Going Where There's Anything to be Seen
Robert (L) and John (R) Naylor
Land’s End to John O’Groats has become an iconic route, shorthand for “from one end of Great Britain to the other.” And while it’s certainly possible that individuals traversed this distance before them, the first documented nonstop walk of the route was accomplished by brothers Robert and John Naylor, of Cheshire, in 1871.
The Naylors were in some ways men of their time: in the 19th century, “pedestrianism” was all the rage in both North America and Europe, with both track-based and cross-country endurance walking events attracting enthusiastic spectator support (and of course, gambling on the outcome). William Wordsworth captured the essence of his long walks across Europe in his poetry, especially The Prelude, published shortly after he died in 1850. Scottish-born naturalist John Muir’s famous Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf (from Indiana to Florida) took place in 1867. Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes documents his twelve-day walk in 1878 along the south-east edge of France’s Massif Central, and helped launch the entire genre of travel writing when it was published the following year.
We have this enthusiasm for long walks to thank for the creation of many trails we continue to enjoy to this day. The Long Trail, conceived in 1909 with construction starting in 1910, runs the length of Vermont and inspired the creation of the Appalachian Trail (in turn followed by other very long trails).
Elihu Burritt in walking attire
But back to Great Britain… the Naylor brothers’ epic trek, documented in the 1916 book that John edited based on their trip diaries, after his brother had passed away, helped generate greater interest in taking this journey. And while they were the first to have documented a nonstop trek (in their case, from John O’Groats to Land’s End), their trip was inspired by two long walks taken earlier, by American diplomat and pacifist Elihu Burritt: from London to John O’Groat’s (in 1863) and from London to Land’s End (in 1864).
The impression one derives of the Naylors from John’s account is that they were at once very intrepid, and very devout. Far from pursuing the shortest route between the two points, they rambled across the country, “going where there was anything to be seen,” to “see and learn as much as possible of the country we passed through on our way.” Even before they began their point-to-point journey down the length of Great Britain, they took nearly two weeks traveling from their home in Cheshire, just to get to the starting point at John O’Groat’s. They survived a storm in the North Sea, explored cathedrals and quarries, walked across smaller islands, and stopped for a visit to the Standing Stones of Stenness… all before their epic journey officially “began.”
Along the way (and for the duration of their point-to-point journey) they attended church services every Sunday, and wrote at length in their journals about their theological contemplations. They also pledged to “abstain from all intoxicating drink, not to smoke cigars or tobacco, and to walk so that at the end of the journey we should have maintained an average of twenty-five miles per day, except Sunday, on which day we were to attend two religious services, as followers of and believers in Sir Matthew Hale's Golden Maxim: “A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content / And Health for the toils of to-morrow; / But a Sabbath profaned, WHATE'ER MAY BE GAINED / Is a certain forerunner of Sorrow.”
Penny-farthings, old and new!
In the 149 years since, untold numbers of adventurers have taken the journey, using every conceivable mode of travel, from walking to biking to wheelchair racing. Skateboarders have completed the journey, and stand-up paddle-boarders have traveled from one point to the other via the Irish Sea and the Caledonian Canal. I was intrigued to learn that the record for the fastest penny-farthing journey (five days and one hour, set by Victorian cyclist George Pilkington Mills in 1886) was broken last year by Derbyshire cyclist Richard Thoday, who finished in four days and twelve hours.
Just a few days into my own completely virtual journey, I’m already discovering the extent to which the distance plays with one’s imagination. Running around little Dixon Reservoir just a few miles from my house, I found myself imagining the cool sea breezes of Cornwall, even as I ran past coteries of prairie dogs. Perusing the interactive map of this virtual journey, I can already see the terrain changing from craggy rocks to farmland. It is such fun!
Wishing you happy journeys, real or imagined, and I’ll see you on the trail!
