John o’ Groats to Land’s End virtual walk

[George J]

Dear Marcbanks, depending on how you want to go from Leominster to Hereford, and I know its quite a detour, but if you fancied to head towards Bromyard [ie: head along the A44 in the direction of Worcester; Bromyard is about fourteen miles down the road] there is warm welcome from Lu and myself for a walk along the Bromyard Downs from Norton to Brockhampton, taking in the old Riffle Butts and old Race Course. This is common land and good walking with wonderful views into Worcestershire and Malvern Hills, South Herefordshire and into Gloucestershire.

It is part of the Common I walk my little dog every day and multiple times at the weekend.

It is a question of which is more interesting. North West Herefordshire or North East really.

It is about fourteen miles from Bromyard to Hereford, and on the way is the Wye Valley Brewery who brew Hereford Pale Ale, Butty Bach, Wye Valley Bitter and an exceptional Pilsner as well. Their pub is called the Plough at Stoke Lacy. Certainly worth a visit for an excellent pint half way to Hereford!

Best wishes from George

 

[Eyebroughty]

Today’s walk was over by 12.22, so I was exactly where I am now - a place called Latheronwheel, which boasts a burn, a bridge, a pretty little harbour and - astonishingly, for this area - a few inhabitants.

Melrose is definitely feasible, if that is your patch. Just nominate a meeting-place. The only rule - in an area where you can be found a good deal of the time.

Merose or Dryburgh Abbey I think would be best.

Both are not visited by me much, if you wanted a brew up in the Border Hills then that is where you would most likely find me.

A few questions, how exactly do you do a virtual walk, do you use Street View, or somethings else, how is the virtual meeting done, not having seen this before it interests me to know how these two points are achieved.

Link below to the couple of places, the hotel in Melrose and the Dryburgh Abbey hotel, the Abbey itself also has a history, a couple of interesting people are buried there.

https://www.thetownhousemelrose.co.uk/

https://www.dryburgh.co.uk/

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

As you’re routing through Manchester, both @lordsummit and I live not unadjacent to Trafford General Hospital, birthplace of the NHS, which is perhaps 4 or 5 miles west of the city centre. This might be worth a short diversion, perhaps?

With sincere apologies to @Weekender who is even more adjacent than lordsummit, we’re practically neighbours and I completely forgot to include him in my recommendation.

 

[Weekender]

With sincere apologies to @Weekender who is even more adjacent than lordsummit, we’re practically neighbours and I completely forgot to include him in my recommendation.

I'll be sure to wave virtually...The Schooner on Flixton Rd has a good selection of craft ales.

 

[Marchbanks]

I'll be sure to wave virtually...The Schooner on Flixton Rd has a good selection of craft ales.

Is that an invitation to a virtual meeting, or have you joined the subset of members who only want to wave from a distance (and therefore don’t get their own marker?) I mean, the distance thing is understandable given my recent negative publicity - but in my view it was blown up out of all proportion, and anthrax was only proven in one case anyway. All right, possibly two.

 

[Marchbanks]

Merose or Dryburgh Abbey I think would be best.

Both are not visited by me much, if you wanted a brew up in the Border Hills then that is where you would most likely find me.

A few questions, how exactly do you do a virtual walk, do you use Street View, or somethings else, how is the virtual meeting done, not having seen this before it interests me to know how these two points are achieved.

Link below to the couple of places, the hotel in Melrose and the Dryburgh Abbey hotel, the Abbey itself also has a history, a couple of interesting people are buried there.

https://www.thetownhousemelrose.co.uk/

https://www.dryburgh.co.uk/

If you are more likely to be in the Border Hills than would be better, provided it’s not far off track. I’m trying to keep to locations close to home or work, or frequently visited for leisure purposes. Otherwise someone who lives in say, Cambridge, could arrange a meeting on top of the Forth Bridge - and that rather defeats whatever object there is.

All I do is use a GPS app to tell me how far I’ve walked, then plot that distance on Google Maps in whichever direction takes my fancy. There’s no work required on your behalf when it comes to the virtual meet, I’ll post to say the rendezvous has been made when I get to the arranged location and try to keep updating a map with everyone I’ve met along the way indicated on it.

