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, 22 September 2005

Day 89 - airstrip and battlefield crossings


I was off early, before the playgroup kids arrived at the hall, and had breakfast by a lake just beyond Gilmorton, having crossed the busy M1.

Afterwards I skirted to the north of the Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome Proving Ground (because of security fencing), and got to Husbands Bosworth in time for lunch at the Bell Inn. 

At this stage the Watershed gets back into a more rolling and interesting landscape. This is the NE end of the Northamptonshire Uplands, an extension of the Cotswolds (of which more later). Onto map 141, I crossed a landing strip (see photo) used by a gliding club, with permission and a warning "always to look downwind for approaching aircraft". 

I joined the Jurassic Way briefly on the way into Sibbertoft, and then went due south across the battlefield of Naseby on a country road (the photo shows the plaque which describes the historic site). Then across the A14 into Naseby village, and a photo of the source of the Avon (see the post for the start of this Section).

At this point the Watershed swings sharply to the SW, and I followed roads through Cold Ashby (back onto map 140) to West Haddon, where I camped (without permission) a discreet distance to the west (at 625718).
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