About this blog

The journey from John o'Groats to Land's End took place in 14 sections, starting in 1996 (a week or so each year). The idea came to me in 1995 and I completed the British JoGLE Watershed in June 2009.

I was joined by a number of relations and friends from time to time. Most notable among my walking companions were my son Tim (7 sections) and nephews Peter and Jonny.

After walking the first section in 1996 I discovered that Dave Hewitt had already pioneered the Scottish Watershed (to Cape Wrath) in 1987, and had published his excellent account Walking the Watershed in 1994. We have been in touch since then, and he has been a great encouragement.

A simple definition of the watershed is that any rain falling to the left of the path finishes in the North Sea or English Channel, and anything to the right flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea or the Bristol Channel.

I believe that this was the first walk along the full length of the British JoGLE Watershed. I became aware just after I completed the journey that the late Mike Allen walked a slightly different version (from Land's End to Cape Wrath) between 1988 and 1994, so he will have covered the same ground apart from the most north-easterly 220km.

There have subsequently been several walks and publications about parts of the JoGLE watershed, including Peter Wright's 2010 Ribbon of Wildness account of his Scottish section walked in 2005, which has brought the subject of watershed walking in the UK to a wider audience.

I hope you enjoy this blog. I'm planning to publish a full account in 2013/4. A summary of the walk appeared in The Angry Corrie volume 76 in 2009.

Malcolm Wylie.

Thursday 26 June 2003

Day 75 - Pennine Way and M62

Today's walk, in fine weather, more or less followed the Pennine Way until its surprising detour round Wessendon Moor.

I had a double disappointment with pubs (the A58 White Horse wasn't open for a second breakfast and the A62 Jolly Roger had recently gone out of business), but this was more than made up for when I hitched down from Standedge for lunch at The Commercial in Uppermill - and caught the bus back up afterwards.

Notable along the way in the morning were the Roman Road just below the Aiggin Stone (see photo), crossing the M62 on the purpose-built and impressive footbridge, and a hilarious boggy little manoeuvre off the PW to avoid a thin blue line - in full view of a bemused couple of more conventional walkers (just before moving onto map 110).

After lunch I took the correct route between two neighbouring reservoirs (Swellands and Black Moss) and then left the PW to hack straight across Wessendon Moor. There was a good path up to Black Hill (582m), the highest point of the day, where the Watershed paradoxically crosses the PW at right angles. Then some more difficult walking until I pitched camp at the head of Stable Clough (104029). I then walked up onto the ridge to get a mobile signal and phoned Chris wish her a happy 42nd wedding anniversary.

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