Day 3 (Thursday): A Henge made of Stone

It's always quite impressive whilst driving down the A303 when Stonehenge shows itself peeping over the hill. I tell you what, it's ten times more impressive on foot. If I could remember the song Stonehenge by Spinal Tap, I would've been singing it.

Here's a video:



And here are some photos: clicky

Other things this day included walking on a civilian road through Porton Down (the MoD own some superb land!) and watching the footie with the owner of the campsite I stayed at in Orcheston. Lovely campsite by the way, Stonehenge Touring Park, Orcheston, I thoroughly recommend it.

That's all. Now to write a blog for today!

Day 2 (and 2b): The Journey Continues

The more observant amongst you will have noticed that I did not post anything yesterday. Since I'm having a day off today, I thought now was a better time to blog, rather than being unsociable with my hosts the Pearsons (whom I only met yesterday, and are awesome)

Day Two photos can be found here

Day Two Video Diaries (parts 1 and 2):





Tomorrow's walk has been planned out and I'm in the midst of sorting my gear out so the weight is better balanced. It's about 16 miles tomorrow, followed by a night in a tent when my friend Harry is joining me, and about 13 miles to Warminster on Friday. I'm telling you all this now because I have a feeling the campsite might not have internet access, so it's more likely to be Friday.

If you're on Twitter, you can tweet about me using the hashtag #JulezWalks and it will appear on the right-hand side of this blog page, and you can send me texts for absolutely nothing by DMing me as well. Isn't technology great?

That's all for now; sorry this is such a long post. Speak to you all soon!

Day One: Into The Wild

Well, "The Wild" is a little bit of an overstatement. I'm currently in Southampton after an uneventful and very boring walk. I'm staying with my old schoolfriend James, and my shoulders are a bit sore. My big toes don't feel too great either, but other than that I'm feeling pretty good about this walking lark.

No photos from today, I'm afraid (there was nothing very interesting to snap) but I have a video diary for you here:

So there you are then. More to come tomorrow, where I will be very very tired

On your marks . . . get set . . .

The day is upon us. And by us I mean me. This is by far the most ridiculous thing I've ever undertaken, and the added pressure from all the sponsorship I've been given isn't helping my nerves (not that I'm complaining!)

I just woke up, had a nice bowl of cereal, and am preparing myself for the first leg: Home to Southampton. It's not far today, only about 14k (9 miles), but having now packed and put a tent into the mix (for one night on a campsite in Wiltshire) I've had the realisation that this whole expedition might not be quite as easy as I first thought.

I'm going to try my very best to do a video diary, but I'm not sure how utilitarian my mum's camera is, so please forgive me if I can't sort it out. I will definitely be blogging most evenings, and hopefully putting some photos up as well.

Fabbo. Let's do this!

4 days . . .

I depart on Monday. This morning I thought it would be wise to book the Youth Hostels, and to no surprise to anyone with a brain, two of them were fully booked.

Nevertheless, contingency plans have been made, but will involve a little more intense walking at some points. Burley is now off the route (which is a crying shame, as I would've loved to walk through the New Forest), as is Cholderton. I'm hopefully going to spend an extra night in Winterslow (courtesy of my friend Joe)

There was some miscommunication with my uncle (whom I was meant to be staying with on Monday) as he will be in France, but thankfully Skinner is putting me up for the night - what a legend!

I have emailed some churches in Warminster, so hopefully that'll come up trumps - if not, we'll be sleeping al-fresco, which is okay providing it doesn't rain.

From there on in, it's plain sailing to Bath and onto Bristol, where I am staying with Nathan, which will be a rad good time.

Sponsorship: a few people have expressed an interest in sponsoring me, but I haven't got any names yet. If you contact me on Twitter or Facey, or by phone or email, I will put your name down for any amount you wish to give. Please do, I'd really appreciate it!

Don't forget, Twitter hashtag #JulezWalks - all related tweets will appear on this page! If you want to contact me, I will have my phone on me, and I will receive DM's (not mentions - not sure why, but just no) from Twitter as texts.

More to come soon!

On your marks . . .

The date is set. The equipment has been obtained. Now all I need/would like is some sponsors.

I will be departing at the slightly-later-than-previously-stated date of 14th June. I've managed to plan a pretty cool route (I think), and my good friend Harry is joining me on the 17th, just in time to see Stonehenge on the 18th.

Don't forget, if you want to publicise me (it might happen!), you can use the Twitter hashtag #JulezWalks, and then all your tweets about it will appear on the right of this page. Also, you can DM my Twitter and I will get it as a text on my antiquated phone.

I'd like to quickly thank the friends and family who are putting me up for a night during the journey.

I promise to get a sponsorship form soon! Honest! Give me a shout if you want me to put your name down for any amount. It's all for a good cause!

More still to come . . .

Update (including sponsorship)

It's been a while on this blog! I haven't been on any mad-keen training walks of late, but I've been cycling as my main mode of transport, so that makes up for it I think.

The route is now complete! The start date is still in contention, but 7th June is looking promising - just as everyone goes back to school and stuff.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: I'm doing this on a sponsorship basis now! I'm still going to go ahead, even if no-one sponsors me, but it'd be cool if you did. It's for a thing we're doing at St Tom's called Church On The Beach, which entails hanging out on the beach and being generally nice to people (you know, free ice creams etc). I'm getting a form soon, so give me a shout if you want me to put your name down - I'll hold you to it!

The offer still stands for companionship; if you fancy joining me for a few hours/miles/days, I'd be glad of the company. Also, if someone would like to lend me a plug-and-play camera, that'd be great, then you will all be able to see where I've been. Lovely.