Walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats AND back again!
A 70 YEARS OLD BOATER aims to raise £70,000 walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats AND back again!
Walking nearly 2,500 miles
Narrowboater Chris Stanbury is hoping to achieve two world records while raising money for the charity Hope and Homes for Children by walking nearly 2,500 miles in around 144 days (five months) from Lands End to John O’Groats and back again.
Chris, who lives full time on a pink coloured electric narrowboat Elektra, started his walk at the most westerly point of mainland England in early April and aims to reach John O’Groats on the eve of Midsummer’s Day.
When he reaches John O'Groats, the keen walker will turn around and walk back to Land’s End via a different and more direct route, reaching the Cornish landmark on August Bank Holiday Monday.
“I want to achieve something memorable following my 70th birthday and my walk aims to raise £70,000 which will transform the lives of children currently trapped in orphanages,” tells Chris, who is also known as the Pink Hat Man as he is usually seen wearing one!
While just a month into his walk, Chris has already managed to raise nearly 20% of his target with many donations coming in from people he meets along his route.
Inprove the lives of children
The charity Hope and Homes for Children has been working to improve the lives of children in orphanages since 1994 and is supported by famous names including actors Dame Kristen Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman, and broadcasters Natalie Pinkham and Nick Hewer.
Today over 5.4 million children are confined in orphanages, even though 80% of those are not orphans. Hope and Homes for Children is working in nine countries with teams of skilled, local child protection professionals to get these children Back to Family.
Chris has spent months planning this once-in-a-lifetime trip which could earn him two world records: one for being the oldest person to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again (known as LeJoGLe) and the other for being the fastest (as no one has claimed the record in the past).
Months planning
He has spent months planning his route which will involve him walking 1,344 miles and a total ascent of more than 140,000 feet on his way up through Britain. His return walk will cover a total of 1,097 miles and a less challenging 82,033 feet of ascent!
The route will take in some iconic paths including the Cotswold Way, the Jubilee Way, Wales Coast Path, all 268 miles of the Pennine Way, the West Highlands Way and the entire length of the Lancaster Canal where his narrowboat is currently moored, and tells Chris:
“By using long distance paths and National Trails I am hopeful that most of the route will be reasonably well marked and well walked. That should mean less fighting my way through brambles and blocked footpaths!”
You can help Chris to reach his £70,000 target by making a donation to the charity via his JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/lejog70 where you will also find links to his Instagram and YouTube channels which he will update regularly during his walk.