#40 KINDER, NOT GENTLER

Life (or at least the Pennine Way) begins at LEJoG Day 40 Day 40 pre-amble Welcome to 2019, year 3 of my LEJoG. The target for this year is simple: the Pennine Way, running from Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders for… well, let’s check the sign, shall […]

#39 “GOOD COMPANY…..”

…in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” For the first time, the Izaak Walton quote from the Pre-Amble does not just refer to any readers who might click on 50FootHead one day, but to the company of someone who was actually physically present with me during the walk. By mileage this was the shortest day […]

#37 MY (WET) PATCH

Welcome home to LEJoG Day 37 Day 37 pre-amble Yes, this is my manor (guv’nor). Today’s route included: the classic walk from Dovedale to Milldale, which virtually everyone who’s ever visited this area has probably done at least part of, and which I’ve done more than a dozen times. a long stretch on the Tissington […]

#36 A BIT OF CRAIG AND CHARLIE

Celebrate a milestone with Craig and Charlie Day 36 pre-amble I’m gonna be honest: did you think a man on a long distance walk, with a fondness for pop music, was going to resist this reference? As of today, I have walked 500 miles. And by the time I’ve walked 500 more I will be in […]

#35 A BIT OF JOHN AND PETER

John and Peter say Damn, it’s LEJoG Day 35 Day 35 pre-amble Lord Snot and Lord Monty. Melchett and George. Jeeves and Wooster. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Obviously. Here they are as John and Peter, Type A executives running a health club in a series of recurring sketches from A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Best remembered […]

#34 THE ONE WITH “DARLIN’ BUMMERDOG”

Welcome to the grind of LEJoG Day 34 Day 34 pre-amble “Everything’s bottoms, isn’t it?” (Basil Fawlty to Mr Hamilton, Fawlty Towers: ‘Waldorf Salad’, series 2 episode 3, first screened 5 March 1979) At this point in the story of 50FootHead, I am yet to “go live” and have no idea whether anyone else will […]

#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 […]

#29 SERENDIPITY!

Welcome to LEJoG Day 29 Day 29 pre-amble Today I arrived in Worcester. I wanted to give the post a title which played on Wodehouse’s most famous creations. If only because it would also foreshadow a later blog post title acknowledging the two men known for playing them on TV. So I needed a word […]

#28 “A BREATH OF FRESH AIR”

Welcome to LEJoG Day 28 Day 28 pre-amble As indicated yesterday, that’s how they promote the Malvern Hills, which dominated today’s stage. You know how it’s a bit of a cliche to say that many places around the world don’t live up to expectations, but the Grand Canyon does? Well, the Malverns aren’t exactly the […]