Wildpathanna

27/07/2026

27/07/2026

Arrived at Land’s End on Saturday 25th July 🐕🐾🥾☀️

1200 miles
120 days
Walking and Cycling with Molly the dog

It has been an amazing experience which I am sure will take some time to fully process 💚

Link to fundraiser for Mind in comments 👇😊💚

26/07/2026

Days 108 - 119
Days off trail for a graduation followed by Coast Path walking Padstow to St Just.

Beautiful Cornwall in the high summer heat - azure seas, glorious sunsets and the company of friends and family for the final stretch of the journey 🥾☀️

Link to fundraiser for Mind in comments 💚

11/07/2026

I’ve missed a few stages on here - check out my Instagram for full catch up!!

Days 106-107 Hole Station Camping to St Breward (Bodmin Moor)

Cycling in a heatwave 🥵☀️🚴🏽‍♂️
Cycling with Jo and Jo from work (easing back into real life…) both days have been hot but today was the killer as we had to climb all the way from Widemouth Bay to Bodmin Moor 😱 🥵 it took us a long time due to water and shade stops. If I had to make up a What Three Words for today it would be Summer // Sweat // Friends 😊🚴🏽‍♂️🚴🏽‍♂️🚴🏽‍♂️

The river dip a mile before the end was an absolute dream - we were able to properly cool down. Tonight is my last camping night of the journey. I am off trail for three days for my daughter’s graduation and then I have accommodation for the final walking stretch from Padstow to Land’s End. It feels a bit like landing on a snake in snakes and ladders - going all the way back to Edinburgh for the graduation!

Please donate to my fundraiser (I’ve earnt it in the heat today 😂) link in comments Raising money for Mind in memory of my brother Nathan Ferris 💚

02/07/2026

Days 80-87 Welshpool to Llanthony
Offa’s D**e Path

Playing catch up! This was the week before the heatwave. Enjoyable walking as I had an Air BnB base near Presteigne and then Hay with daily drop off on trail from Phil my long suffering logistics support!

Molly had a couple of rest days as the weather was warming up. We made the call to wait out the big heatwave after Llanthony.

15/06/2026

Days 73-79
Offa's D**e Path Prestatyn to Welshpool (rest day in Shrewsbury)

It has been a full and varied week. Setting off for four days just me and Molly we did some steady days and one with over 3,00 feet of ascent.

Luckily that night I had booked a bell tent with a bed - I had forgotten this so had a lovely surprise after a hard day!
We had a day of constant rain but looked forward to joining us in the evening. We had been offered a night in a camper van on a driveway.

This was so welcome after the wet walk. Thank you so grateful for the hospitality (there was a fridge full of goodies including home cooked bolognase and a bottle of fizz!)

I enjoyed two days walking with the theme of which was cow avoidance 🐄🐄🐄 There are so many on this trail 😱I felt sad to see Izzy go after her jolly company.

Phil drove up to Shrewsbury for the day (from Devon!!) to cheer me up as I'm really missing family / friends / home at the moment. This feels like the biggest challenge at the moment as the daily routine of camp / walk is relentless. Well I knew it would be a challenge...

I am raising money for Mind the Mental Health Charity in memory of my brother Nathan Ferris.
If you haven't already then please do consider donating. I'm only halfway to my target so would really appreciate the fundraising boost!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/wildpathanna?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

🐕🐾🥾🏕️❤️

05/06/2026

Days 66-70 Ulverston to Liverpool 🚲 🚲

Phil (my husband) has joined me for a week on this cycle leg of the journey.

We have travelled from the Cumbrian Fells through peat flatlands (potato country) to salt marsh and sand dunes...

The weather has been wet and the head wind has been against us at times as we bravely try to cycle into a full south westerly wind!

Two 50 mile days and two 25 mile
days so far on this leg - quite impressed as I haven't cycled much for about 25 years! My legs are feeling it 🚴🏽‍♂️😥 it is amazing the progress you can make on a bike compared to walking.

The hedgerows have been showing off their summer splendour with drifts of cow parsley, ox eye daisies and foxgloves. The damp air carries the heady scent of elderflower in full bloom.
We have passed through Lancashire to Merseyside. Through cities (Lancaster and Preston) and countryside.

We happened upon the Anthony Gormley sculptures 'Another World' in Crosby. They were very eerie!

The warning signs about quicksand brought back memories of those 1970's and 1980's public information films warning of the dangers of mud and sand you can get swallowed into. Definitely the stuff of nightmares 😱

Yesterday I had my first glimpse of the Welsh Coast across the Mersey estuary! It is hard to believe that in a couple of days I will start my walk south along Offa's D**e Path to Chepstow.

If you are enjoying following my adventures do consider donating a little to my fundraiser for Mind in memory of Nathan Ferris. Link below 👇 ❤️

https://www.justgiving.com/page/wildpathanna?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

28/05/2026

Days 54 - 62
Randomly posting when I have the energy (and phone signal)
Haltwhistle to Coniston

It has been a roller coaster week walking from Hadrian’s Wall to Carlisle and onto the Cumbria Way.

