England End to End is a 1300km journey from the far South Western corner of England to the opposite end of the country in the North East. Over its course, it combines large sections of exising long distance trails including The Southwest Coast Path, MacMillan Way West, Monarch's Way, Offa's Dyke, Shropshire Way, Staffordshire Way, Pennine Way and St. Cuthberts Way.
The concept of an ‘end to end’ walk is simple – start at one end of a mountain range, river or island and finish at the other. There is an elegance in the simplicity of the challenge that I find compelling, but the classic Land’s End to John O Groats walk had never appealed – too flat, too familiar, too long to justify the time and commitment required. Yet the thought never quite went away. I am, after all, English!
Fast forward to April 2024 and an idea emerged – to embark on a form of pilgrimage from the tidal island of St. Michael’s Mount near Penzance to Lindisfarne otherwise known as Holy Island, another tidal island in the far North Eastern reaches of England. This might represent something of a journey back in time, to revisit places long forgotten, and to experience England as a whole, drawing out what makes rural England, England.
The first completion was made in June 2024 in 29 days, but this involved walking an average of 45 km every day.
There is no guidebook for the whole route and this web site is intended as a resource for future completions. Please let me know if you plan to walk the route and to provide any feedback by contacting me.