ONE: JOHN O'GROATS TO LAND'S END

John O' Groats to Land's End

John o'Groats to Land's End is the first in the series of walks and is a 1200 mile walk that follows National Trails and canal routes and forms the first part of the Scottish Saltire.

This is an event done by many charities and organisations. VIA designed this walk so that we would not follow the routes that is usually walked or cycled and walk on roads as little as possible prefering to follow the many National Trails throughout the length of the country.

The start of the event is following roads until reaching Inverness and then joining the Great Glen Way which is a 73 mile (118km) route that closely follows the Caledonian Canal and is a fantastic trail with the track beside and above Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy and then the Caledonian Canal into Fort William.

Once at Fort William the route then follows the West Highland Way which is a 95 mile (153km) route that takes you from the Highlands of Scotland to the Lowlands over the Devil's Staircase into Glencoe and through Rannoch Moor and alongside Loch Lomond.  This is one of the most walked routes in the UK and is a rugged walk through spectacular countryside which shows Scotland off at its best. This route ends in Milngavie just outside Glasgow.

From there the route follows the River Kelvin into Glasgow and then follows the River Clyde Walkway through the centre of the city to Strathclyde Park.

Once again the route follows roads towards Gretna Green and cross the border following the Cumbrian Way into Carlise and then out of the city before following a series of Canals in order to keep the team of roads as much as possible. The Lancaster Canal, Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and Bridgewater Canal passing through Lancaster, Wigan, Leigh and into Mancheter.

The route then follows the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk out of Manchester then follows the Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire and Worcester Canal and then following the Severn Way through Tewkesbury and into Gloucester.

From Gloucester the route then follows the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal for a short way before once again following the Severn Way and into Bristol.

Leving Bristol the route then follows the Monarch Way on following tracks and small roads then joins the South West Coast Path and follows this pathway along one of the best coastlines of Devon and Cornwall all the way to Land's End.