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.

Tuesday 5 August 2008

SECTION 13 - Exmoor to Bude

This Section is nearly totally in Devon, and takes in Exmoor in the north and Dartmoor in the south, finishing near the north coast again near Bude, having rounded the head of the Tamar - which marks the boundary with Cornwall.

The dates hadn't worked out for Peter to join me again this year, but he, Tim and I had enjoyed a great time on the Torridon Munros earlier in the summer.

Having read Lorna Doone last year, I'd decided to get back to the start of this Section by walking up Badgeworthy Water and Doone Country from County Gate, rather than hitching. This was a splendid start. [If you do it, there's an unexpected toll path for part of it which will cost you 50p!]

The photo shows the point I reached quite soon after setting off, where the Two Moors Way meets the Macmillan Way West and the Tarka Trail. As you see, the weather was grim.

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