About this blog

The journey from John o'Groats to Land's End took place in 14 sections, starting in 1996 (a week or so each year). The idea came to me in 1995 and I completed the British JoGLE Watershed in June 2009.

I was joined by a number of relations and friends from time to time. Most notable among my walking companions were my son Tim (7 sections) and nephews Peter and Jonny.

After walking the first section in 1996 I discovered that Dave Hewitt had already pioneered the Scottish Watershed (to Cape Wrath) in 1987, and had published his excellent account Walking the Watershed in 1994. We have been in touch since then, and he has been a great encouragement.

A simple definition of the watershed is that any rain falling to the left of the path finishes in the North Sea or English Channel, and anything to the right flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea or the Bristol Channel.

I believe that this was the first walk along the full length of the British JoGLE Watershed. I became aware just after I completed the journey that the late Mike Allen walked a slightly different version (from Land's End to Cape Wrath) between 1988 and 1994, so he will have covered the same ground apart from the most north-easterly 220km.

There have subsequently been several walks and publications about parts of the JoGLE watershed, including Peter Wright's 2010 Ribbon of Wildness account of his Scottish section walked in 2005, which has brought the subject of watershed walking in the UK to a wider audience.

I hope you enjoy this blog. I'm planning to publish a full account in 2013/4. A summary of the walk appeared in The Angry Corrie volume 76 in 2009.

Malcolm Wylie.

Wednesday 21 September 2005

Day 88 - Coventry Way to Lutterworth

In the morning the Watershed continued to coincide with the Coventry Way round the north of the city. It goes right through the middle of Bedworth, where there is an impressive water tower. I met Barry carrying a ladder, who told me that his grandson was playing for Cambridge City FC.

The route crossed the Coventry Canal, where I stopped to watch a beautiful narrow-boat making stately progress, and the M69, where I didn't stop to watch the lorries. Lunch was at the Rose and Castle in Ansty by the Oxford Canal (see photo).

The afternoon was mostly roads, via Shilton, across the Fosse Way at Cloudesley Bush and Watling Street near Willey, and then past the ginormous warehousing centre of Magna Park outside Lutterworth.

I camped behind the village hall in Ashby Parva (524887) with the encouragement of the locals at the Holly Bush.

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