coastline of Britain. About 275 teams of volunteer coastguards walked in a relay around the coast during 2002 / 2003.

Becky Drew writes a brilliant blog about a walk around Islay's coastline - something I have yet to do, but is on my (admittedly very long) list.

Further reading

A series of books have been written about coastal walks, and the coast in general. Click on a link to go to the Amazon page for the book.

 

Title	Author	ISBN	Details
Turn Right at Land's End	John N. Merrill	0-907496-74-1	This is an excellent book by the first person to walk around the coastline of the UK. Truly a pioneer of this walk, he suffered a dtress-fracture in his foot about halfway through!
Legs of Lamb	Gary Lamb	1-905991-23-1	I have yet to read this book, but Gary's walk blog, which it was based on, was entertaining. A very spiritual walk.
I've Seen Granny Vera	Vera Andrews	0-951070-90-8	Granny Vera holds the longest walk in Britain by a woman world record, an amazoing achievement. As well as walking around 3,000 mile around the coast she also visited all the British Gas showrooms in Britain on the way! Unfortunately I have yet to obtain a copy of this book.
Two feet, four paws	Spud Talbot-Ponsonby	1-84024-150-0	This truly excellent and well-written book is about a young woman who walked the coastline in 1994 with her dog. A truly inspirational read, and one of my favourite walking books.
The sea on our left	Shally Hunt	1-84024-105-5	This is a superb book about a middle-aged couple who walked the coastline in 1995.
Midges,Maps and Muesli	Helen Krasner	0-95338-010-6	A lovely book about Helen's 5,000 mile walk around the coast - the title sums up her experiences rather neatly. An admirable walk by an admirable lady.
Walking the Edge	Graham F Jones	1-897913-62-1	This nice book details a 2,000 mile walk around the coastline of England from Gloucester to Berwick.
Coastwalk	Andrew McCloy	0-340-65740-5	Details routes around the coastline of England and Wales and is an indispensable guide to people planning the walk. And it is small enough to fit in a rucksack during the walk!
The AA Book of the seaside	AA	N/A	A mile-by-mile guide to Britain's coastline. Although published in 1972, this book, which was given to me by a relative, has proved invaluable on the walk. It is full of little nuggets of information that make the walk much more enjoyable.
A walk around England	Bob Croucher	0-902-83038-4	Unfortunately I have yet to find a copy of this book.
And the road below	John Westley	1-869922-25-5	Published by Meridian Books. This exhaustive book gives the details of John's amazing stroll around Britain and Ireland - an stupendous distance of nearly 10,000 miles. A very detailed diary of the walk and the people that he met on the way.
No fixed abode	Douglas Legg	0-9542051-0-3	Published by Colby Press. Douglas seems like an amazing character from this book, which he tackles in a fairly unique manner.
Britain's coastlines from the air	Jane Struthers	0-0918083-3-2	Published by Ebury Press. Although not strictly a book on walking, I got given this book after my walk and the superb images of the coastline bring evocative memories back to me whenever I see them. Definitely a book to be read after the walk!
A Bit Far for You Dear	Jannina Tredwell		This book is an account of Jannina's walk around the coast in 2006.
TGO article, November 2000	Andrew McCloy	N/A	A very interesting article on walking the coast.

If you know of any other people who have done the walk or resources that may be of use to people walking around the coast, then please mail me with them. I am thankful to Gareth Barker for some of this information.

General Links

• My main walks website can be found at www.britishwalks.org. This has details of all the previous walks that I have done since the beginning of 1999.