In which I give an update on how plans are progressing for my walk on Hadrian’s Wall in August. Much has changed since my last update.

In case you missed the email on Friday, pre-orders have opened up for my new book, Searching for the Heart of Britain. We’re selling signed hardcover copies (limited to 100 copies) in the Anglotopia Store, and you can use your 20% off member discount to save extra on this.

The coupon code is: FriendsAnglotopia2024

I said this before, but it bears repeating. A big chunk of the chapters in this book started life as articles in the Sunday Post series. Most of them are unrecognizable now after rewriting, and the editorial process — the new work is substantially different from what you may have already read — but the roots are there, and you were there for them. Your membership made those articles, and thus this book, entirely possible. Thank you for the support you've given me as a member, for the space and freedom to write about Britain in a way I've never quite been able to before. I think this is my best book yet, and it takes you on a journey through British history, culture, and landscape that I'm genuinely proud of. I cannot thank you enough. I hope you like the book!

Highlight from the forum this week:

We are just about 6 weeks away from my departure to walk Hadrian’s Wall. The last couple of months have been a bit of a blur. I’ve managed to make regular walks, focusing on longer walks on the weekends and shorter walks during the week. I haven’t walked as much as I would have liked, as usual. We’ve had a ton of rainstorms here in the Midwest, and now for the last few weeks we’ve had record heat, so I have to either walk early in the morning or not at all. 

The aforementioned storms have caused physical damage to our house and greatly affected all our plans for the summer (more on how that will affect the trip in a bit). A 100-year-old oak tree fell on our house in the middle of May. Thankfully, the house was still habitable, but there was significant damage. Our homeowner’s insurance has been great through the process, and we now have a new roof, with new siding and a new deck to come. But the whole ordeal has created massive stress and extra cost that was not in our summer plans (do you know how much it costs to have a tree removed from your house? A lot more than you probably think! And you have to have the tree removed immediately…). 

My dog Hudson has been my trusty companion on most of my walks. I’ve spent a lot of time on my favorite walk at the Bailey-Chellburg National Park, not far from here. But as of last week, I’ve had to stop going there because, again, the storms brought down a ton of trees, making most of the path impassible. I’ve tried new, longer walks around here, and while the walks are nice to discover, they all have drawbacks. I’ve continued to lose weight thanks to the diet I’m on, which is great. I’m sleeping better, and my health has been its best in years.

However, I came to the realization that between work and family commitments, there’s just no way I’ll get all the training in before I actually leave. It’s about 40 days away. It’s just important to keep moving, so that when I start the walk properly, it’s not too much of a shock to the system. I will be ready, I have to be ready. But I’m realizing that readiness is going to have to be more ‘state of mind’ at this point. Don’t get me wrong, I know what is coming. If I’d attempted to do the upcoming walk in the shape I was in 6 months ago, it would have put me in the hospital. But I’m pretty confident that where I am (about 50lbs lighter and a body primed with regular walking), I’m in good enough physical condition to do this walk.

Over the next few weeks, my focus will be on longer walks. There are a few long-distance paths I will try. One is 10 miles. If I can do that, and get up the next day and do another shorter walk, I will be 100% confident in my ability to achieve this upcoming goal. 

Now on to the more fun planning bits!

The first bit is not so fun. Sorry. But due to the aforementioned tree disaster and the extra costs, and some other personal, unexpected family matters we’ve had to attend to this summer, Mrs. Anglotopia will no longer be at the finish line to meet me and travel with me for the rest of the trip. I’m disappointed, but frankly, I’m lucky to still be going, so I will make the best of it. Mrs. Anglotopia is devastated, but we have another trip on the calendar planned together that we can look forward to (returning to Gold Hill in February).

This change in the plan, though, means I have quite a few changes to make to the itinerary and planned accommodations (and, let’s be frank, I have to find more budget-friendly accommodations). The plan is still for me to travel onwards to Yorkshire for a few days after I finish Hadrian’s Wall, then finish up in London. I’ll continue to rely on trains to get around; there is simply no budget for a rental car this time around. I love trains, so this is not a detriment to me!

First, let’s talk about Macs Aventure! They have been so fantastic through this process. First, they have massively upgraded their mobile app in the last month. It was already very good, but it’s even better now. I can’t wait to have that guide me along my journey. They’ve also been in touch directly to send me a brief on what they’re expecting as part of their sponsorship of the walk. It’s great to have expectations laid out this far in advance, so I know what pictures to take and what video to shoot.

I also received a ‘Travel Documents Pack’ that came via Royal Mail from the UK. It included a nice letter outlining my trip, plus a ‘Book of Adventure’ to help get me ready for my trip, with lots of useful tips and packing guides for journeys like this. There was also a handy little luggage tag that I can put on my bag for the transfer service. This is the pack they send to all their customers, so I’m really pleased so far with everything. Check out their Hadrian's Wall tours here.

It’s also coming in clearly what I plan to do to cover the trip - here and for Anglotopia and our social media. I’ve lined up SplashMaps as a sponsor for a special 10-episode podcast series about the walk. I’ll record the audio/video for that after my daily walking, and then we’ll plan to release when I return. Macs Adventure also gets a special podcast, which will be an overview. I’ll also be recording video and taking pictures, and I’ll try to post something every day during the journey, but most of the ‘produced’ and ‘edited’ stuff will come out in the months after I return. Including new Sunday Posts for you all!

There are still a few things I need to buy for this trip, and I’m going to sort them soon. I need to buy ‘real’ hiking boots and new walking shoes. I’ve just about walked out the ones I bought earlier in the spring. There’s also some filming and audio equipment I still need to buy, along with some attire.

I’ve also been able to book in to do a few exciting things on the trip. First, I was able to snag tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. I’ve never done this, and it’s hard to get tickets, so I was chuffed to get them. For those unfamiliar with this, it’s basically the world’s oldest ‘ceremony’ of this kind. And you get to witness them locking up the Tower of London for the night, which, in typical British fashion, is more involved than just locking a gate. To get tickets, you need to check on the first of every month for tickets for the next month. There’s only like 10 tickets available per evening. They usually book up completely the day they release tickets. 

I’m also booked into the Winston Churchill as a painter exhibition, tickets I booked months ago. I’ve also got tickets for the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, again something I’ve not been able to do yet. Now that I have more clarity on the final days of the trip, I can book more things and get them on the calendar. Sadly, it looks like I’m going to just miss the biggest London event of the year - the opening of the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum. It opens September 10th, but I’m leaving London August 30th. You can, of course, expect articles on all these things!

It’s also time to finalize what I’ll be doing in Yorkshire. It looks like I’ll be using York as my base. A podcast guest who runs tours in Yorkshire has offered to show me around for one day, so that’s the day I’ll probably go to Castle Howard, something I’ve wanted to do my whole Anglophile life. I’d also like to visit the National Railway Museum, and maybe ride the North Yorkshire Moors railway if there is time. We shall see. 

I can’t believe the trip is next month. I’ve known it’s been coming for almost a year, but I’ve been waiting to do this walk for my whole adult life. I’m so dang excited. I cannot wait to start walking in Newcastle, then walk out of the city, and then follow the trail the Romans set into the open English countryside. I can’t wait to hear the birds. Smell the grass and trees. See the dark skies in the open countryside at night. Follow a path trodden for 2,000 years to the sea in Cumbria. Get soaked by the late summer rain and challenge myself to finish this goal I have wanted to achieve for so long. 

And now that my latest book is done and dusted, it’s time to start thinking about the next one. Will it be about the walk? Will it be about something else? I don’t know. You all will be the first to know.