I Hiked The Entire Coast of Britain: The Stats of a Year-Long Journey

What an ordinary person is capable of achieving

The golden thread of my route around Great Britain’s coastline, explore below. (Credit: Author)

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I set out to walk the coast of Great Britain — United Kingdom’s mainland — in one continuous journey, with a lot of expectations about what lay ahead. All of them would prove to be wrong.

I believed the coast of the mainland was about 5000 miles, and I was wrong by quite a distance. I underestimated how hilly and difficult the coastline would be, and how long such a journey would take. I never considered the calories I would burn or my daily step count, but I would have underestimated that, too.

I imagined living in a tent through four seasons, completely unaided, walking every day and finishing with the same equipment I began with.

I imagined raising much less money for the charity I walked in aid of, surpassing my goal and then more than doubling it.

The challenge turned out to be far greater than expected, but in completing it, I surpassed all the perceived limits of my ability.

Distance, elevation and route

The Great British coastline is famous for being as long as a piece of string. All coast walkers return home…