Andrew Davies has always been a traveller, from hitch-hiking around the country and Inter-railing across Europe as a student, to a career of any job that would allow him to live and work somewhere exotic. So that’s taken him to teaching English as a volunteer in Africa, working as an accountant for charities overseas in emergency relief, and even running a radio station in the South Pacific. Now recently retired, his travels now include tackling all the countries on his long bucket list – and exploring his own country, on foot.
For his most recent adventure Andrew hiked the length of Britain from Land’s End to John o’ Groats – mostly on Slow Ways. Many thanks to Andrew who kindly sent us this report.
My love of walking started with the discovery of how much good it did me, physically and mentally, in coping with a stressful job.
That was reinforced when I took early retirement around the time of the Covid pandemic. I took up the 1000 mile challenge championed by Country Walking magazine (1,000 miles a year = 2.74 per day), and found it an inspiring objective to get out every day.
With more time on my hands, I decided on a project to see more of the country, and I started in 2023 in Cornwall and Devon. From Land’s End it developed into walking as far as my home in Winchester, and transformed gradually into the idea of going all the way to John O Groats. The first year I stopped in Derby; in 2024 I continued as far as Edinburgh, and this year I completed the Scottish section. My total miles were 1,273, much longer than the “shortest route” favoured by cyclists (874 miles), and I took a leisurely 113 days in total, so averaging only about 11 miles a day. I found this was sustainable over the long term, day after day, and as a result I did not suffer any injuries. It was, after all, supposed to be a holiday as well as a challenge, not an ordeal!
Andrew’s waylist map of all 101 Slow Ways routes he has walked and reviewed so far, including 97 routes used for his Land’s End to John o’ Groats journey.
I found there was a beautiful simplicity in walking in a simple continuous straight line, following my own inclination, heading at my own slow pace towards areas I was interested in, provided they were more or less on the way. So I included the Cotswolds, the Peak District, Yorkshire and Northumbria. And on the way I used 97 Slow Ways (about three quarters of the total distance)! As the app developed, I found it an increasingly useful help for my daily route. Not only does it give you a possible walking route (or two) from A to B, but it also gives reviews and comments from walkers who came before, which were often solid gold. In some areas I found myself to be the Slow Ways pioneer (first reviewer) on many routes, especially further north.
I travelled alone – partly because of the freedom of no negotiations and partly because I knew nobody crazy enough to want to do it with me! I never listened to any music or podcasts, since I wanted to be in the moment with just the birds, wind and waves, or silence, and no distractions. In the words of a 19th century governess, Ellen Weeton, “I choose to go alone… that my thoughts, as well as my feet, may ramble without constraint.”
The main challenge was accommodation: in the beginning, in the south west, I did quite a bit of camping, wild and in campsites, which offered great flexibility. As I headed north, I resorted more to B&Bs and hotels, partly because of the less reliable weather, but also because of enjoying more comfort and not needing to carry the extra camping equipment. As I got to more remote parts I found I had to book accommodation further in advance, since there was less choice, and that restricted my flexibility somewhat.
My backpack was minimal, just a few clothes, toiletries, food and water, about 10kg – over the years I have learned to eliminate everything that I brought “just in case”. But my one luxury was books – a diary to record my daily experiences, and a book to read for the evenings, which I swapped as I went.
I learned that, in spite of all the voices of doom about the destruction of the countryside, there is still a great deal of beauty and space, in every county along the way. To those thinking of following in my footsteps, I would say: do it! There is nothing really stopping you, except yourself. Do it your own way, there is no fixed route, timing or method; all are valid. Pick a destination nearby, that you want to walk to, and then another. Start small and see where it leads!
Andrew Davies (2025)
Did you know you can use Slow Ways to plan long distance journeys? Try using our Journey Planner or using our Routing tool.
