Well, I have done it! After 40 days of walking and 675 miles, Thursday 23 May saw me reach the rocks of Dunmore Head on the Dingle Peninsula in western Ireland, at the end of my LETJOG E2W challenge in support of Parkinson’s UK! I set out on 14 April, on this long walk that took me East to West (E2W) across the British Isles, from Lowestoft on the North Sea coast of Suffolk through England, Wales and Ireland to the westernmost point of the Irish mainland on the Atlantic Ocean. For more details and to donate to Parkinson’s UK please see below, and to look back on my daily experiences please look on the BLOG tab above.
LETJOG is Nick Heath’s Charity Website, set up in 2021 ahead of my 58-day unsupported solo walk from Land’s End To John O’Groats (LETJOG) in aid of Mind, Parkinson’s UK and The Hospice of St Francis. Details are on the LETJOG and BLOG Tabs above.
Then in April 2022 I was joined by my old schoolmate Rob as we completed the 200-mile Wainwright-inspired Coast to Coast Path across northern England in aid of Parkinson’s UK: our walk is detailed on the C2C and BLOG Tabs above.
And later that year, in September, I participated as part of the ‘Ride & Stride’ (R&S) Team that cycled, ran and walked the wonderful North Coast 500 in Scotland for Cancer Research UK, Mind and Parkinson’s UK. Again, our journey is detailed on the R&S and BLOG Tabs above.
In 2023 I completed my LETJOG Peaks adventure, climbing to the top of all 50 Counties of England in aid of the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal, and I also completed the 87-mile Ridgeway trail in November. See more on the PEAKS and BLOG Tabs above.
My recent LETJOG E2W walk, 675 miles across the British Isles, has been in support of Parkinson’s UK, and in particular towards their medical research into the causes, relief and a potential cure to Parkinson’s disease. The charity advises me that the cost of funding a clinical researcher for one month is £2,400, and so that would seem a worthwhile collective target to aim for!
My link is still open, so for more information and to donate, please click on the following button:
I have received the following comments and kind words from Michelle Henderson, Community Fundraiser at Parkinson’s UK:
“Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. With more than 40 potential symptoms, Parkinson’s can devastate lives. We’ve made huge breakthroughs in the last 50 years, but there is still no cure, and current treatments are not good enough.
“We are so grateful to Nick Heath for taking on this incredible 650 mile East to West challenge for Parkinson’s UK and for raising (alongside others) over £30,000 from previous long distance hiking challenges. Nick’s commitment to Parkinson’s UK in support of his dear friends is inspiring, and we wish Nick all the very best over the next 5-6 weeks. Every step taken is helping to raise vital funds and awareness. Without people like Nick our work would not be possible.
If you would like to support Nick’s efforts and contribute towards his goal of raising £2,500 for Parkinson’s research please visit his JustGiving page. Your contributions give hope to the 153,000 living with Parkinson’s”
Thank you all for your kind support and your generosity to the cause.
LETJOG E2W
Ever since my LETJOG 2021 trek, Land’s End to John O’Groats, I had been considering a longitudinal walk across our islands, between the most eastern and western extremities of Great Britain and Ireland, a project that I termed ‘LETJOG East to West’, or LETJOG E2W for short. Having now completed the walk, I am not aware of any acknowledged walking route between these two points – Lowestoft Ness on Suffolk’s North Sea coast, and Dunmore Head on the Dingle Peninsula by the Atlantic shores of western Ireland – but the trekking itinerary that I put together took me across 675 miles of some of the finest scenery in England, Wales and Ireland. My journey is all recorded via daily postings and photos on the above BLOG tab.
As with my LETJOG 2021 trek, my LETJOG E2W was a solo and unsupported walk, where I carried my own pack, and was powered only by my feet and by my trusty nordic poles: other than the Irish Sea ferry crossing all mechanised transport along the path was banned. To minimise my load I did not carry a tent; instead I stayed in pubs, B&Bs, hotels and hostels along the way, and generally booking these two to three days in advance, as my walk progressed. Initially I divided the wall into five these stages (though note that I altered my route on the ground, in particular by taking a more southerly path across Ireland).
There were certainly some new challenges on this trip. I decided to leave over a month earlier than on my LETJOG 2021 trek, so the weather proved to be a little harsher, and walking East to West meant that some of the driving westerlies hampered my progress rather. After putting the flatlands of eastern England and the rolling hills of the Midlands behind me, the mountains of central Wales posed a real test, entailing some long and hilly days between the few remote towns, whilst in Ireland I lost the convenient OS map coverage on my phone, and at times I struggled to pre-book accommodation along my preferred route. I was able to overcome all of these challenges, and please take a look back at my journey on the BLOG tab above.
About Me
I’m Nick Heath, a young ‘60-something’ who loves trekking, nordic walking, and just being in the outdoors. This passion has led me into some ambitious endurance events and to undertake some wonderful journeys on foot around the UK and overseas.
Based in west Hertfordshire, my trekking experience over the last decade, aside from LETJOG 2021, the C2C, R&S, and my recent PEAKS and Ridgeway challenges, comprises many of the UK’s long-distance paths, including the Pennine Way, and some significant overseas walks such as climbing Mount Toubkal in Morocco and completing the Gokyo Lakes and Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal.
I have enjoyed trekking since my teenage years, and about 16 years ago I also took up nordic walking (with poles), initially as therapy for a lower back condition. In recent years I have participated in a number of endurance and competitive nordic walking events, including the 2019 Nordic Walking UK annual marathon around Purbeck, where I somehow managed to stride to second place!
My solo and unsupported LETJOG 2021 (Land’s End to John O’Groats) nordic walk in early Summer 2021 was kindly sponsored by a great many generous friends, family and followers of my Blog. In total we raised nearly £13,000 for three wonderful charities in the healthcare sector, namely Mind, Parkinson’s UK, and The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted. More details of my LETJOG walk can be seen on the LETJOG tab, and on my BLOG tab, above.
The next year, in April 2022, I completed the C2C walk alongside my old schoolfriend Rob Stubbs, raising over £3,500 for Parkinson’s UK. Again, our journey can be followed on the C2C tab, and on my BLOG tab, above.
In September 2022 I joined the Ride & Stride Team of ten friends to complete the North Coast 500 route around the northern coast of Scotland. Together we raised over £13,000 for Cancer Research UK, Mind and Parkinson’s UK. More details are on the R&S and BLOG tabs above.
On the bridge in Inverness, at the end of our Ride & Stride journey around the Scottish North Coast 500 route on 15 September 2022
My most ambitious escapade for 2023 was my LETJOG Peaks challenge, completed over six months between March and September, that entailed climbing to the top of all of the Counties of England (50 in total), whilst raising £700 for the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal. All told, my ‘County Tops’ walks totalled 609 miles, with nearly 70,000 vertical feet (21,225 metres) of climb. You can look back on all of these ascents on the PEAKS and BLOG tabs above.
And in November 2023 I completed the 87-mile Ridgeway trail from Overton Hill in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire, in just under 98.5 hours – again my journey can be followed via the BLOG tab above.
You can look back on my LETJOG E2W walk now and read about all of my previous walks on the BLOG tab above, or follow me on Instagram: @ nickletjog
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 