Ebook: End to End

Steve Blease had never done any serious walking in his life, so his decision to 'do End-to-End'—walk the 1,100 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats—was both brave and puzzling. What on earth was the point? Well, there were some attractions. See more of the country, sample as many of its local beers as possible and also raise money for the NSPCC. But best of all, just take off. Leave the worries and responsibilities behind. Steve gets lost twice before even leaving Land's End and it doesn't get any easier. But he's fuelled by best bitter and sustained by the generosity and humour of his travelling companions and the people he meets along the way. For anyone who has ever fancied a really long walk (but never quite managed to get round to it), End to End is an unfailingly humorous guide to what it's really like.

Visit the website for photos from the journey, a map and an itinerary: www.landsendjohnogroats.co.uk

Steve Blease is a retired insurance executive. Fluent in French and German with a degree in European Studies, he spent 30 years working at the Norwich Union all over the world. This walk was just one of several travel projects he undertook during his belated gap year in 2006.