 

[Weekender]

Is that an invitation to a virtual meeting, or have you joined the subset of members who only want to wave from a distance (and therefore don’t get their own marker?) I mean, the distance thing is understandable given my recent negative publicity - but in my view it was blown up out of all proportion, and anthrax was only proven in one case anyway. All right, possibly two.

I think I may have misunderstood one of the strands of your walk...I don't do virtual meetings and so will just wave from our bay window.

 

[Eyebroughty]

If you are more likely to be in the Border Hills than would be better, provided it’s not far off track. I’m trying to keep to locations close to home or work, or frequently visited for leisure purposes. Otherwise someone who lives in say, Cambridge, could arrange a meeting on top of the Forth Bridge - and that rather defeats whatever object there is.

All I do is use a GPS app to tell me how far I’ve walked, then plot that distance on Google Maps in whichever direction takes my fancy. There’s no work required on your behalf when it comes to the virtual meet, I’ll post to say the rendezvous has been made when I get to the arranged location and try to keep updating a map with everyone I’ve met along the way indicated on it.

Hi,
I am still not sure how you know how far you have walked.
What is this GPS app you talk about?
Do you decide in your head how far you have walked each day, say 20 miles and then plot a route using that 20 miles or is there something else involved?
Do you do any actual walking and then plot that distance on a route.
Without knowing the way this virtual walk works leaving it up to assumption is not the best way to try and understand a process.
Cheers
John

 

[Marchbanks]

Hi,
I am still not sure how you know how far you have walked.
What is this GPS app you talk about?
Do you decide in your head how far you have walked each day, say 20 miles and then plot a route using that 20 miles or is there something else involved?
Do you do any actual walking and then plot that distance on a route.
Without knowing the way this virtual walk works leaving it up to assumption is not the best way to try and understand a process.
Cheers
John

OK...

First I go for a walk, having turned on the GPS tracking app on my phone. On this phone I'm currently using World Walking. There are many others. While en route it tracks my course. When I get back I press 'finish' and it tells me how far I walked. Today it was 8.3 miles.

Then I go to Google Maps and plot that distance from my last stopping point using the 'directions' facility

...then I save that point on the map and it becomes my new location. In this way I plot a course showing my position at the end of every day.

And for fun I can look at the places I have virtually been. For example, today I was virtually here...

...whereas in reality I was here.

 

[Nero]

Blimey, at that rate you won’t be here before Christmas. I’ll leave the lights up for now.

 

[eisenach]

Blimey, at that rate you won’t be here before Christmas. I’ll leave the lights up for now.

 

[Marchbanks]

Blimey, at that rate you won’t be here before Christmas. I’ll leave the lights up for now.

I take it that means you don’t live in the mighty metropolis of Helmsdale (pop. 764) that I’ll be hitting tomorrow.

 

[Eyebroughty]

OK...

First I go for a walk, having turned on the GPS tracking app on my phone. On this phone I'm currently using World Walking. There are many others. While en route it tracks my course. When I get back I press 'finish' and it tells me how far I walked. Today it was 8.3 miles.

Then I go to Google Maps and plot that distance from my last stopping point using the 'directions' facility

...then I save that point on the map and it becomes my new location. In this way I plot a course showing my position at the end of every day.

And for fun I can look at the places I have virtually been. For example, today I was virtually here...

...whereas in reality I was here.

Now I get it, that is a great idea, so it will be a while before you reach down to the Borders, John o' Groats to Melrose is 315 miles so you leaves you time for a few meetings on the way

I will watch you make your way down towards the central belt, St Andrews is nice, you could walk along the beach for a bit of sea breeze.

Edinburgh will be busy, then when you have left Edinburgh, if that is the route you decide to take, then it is about 38 miles to Melrose.

Depending on which road you take, the A7 is a nice and has plenty of farms and out buildings to shelter in for the night, however I prefer the A68 so you will have about 4 days to get ready for lunch and some refreshments.

