Nagging doubt that led to trek through Britain

When Mike Brockhurst was in his early 40s he felt something was missing from his life.

It wasn’t a full blown midlife crisis, more a nagging doubt that wouldn’t go away. It was then, as Mike was coasting along, that a friend suggested they go for a walk.

“I was hooked immediately,” he says of that first walk which took him into the Dales from his home in Harrogate. “I grew up in Northallerton and used to be in the great outdoors all the time, but as I got older other things took over.

“I had definitely become stuck in a rut, but as soon as I got into the hills it gave me a sense of perspective about things. It made me feel alive. From that day on walking became part of me and whenever I could I found myself up on the Moors or the Dales, just me, the hills and a few sheep.

“Hitting 40 does make people question things. You look back on the things you’ve done and you realise how short life is, certainly it’s too short not to make the most of the wonderful landscape we are so blessed to live in.”

It was another birthday, his 55th, which inspired Mike’s latest venture. At the end of May he set off on a 1,100 mile walk from Faraid Head in the far north of Scotland to Lizard Point in Cornwall.

When we speak, it’s day 53. Mike has just passed through home territory, walking through Sedbergh to the Yorkshire Dales before dropping down into Hebden Bridge and onwards to the Peak District. He’s now in the Midlands and with another three weeks of walking to go, the blisters are starting to hurt.

“When you’re walking 14 miles a day for 80 days carrying a 15 kilo backpack, there’s going to be a few problems, but nothing that can’t be bandaged. By the time I got to Fort William on day 19 I had suffered impact damage on my heels so had to take an unscheduled break.

“I’ve caught up but it’s hard on the feet and the knees aren’t what they were.”

For the first few weeks Mike deliberately walked alone. A general manager at Balfour Beatty, the construction firm have given him a six month sabbatical to complete the challenge and he was determined, initially at least, to get away from it all.

“There’s something bleak about the landscape in the far north of Scotland that suits a little solitary walking. It’s the perfect place to have time to think. For the first three weeks I saw no one and the solitude was incredibly refreshing.

“However, you can have too much of a good thing and since I left Scotland I’ve had a fair amount of company.”

His wife, Lil, joined him for a while and friend Steve Scott has been a near constant companion since he arrived in England. However, he’s also been accompanied on route by complete strangers who have heard about his expedition.

“It’s been fantastic, people I’ve never met before have just turned up. Some join Steve and I for the day, others just do a few miles, but that’s part of the fun of doing something like this, you never know what the next day will bring.”

Mike had been planning his journey down the length of Britain for some months, but when he set out he knew the one thing he could never plan for was the weather. In Scotland he faced dense mist, in the Borders he was blessed with sunshine and in Yorkshire, perhaps quite typically, the heavens opened.

“If I had managed to get through 11 weeks without getting wet it would have been a miracle,” says Mike. “However, even by British standards, the rain walking into Hebden Bridge was pretty spectacular. The original idea had been to camp, but the fields around the town were awash and we were soaked. It was the kind of day when you are really grateful to see civilisation. We’ve occasionally had to seek sanctuary in disused barns and there have been some days when we’ve seen an awful lot of mud.”

Not that Mike minds too much. Whatever the weather he and Steve’s bags have been packed by 9am at the latest and by the time they finish in the early evening there is just time for a meal and a couple of pints before bedtime

“The other night I was in bed before 8.30pm. Even for me that seemed a little early, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. However, every night I’ve gone to sleep exhausted, but happy.

“When I started thinking about this walk, the idea was to seek out the most spectacular places for walking this country has to offer. I wanted to see dramatic mountains, cascading waterfalls, limestone pavements and beautiful lakes, but it was also about absorbing the culture of Great Britain.

“I spent hours looking at maps deciding which was the best course to take and it was then I realised just how lucky we are in this country that we have so many long distance paths and national trails that wend their way around the most dramatic landscape.

“This was never about taking the most direct course, but it was about seeking out the most interesting features. If I came across an interesting diversion, I want to be able to explore and a lot of the route has been spontaneous.”

As well as tending to his blisters, each night, Mike also uploads his thoughts on that day’s progress, along with marks out of 10 for scenery and historical interest to his website. He set up the Walking Englishman a few years ago and as well as detailing hundreds of routes across the country, with about 100,000 hits a day, it has also become something of a forum for those who share his love of the outdoors.

“Through the website I have a lot of correspondence with people from different parts of the world who have all fallen in love with Britain because of its views,” he says. “The Coast to Coast route was named as one of the best walks in the world, second only to Great Wall of China.

“When you stop to think about that for a moment, it’s incredible and one of the great things about this walk is that it has allowed me to see how the environment changes as you move from north to south. We live in the most beautiful country in the world.”

While the walk represents a personal challenge for Mike, he’s also using it to raise money for Balfour Beatty’s Building Better Futures charity, which helps support young people from less well off homes. His aim is to raise £10,000 through pledges, but along the way he has also been collecting money for smaller charitable organisations in Harrogate.

“We were walking out of Glossop the other day and stopped at a pub where we got chatting to a cyclist. As he left, he pushed a £20 note across the table. That kind of thing has happened quite a lot and people have given us discounts on lodgings or meals.

“It’s those kind of things that restore your faith in human nature. So many of us work such long hours that we barely have time for anything else, but something like this makes you realise that every so often you just need to take your foot off the pedal.”

Mike is not sure exactly how many miles he has covered in the last decade or so, but he’s more than made up for his years of inactivity and he admits that he has become almost evangelical about the benefits of walking.

“I’ve missed my wife, I missed home cooking, I’ve missed having a bath and being clean and I’ve missed my own bed,” he says. “But in return I’ve had adventures that most people only dream of. There’s something about getting up each morning and pulling on your walking boots which is incredibly exhilarating.”

Today, Mike is due to arrive in Cheltenham. In his final two weeks he will take in Bath, Cheddar and Truro, along with a dozen more smaller hamlets and villages. When he finally gets to Lizard Point he hopes the champagne will already be on ice.

“I’m trying not to think too far ahead, but it does now feel like the end is in sight,” he says. “I don’t know quite how I will feel once it’s all ever, but I expect I will have mixed emotions. Who knows, I may even decide to turn back and retrace my steps.”

He’s joking of course, but when he crosses the finishing line, Mike Brockhurst’s walking days will be far from over.

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Charities to benefit from the walk

Mike is hoping to raise money to support two charities close to his heart.

Donations made through his Just Giving site will go to Building Better Futures, which was set up by Balfour Beatty two years ago to support vulnerable young people across the country. Money collected along the route will be given to the Harrogate Skills For Living Centre, which helps people of all ages with learning difficulties. Mike’s brother, Dave, works at the centre and a number of those who use the facilities accompanied him on part of the Yorkshire section of his mammoth walk.

For more details of Mike’s walk and how to donate, visit his website at www.walkingenglishman.com