#75 MONSTER

Day 75: LEJoG – the Longest Day Day 75 preamble The title “Monster” refers to both the length and conclusion of today’s walk. 25½ miles snatches the distance record from Barnstaple to Simonsbath, over 3 years earlier. And the destination was Fort Augustus, at the southern edge of Loch Ness, world-famous for its elusive monster. […]

#74 FLAWED HEEL FLOORED

A foot injury is no obstacle to LEJoG Day 74 Day 74 pre-amble The long-awaited return to Fort William and LEJoG followed an extremely difficult autumn and winter. It’s not really the place to discuss Covid-19, but the virus cast a very long shadow over all aspects of life in Britain between September 2020 (when […]

#66 “NO MAN IS AN ISLAND” (OR, WHAT A WAIST)

Welcome to LEJoG Day 66: all will be revealed… Day 66 pre-amble As promised, today I will reveal and start using my real name. But that can wait until the postscript. In the meantime there’s another section of the walk to enjoy or endure. For once, the post title will only be explained at the […]

#65 OOPS BEN, WHERE’S YOUR (WATERPROOF) TROOSERS?

Rain, rain not going away… welcome back to dreich, drookit and LEJoG Day 65 Day 65 pre-amble Back to those Scottish phrases again for this one. I guess most people will be somewhat familiar with the song ‘Donald Where’s Your Troosers‘, by Andy Stewart, from 1960. Well I certainly wasn’t until Simon Mayo started playing […]

#64 LEVELLING WITH YOU

Welcome to LEJoG Day 64: feel that Central Belt around a perfectly flat waist Day 64 pre-amble This is a landmark three-day week for 50FootHead. Perhaps it has to be, to compensate for the lack of variety or excitement in the terrain and scenery. These three days (#64 to #66) will be spent walking two […]

#44 THE LONG GOOD SATURDAY

Welcome to LEJoG Day 44 Day 44 pre-amble Exactly 52 weeks after another long Saturday walk, it seemed right to have a callback to Day 15. That was a long hot day, this was a long good day, here’s the reference. It’s that simple. LEJoG Day 44 (Saturday 4 May 2019) Haworth to Gargrave (19½ […]

#33 KISSING THE ARSE GOODBYE: PART TWO

LEJoG Birmingham Part 2 of 2 A warm B(r)ummie welcome to the second and final day of arse-kissing. Philosophical question: does this give you a blue nose or a brown nose? LEJoG Birmingham Part 2: Day 33 (Friday 31 August 2018) Birmingham – Gas Street Basin to Sutton Park (10 miles) Cumulative: 465 miles Facts: […]

#32 KISSING THE ARSE GOODBYE: PART ONE

A big fat hairy welcome to LEJoG Birmingham (Part 1 of 2) Day 32 pre-amble Let us recall 50FootHead’s founding metaphor and imagine that the island of Great Britain is a human body, facing away from us (the justification for this will become clear). In fact, let us be more anatomically precise – just for today, […]

#31 EIGHT MILES FLAT

Welcome to LEJoG Day 31. You might find it exciting. Day 31 pre-amble The Byrds sang ‘Eight Miles High’ back in the 1960s. Today’s stage was eight miles long but there was nothing high about it. Nothing low either. It was flat. Canal walks, fields that didn’t really roll, roads with barely a gradient. The […]

#30 SEVERN WAY: SUN, BALMY

Welcome to LEJoG Day 30 (Every single one’s got a story to tell) Day 30 pre-amble Approximately two thirds of today’s walk was spent on the Severn Way. The sun shone brightly. The weather could be described as balmy. And uneven application of sun cream can leave you with white stripes. LEJoG Day 30 (Saturday […]