One danger of living in London is that there is so much to see and do that you never get out of the city to explore the rest of this island that constitutes Great Britain. I will do something against this, and not only in the form of a day trip to Winchester or Cambridge, but in a more radical way: I will walk across England, from coast to coast. 

In the week from 6 to 12 June 2011, I will walk across England along the Hadrian’s Wall, all the way from the North Sea to the Irish Sea.

The Hadrian’s Wall was a Roman fortification in northern England, parts of which still remain in place today.

The distance is about 135 km which I estimate will take me around 5 days. After leaving Newcastle in the east, the walk will cross mainly uninhabited areas. I will have to carry my supplies with me and I will camp in the wild.

My father, an experienced outdoors man, supplied me with a rucksack, sleeping bag, bivouac sack and other necessaries. I bought a small Esbit stove, enough food and a tarpaulin to build a makeshift protection against the rain. And I have the relevant OS maps and some cigars with me, so I should be fine.

If I survive you will read about it here. If I won’t, I guess you will read about it somewhere else. Sooner or later.

I am off now for a week.

UPDATE: I am back. Read the account here.