 

[Marchbanks]

Now I get it, that is a great idea, so it will be a while before you reach down to the Borders, John o' Groats to Melrose is 315 miles so you leaves you time for a few meetings on the way

I will watch you make your way down towards the central belt, St Andrews is nice, you could walk along the beach for a bit of sea breeze.

Edinburgh will be busy, then when you have left Edinburgh, if that is the route you decide to take, then it is about 38 miles to Melrose.

Depending on which road you take, the A7 is a nice and has plenty of farms and out buildings to shelter in for the night, however I prefer the A68 so you will have about 4 days to get ready for lunch and some refreshments.

Ah, good. I’d still rather meet somewhere where you ‘would most likely be found’ but Melrose will do if that’s not possible. I think I’m back down to ten virtual rendezvous at this point, and would hate to lose another.

I’m more than halfway to Inverness now, and there are real signs of civilization. Communities of four figures, railway stations, garages… Still several weeks away from my first meet (unless someone pops up in the area around Inverness) but I’ve covered 62 miles in the first ten days. I reckon that’s OK for a feeble-bodied old man who exactly four weeks ago was being sliced open, squidged about and stapled back together by a gleeful surgeon.

I was distraught to learn that the farmer who put this whole misbegotten venture in my brain on New Year’s Day had an argument with one of his bulls a couple of days ago. He broke his toe in three places and is hobbling more than I ever was. Actually I lie, I was struggling to keep a straight face when his sister told me the news. She wasn’t even trying.

 

[rbrown]

I was distraught to learn that the farmer who put this whole misbegotten venture in my brain on New Year’s Day had an argument with one of his bulls a couple of days ago. He broke his toe in three places and is hobbling more than I ever was. Actually I lie, I was struggling to keep a straight face when his sister told me the news. She wasn’t even trying.

Sounds like a scene from Withnail and I.

You’re most welcome to pop over to Crediton if that’s en route. It’s about 10 miles northwest of Exeter, so I guess you’re a few months away.

Bon voyage!

 

[Marchbanks]

Sounds like a scene from Withnail and I.

You’re most welcome to pop over to Crediton if that’s en route. It’s about 10 miles northwest of Exeter, so I guess you’re a few months away.

Bon voyage!

Crediton sounds good. We can fix a spot later. I could even fit in a sentimental journey to Cullompton, where I spent a couple of terms at primary school in the early 60s.

Hooray! First appointment south of Bristol!

 

[Marchbanks]

Now available - the Marchbanks Virtual Walk Interactive Experience v0.9 Beta! Immersive, inclusive, incomprehensible and probably broken.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Q1Ll9vClVweceqKCT827WBxGcxuzXpA&usp=sharing

 

[Marchbanks]

Now live - all bottles pulled from the virtual knapsack en route.

 

[TheDecameron]

I take it that means you don’t live in the mighty metropolis of Helmsdale (pop. 764) that I’ll be hitting tomorrow.

Steep steep gradients, beware Helmsdale and the Berrydale. Beware too the licensed beverage emporia of Golspie.A friend was in one and overheard two octogenarian ex farm labourers waxing philosophical over their many drams- one opined to the other “ we are just gnomes, gnomes grovelling in the dirt”.

 

[Marchbanks]

Steep steep gradients, beware Helmsdale and the Berrydale. Beware too the licensed beverage emporia of Golspie.A friend was in one and overheard two octogenarian ex farm labourers waxing philosophical over their many drams- one opined to the other “ we are just gnomes, gnomes grovelling in the dirt”.

Fortunately that’s all behind me now. Perhaps not fortunately in the case of Golspie - I think I might have fitted in there quite well. As would an old friend who would intone solemnly ‘the days of man are but as grass’ whenever someone died unexpectedly.

But if you look at the map you will see I’m forging on manfully towards Inverness. You are even mentioned twice in a couple of detours. I wasn’t sure about Glenmorangie House though, so I passed. It looked rather chic, and not the sort of place where a confused, shabby old man could turn up in muddy boots and expect to be welcomed warmly.