I got into a rhythm on Hadrian’s Wall and enjoyed the tea stops and honesty boxes. The walking was fairly easy and the weather just the right amount of sunny. I did a mix of camping and Air BnB and the combination worked well.

Initially I was excited for sunshine in the Lake District but after the first two days of walking the Cumbria Way in the heat I had to rethink - Molly was getting too tired even with frequent river stops. I shortened the day yesterday and avoided midday heat - however even woodland walking in the early evening felt hot.

Today I took the decision to miss a section over Stake Pass in exposed fells as it is too much for Molly in the sun and humidity. I’ve felt a bit sad about this - but plan to double back at the weekend when Phil gets here and takes Molly for her rest week. We will evaluate whether she is good to continue when I start Offa’s D**e Trail in just over a week.

I did enjoy a beautiful wild camp near Skiddaw, looking towards Blencathra. That evening in the warmth I really felt like I was living the dream!

I have started to feel a bit lonely walking solo. More so in busier areas like the touristy Lake District towns. I also find that I put pressure on myself to be having a good time when it’s sunny.

I am walking in memory of my brother, Nathan Ferris, and I remember he used to experience more suicidal feelings in the summer time when he could see people all out and about together - I can understand how when you are alone this can feel quite socially isolating.

The other thing I have noticed in myself is that travelling like this can at times feel far from community and roots. I am quite a homebody and the transitory nature of encounters and brief social connections can feel a bit disconnecting. It is interesting that the walk has not only been about Nature and wild places but has also brought up reflections on social connection and how important that is to me.

I am looking forward to the second half of the walk where I will be joined more and more by friends and family. I am by particularly looking forward to passing Bristol and entering Somerset. When I have been away and return home by car, there is a moment, coming over the hill before Clevedon, where you see the Somerset Levels below you. This always feels like a gateway into the West Country and homecoming. On this journey I will be following the coast that from Portishead to Clevedon but will feel very much at home - as I lived and worked in Bristol and North Somerset for 20 years.

I do miss the Southwest where I live - and am sure when I return I will have a new appreciation for the corner of Britain I am lucky to call home. I love the fact I am walking home and it really does feel like I made the right choice for me to undertake this End to End Walk from North to South 💚☀️

Walking in memory of Nathan Ferris 08.02.1973 - 15.07.2015
Raising money to support those affected by mental health difficulties 🥾🐕🐾🏕️

https://www.justgiving.com/page/wildpathanna?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

21/05/2026

Days 51-54 Kirk Yetholm to Haltwhistle (Hadrian's Wall)

We have now walked 470 miles - I'Il soon be singing the Proclaimers 500 miles song!

I haven't posted much because I've been having my first deep dark night of the soul! I haven't enjoyed my four days on the Pennine Way at all.

The first day on the Cheviot Hills was a brutal 3,300ft of ascent and it was so cold I had to put all my layers on and couldn't stop to rest until the mountain refuge hut at Auchope. I stopped and regrouped, made a brew and phoned a friend for moral support!

Luckily I had booked walkers
accommodation at the Forest View Inn in a tiny hamlet called Byrness - with a trail pick up halfway along. Sleeping in another hut on a lonely hilltop would've broken me as I was so so tired and a bit emotional.

I have persevered with the trudging, crossed the border with England / Scotland (on that ridge) and arrived at Hadrian's Wall. What a distance we have walked! 🥾🥾🥾🐾🐾🐾

No deep thoughts, just digging deep and listening to an audiobook all day to get me through the 15 mile days (a bit far for me to be honest) 🥾🐾🐕

Thank goodness I have a short day of 7 miles along Hadrian's wall to a campsite today (I'm in a cheeky shepherd's hut at the moment for the bed and shower). I also met fellow JOGLErs Jo Eales and Quinton Eales for fish and chips and a beer in Haltwhistle last night. They are walking the Pennine Way (craziness 😂) while I head West to Carlisle and then the Cumbria Way North to South through the Lake District.

The weather is currently looking good for the Lake District next week
it's been grey, wet and pretty cold on the Pennine Way days. The pictures make it look nicer than it was 😂☀️

16/05/2026

Day 50 - Approaching Kirk Yetholm and the border with England (tomorrow). Seven weeks into the adventure. Five weeks actual walking and plenty of rest and recovery days as well as spending time with Phil.

I have had a hard few days where I hit my first moment of homesickness. I reduced my mileage and split a day over a rest day doing 6 miles each day. I’ve had time in friendly cafes and did a FaceTime call to friends from work who counted the call as on of their mental health duty calls for the day!
I think the magnitude of the journey caught up with me as well as tiredness after a few poor nights sleep.
The gentle green lanes of St Cuthbert’s Way after Jedburgh and some river walking along the Tweed were just what I needed. No big vistas just soft green and flowers. I am back on the big vistas again today on Wide Open Hill (the highest point on St Cuthbert’s Way) looking back towards Scotland and forwards towards the Cheviots and the start of the Pennine Wsy. It is a strange feeling knowing that I have walked from the horizon as far as I can see from up here!

If you enjoying following our adventures please consider donating a little to my fundraiser for Mind in memory of my brother Nathan 🐕🐾🥾🏕️🙏

https://www.justgiving.com/page/wildpathanna?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL