(L) Marv trots over on the last day, (R) with Pete for the last miles Pete stayed with me, and Mum and Ken headed off for Land’s End. Pete and I enjoyed the last two hours walk in to the finish, in which we kept off the busy A30 until the last possible moment whereby we had to then join it near Sennen. I climbed on board Marv to finish as we had started. The finish line was in sight, and I could see there were masses of cars parked, with Land’s End itself consisting of white washed buildings clustered around the point. As we got nearer we were surprised when all the tourists started clapping, and it turned out that Ken had briefed the staff there and they had put an announcement out to everyone. So, slightly embarrassed, we trotted in to all this attention.
There was Mum and Ken at the finish with a “congratulations to Grant & Marv” banner. Jeff, the local ILPH officer was also there with his wife, as was Pam from Ponsanooth, Freya and family. I was a little overwhelmed, but chuffed to bits too. I certainly shed a tear or two in the moment. Ken opened some champagne and I was very happy to have completed the trip, but still sad that Fi and Maisie were not able to be here to share this moment with us. Without them there would have been no trip, and I have tears in my eyes as I write this now. That so many people were wishing us congratulations was a pleasant surprise. It was a fantastic end to a very special trip. There was a blue sky and glistening sea as a backdrop as Ken proposed a toast to us and to Fi, Maisie and Mark (who couldn’t be there). We posed for some obligatory photos with Marv and the team, before enjoying the champagne and the moment. Pete took charge of the happy and popular Marv, feeding him constant mints and carrots as people came over to see him. A few youngsters wanted to sit on him, and I supervised this, not wanting any dramas today.
(L) The finish photo, (R) a young rider tries Marv for size At 1500 we walked off back towards the car park, and Marv took a little encouragement to get into the trailer. You would have thought he would have run up the ramp, off for a well-earned rest. I said goodbye to Mum and Ken, who were heading back to Newquay and a flight north. It was over and I was so happy, but for me the trip would not be fully complete until we had got Marv back home.
Back to Scotland now…
Day 81 (Travel to Budleigh Salterton, Devon - 234 miles) With Marv in the horse trailer behind, Pete and I headed off up the winding A30 to near Exeter, and our destination for tonight. We reached Budleigh Salterton Riding School early evening. This was owned by Rob, a fellow ex- King’s Troop officer, and his wife Chrissie. Marv had a decent stable for the night and we shared a fish & chip supper with some beers and reminisced the night away.
Pete’s transport, Marv keeps a watch out
Day 82 (Travel to Culgaith, Penrith, Cumbria - 340 miles) We got up early and headed back to the yard from Rob’s house. After mucking out, we eventually loaded Marv into the trailer and managed to say goodbye to Rob and his attentive stable staff. We headed for the M5 and the prospect of a long queue from a previous road accident. The delay wasn’t too bad in the end and we reached Penrith in seven hours with Pete doing all the driving, despite me offering to share.
We were to be staying with James who I narrowly missed on my way south. He had just moved house to Newbiggin, and he had secured a field for Marv in a neighbouring village. Marv would have 130 chickens for company for the night, as well as another horse in a field the other side of a hedge. This would suit him just fine. He was well used to meeting new friends. Pete, James and I returned to the house and tried out James’ recent purchase of a keenly priced inflatable hot tub set up in the garden. This was ideal for the end of a long journey. James gave us a Powerpoint presentation of his ascent of Everest before we headed out to the pub for food.
With Pete and James
Day 83 (Travel to Edinburgh - 124 miles) We left James’ at 0900 and after collecting Marv, made good time up into Scotland, arriving back in Edinburgh just after 1200. Marv was still in a huff due to all the necessary travel, to the extent of actually refusing mints and apples! We showed him into his field, which I believe he remembered from having spent four days there on his route south, many weeks ago. Pete and I were both very happy we had delivered the boy safely home after a monster trip. We could now rest easy and relax, Marv was back.
Marv back in his field, Pete looks on
Days 84 & 85 (Edinburgh) On Saturday, we (Fi, Maisie and Pete and I) visited Marv, and he had thrown off his grump and now gladly accepted snacks. On Sunday, when we visited him with Maisie, he was still lying down. I went over and sat with him for a while whilst I fed him carrots. He nuzzled for some more, but there were none left. Marv was back to normal, and so relaxed. It was a fitting end to an incredible journey for the both of us.
ROUTE OF RIDE AND MILEAGE - 29 APRIL-18 JULY 2007 FROM JOHN O’ GROATS TO LAND’S END (1085 MILES)
Day Date From / to, including waypoints (accommodation Miles type #)
START
Week 1
1. Sun 29 Apr John o’ Groats to Mybster (sofa) 23
2. Mon 30 Apr Mybster via Westerdale and Altnabreac railway 23 station to Fosinard (bivi)
3. Tue 1 May Fosinard via Kinbrace and Loch Badanloch to 19 Gearnsary bothy (bivi)
4. Wed 2 May Gearnsary bothy via Ben Armine Lodge to Rogart 21 (b)
5. Thu 3 May Rogart via Bonar Bridge and Glen Carron to near 24 Amat (bivi)
6. Fri 4 May Amat via Glen More, Deanich Lodge, Alladale 20 Lodge and Strath Vaich to near Inchbae Lodge (tent)
7. Sat 5 May Inchbae Lodge via Contin and Marybank to Muir of 19 Ord (b)
8. Sun 6 May Muir of Ord to Tomich (barn) 21
# Accommodation type: (b) – bed; sofa; bivi; tent; caravan; barn 9. Mon 7 May Tomich to Fort Augustus (b) 16
10. Tue 8 May Fort Augustus (b) REST DAY (FARRIER - 1 0 FRONT SET)
11. Wed 9 May Fort Augustus via Corrieyairack Pass to Laggan 18 (sofa)
12. Thu 10 May Laggan via Dalwhinnie and Drumochter to 21 Dalnaspidal Lodge (tent)
13. Fri 11 May Dalnaspidal Lodge via Trinafour and Tummel 25 Bridge to Tirnie Farm near Aberfeldy (b)
14. Sat 12 May Tirnie Farm to Aberfeldy (b) 5
15. Sun 13 May Aberfeldy (b) REST DAY 0
16. Mon 14 May Aberfeldy via Glen Cochill to Amulree (b) 11
17. Tue 15 May Amulree via the Sma’Glen and Glenalmond to 17 Clathy (b)
18. Wed 16 May Clathy via Dunning and Pathstruie to Cleish (b) 19
19. Thu 17 May Cleish via Townhill to Masterton (near 16 Dunfermline) (b)
20. Fri 18 May Masterton via the Forth Road Bridge, past 16 Edinburgh Airport and Heriot Watt University to Balerno (near Edinburgh) (b)
21. Sat 19 May Edinburgh (b) REST DAY 0
22. Sun 20 May Edinburgh (b) REST DAY 0
23. Mon 21 May Balerno via the Pentland Hills, Glen Corse and 19 Middleton to Heriot (tent)
24. Tue 22 May Heriot via Galashiels to Melrose (b) 19
25. Wed 23 May Melrose via St Boswells to Oxnam (b) 19
26. Thu 24 May Oxnam via ‘Dere St’, crossing into England next to 14 Otterburn Military training area to
Cottonshopeburnfoot (tent)
27. Fri 25 May Cottonshopeburnfoot via Hareshaw Head and 15 Corsenside Common to Woodburn near Bellingham (b)
28. Sat 26 May Woodburn via Birtley, Chipchase and Haughton 20 Castles, Walwick and Keepwick Fell to Anick near Hexham(b) 29. Sun 27 May Anick (b) REST DAY 30. Mon 28 May 19
Anick via Blanchland, Townfield and Hunstanworth
Moor to Rookhope (tent) 31. Tue 29 May 20
Rockhope via Lintzgarth Common, Westgate, Swinhope Moor and Newbiggin to Middleton in Teesdale (b)
32. Wed 30 May 16
Middleton in Teesdale (FARRIER – 1 REAR SET) via Selset Reservoir and Brough to Nateby near Kirby Stephen (bivi)
33. Thu 31 May 16
Nateby via alongside Settle-Carlisle railway, Garsdale Head and Dentdale to Cowgill (b)
34. Fri 1 June 16
Cowgill via Newby Head, Ribblehead viaduct and Horton in Ribblesd
ale to Stainforth near Settle (bivi)
35. Sat 2 June Stainforth via the Ribble Way and Settle, to 17 Saltersforth near Barnoldswick (tent)
36. Sun 3 June Saltersforth (bivi) REST DAY 37. Mon 4 June 19
Saltersforth via Widdop reservoir, Gorple Lower reservoir and the Pennine bridleway to Blackshaw Head (b)
38. Tue 5 June 18
Blackshaw Head via Lumbutts, Rochdale Canal towpath, Littleborough, Hollingworth Lake, under the M62, Denshaw and Castleshaw reservoirs to Diggle (b)
39. Wed 6 June 16
Diggle via (Pennine bridleway) Greenfield, Walkerwood Reservoir, Matley, Mottram, Broad Bottom and Charlesworth to Little Hayfield (bivi)
40. Thu 7 June Little Hayfield via (Pennine bridleway) Peak Forest 23 to Blackwell (bivi) 41. Fri 8 June 20
Blackwell via (Pennine bridleway), Biggin (FARRIER – 1 FRONT SET) to Ashbourne (caravan)
42. Sat 9 June Ashbourne via Rocester, Uttoxter and Bramshall 23 to Kingstone (bivi)
43. Sun 10 June Kingstone (bivi) REST DAY 44. Mon 11 June 23
Kingstone via under the M6, Staffs & Worcs Canal towpath, Penkridge, Brewood and Shropshire Union Canal towpath to Codsall (sofa)
45. Tue 12 June 20
Codsall via Monarch’s Way / Staffordshire Way, Pattingham and Shatterford to Trimpley (b)
46. Wed 13 June 16 Trimpley to Martley (b)
47. Thu 14 June 0
Martley (b) REST DAY
48. Fri 15 June 0
Martley (b) REST DAY
49. Sat 16 June 0
Martley (b) REST DAY
50. Sun 17 June 5 Martley to Worcester (b) 51. Mon 18 June Worcester via Crowle to Radford (b) 12
52. Tue 19 June Radford via Evesham and Bretforton to Weston 16 sub Edge (b) 53. Wed 20 June 16
Weston sub Edge via Chipping Campden and Moreton in Marsh (FARRIER 1 FRONT SET) to
Bledington (b)
54. Thu 21 June Bledington via Shipton under Wychwood and 14 Swinbrook to Carterton (b)
55. Fri 22 June Carterton via Kencot, Langford and Lechlade to 16 Shrivenham (b)
56. Sat 23 June 0 Shrivenham (b) REST DAY
57. Sun 24 June 0 Shrivenham (b) REST DAY 58. Mon 25 June 16
Shrivenham via over the M4, the Ridgeway and Barbury Castle to Malborough (b)
59. Tue 26 June 22
Malborough via Wilcot, Woodbridge, East Chisenbury, Longstreet, Netheravon and the Salisbury Plain to Larkhill (b)
60. Wed 27 June 14
Larkhill via Stonehenge, Great Wishford and Dinton to Fovant (b) 61. Thu 28 June 0
Fovant (b) REST DAY – trip to London, to see 60th Anniversary of the King’s Troop RHA
62. Fri 29 June 12 Fovant via South Downs to Shaftesbury (b) 63. Sat 30 June 14
Shaftesbury via Guys March, Marnhull and Stalbridge to Purse Caundle (b)
64. Sun 1 July 0 Purse Caundle (b) REST DAY 65. Mon 2 July 0
Purse Caundle (b) REST DAY
66. Tue 3 July 17
Purse Caundle via Milborne Port, Sanford Orcas, RNAS Yeovilton and Lyles Cary to Somerton (b)
67. Wed 4 July 18
Somerton via Langport, Stoke St Gregory and North Curry to Creech St Michael (b)
68. Thu 5 July 18
Creech St Michael via under the M5, Bridgewater & Taunton Canal Towpath and Taunton to Holcombe Rogus (b)
69. Fri 6 July Holcombe Rogus via Pennymoor and Puddington 18 to Black Dog (bivi)
70. Sat 7 July Black Dog via Morchard Bishop and 19 Monkokehampton to Hatherleigh (b)
71. Sun 8 July Hatherleigh (b) REST DAY 0
72. Mon 9 July Hatherleigh via Bratton Clovelly and Lifton to 20 Launceston (b) 73. Tue 10 July 18
Launceston via Lezant, Trebullett, Rilla Mill, Upton Cross and Minions to St Cleer (barn)
74. Wed 11 July 18 St Cleer via St Neot and Mount to Bugle (b)
75. Thu 12 July Bugle via Roche, Nanpean, St Stephen and 15 Ladock to Trispen (barn)
76. Fri 13 July Trispen (FARRIER - 1 REAR SET) via Truro to 11 Ponsanooth (b)
77. Sat 14 July 0 Ponsanooth (b) REST DAY
78. Sun 15 July 0 Ponsanooth (b) REST DAY 79. Mon 16 July Ponsanooth via Carnkie, Porkellis and Releath to 12 Godolphin Cross (b)
80. Tue 17 July 12
Godolphin Cross via Goldwithney, Marazion and Penzance to Newlyn (b)
81. Wed 18 July 10 Newlyn via St Buryan and Sennen to Land’s End
FINISH Total 1085 miles
To get back to Edinburgh by 4x4 and horse trailer:
81. Wed 18 July (234 miles) Land’s End to Budleigh Salterton, Devon (b)
82. Thu 19 July (340 miles) Budleigh Salterton to Culgaith, Cumbria (b)
83. Fri 20 July (124 miles) Culgaith to Edinburgh (b)
To get to the start by horse box:
0. Sat 28 Apr Edinburgh to John o’ Groats (b) (281 miles)
List of equipment carried
For Marv:
Saddle (Free N Easy) with lightweight plastic racing stirrups Waterproof saddle cover
Bridle (lightweight plastic coated fabric racing type)
Head collar & rope
Reins (lightweight Army rip stop fabric tape for durability) Saddle bags
Breastplate
Small equine medical kit – bandage, iodine spray, etc Hoof pick / stiff dandy brush
Medi boot (not used, but carried)
Bags of D&H Staypower muesli (not required after N.Scot) Equine Midge head cover (not required after N. Scot) Equine midge rug (not required, dropped after wk 1)
Collapsible water carrier bucket (not required, dropped after wk 1)
For me:
Helmet (lightweight climbing variety by Petzel) High vis vest
Lightweight waterproof jacket and trousers Woollen hat
Gloves
Two pairs of walking trousers
Polo shirt/ 2 t-shirts
2 sets of underwear
1 sweater
1 fleece lined wind stopper jacket
4 pairs of socks
Trainers (used after Scotland)
Basic wash kit
Lightweight travel towel
Mess tin / KFS (knife,fork,spoon) / plastic mug Small gas stove and canister / lighter Water bottle
Lightweight sleeping bag / bivi bag
Thermarest
Poncho with bungees attached, 4 pegs Camera
Mobile phone and charger
Emergency rations (noodles/chocolate) Sun cream (for both Marv and I)
Fencing tool
20m spare lightweight fabric tape
Day sack
Small sewing kit
Sunglasses
Maps for each week and waterproof map case Lightweight compass
Small head torch
Diary and route spreadsheet/contacts list Pair of robust shorts
Fleece gilet
Flip flops
Leatherman tool
Half chaps (not used after Scotland)
Camel jodhpur boots (not used after Scotland)
Glossary (mostly military)
AMEC
Bombardier bergen
BHS
bivi or poncho
bivi bag
DAC
ILPH
OCMTF MOD
OS
P Company
RA
RAF
RHA
RMAS
RMCS
Royal Mile
RSA
WHF
YOs
1 Para
7 Para RHA Advanced Military Equitation Course
Full Corporal in the Artillery
Military rucksack
British Horse Society
Military term for a waterproof sheet usually suspended by bungees attached to a fence or similar used as a shelter A breathable waterproof sleeping bag shell
Defence Animal Centre (Melton Mowbray in
Leicestershire)
International League for the Protection of Horses (now W
HF)
Officer Commanding Military Training Flight (in charge of military parachuting training) Ministry of Defence
Ordnance Survey
4 Week physically arduous course required to be completed by potential airborne forces (held in Catterick, Yorkshire)
Royal Artillery
Royal Air Force
Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Berkshire) Royal Military College Science (Shrivenham, Wiltshire)
Centuries old cobbled road in central Edinburgh running from Holyrood Palace up to Edinburgh Castle Royal School of Artillery (Larkhill, Wiltshire)
World Horse Welfare (formerly ILPH)
Young Officers Artillery course held at RSA
1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Acknowledgements for the trip
Fi (and Maisie) for everything
Mark for the website and the John o’ Groats drop off
Julian for assisting in editing the diary
Mum and Ken for all their support
The ILPH for their overall support and visits from ILPH local field officers during the trip All the generous people, family and friends who allowed me and Marv to stay en route, and friends who met up with us and shared in a leg of the trip
Donations for the charities during the journey, and donations of money made via the Justgiving website, including many thousand pounds raised by my sister Sarah. Just over £10,000 was raised in total, split roughly 50/50 between the two charities.
To all the superb farriers who at very little notice went out of their way to keep Marv shod wherever we happened to be
Pete for the Land’s End pick up and monster drive home
Acknowledgements for the book
Long Trot Page 13
