Down at heel Paul walks all the way to Land’s End ...but he uses his free bus pass to get home after marathon coast-to-coast trek by Dan Bloom dbloom@thekmgroup.co.uk
PAUL just wanted to go for a walk. But he kept walking and walking and walking – all the way from Medway to Land’s End. He arrived 10 minutes after the tourist information centre closed, so he didn’t hang around. He caught the homeward bound bus an hour later. Now the 65-year-old has returned to his home in Hoo after the 36-day stroll. He wore a pair of trainers he bought at a boot fair, a rucksack he borrowed from a school and brought no coat or tent on his trek of about 350 miles. Police kept stopping to quiz him and strangers offered him biscuits, travel tips and rooms for the night. Friends have compared him to running man Forrest Gump from the Oscar-winning film, but he has downplayed the adventure, saying: “It’s just one foot in front of the other.” The retired cleaner, known in the village as Mostly Paul “because people mostly call me Paul”, set off exactly a year after he was made homeless. The father of three was living in his broken-down Ford Fiesta in his ex-partner’s garage in Hoo when he took up walking. “I did the local Relay for Life in July and I found it so easy,” he said. “About 12 hours in, a thought came into my head: I
‘The first time I knew how far I had to go was when I passed a milestone 25 miles from Penzance’
wonder how far you could walk?” He started strolling to a newsagents’ in Maidstone, 30 miles there and back, to buy his lottery ticket. He would walk almost the same distance to Upchurch Golf Club. But he wanted to make a statement – so he set off for Land’s End on September 18. He had only a basic motorway map of Britain and said: “The first time I knew how far I had to go was when I passed a milestone 25 miles from Penzance.” In his hand was a stick decorated with a Kenyan Masai warrior, which he also bought at a boot fair. “I came back on the second day because my bag was too heavy,” he said. “But when I left again, I forgot my raincoat.” Pensioner Paul only stayed in a bed and breakfast for one of the 36 nights, the rest of the time sleeping under a tarpaulin he bought at a market. “Parts of it were really hard,” he said. “One three-and-a-half mile section took me four hours. “When I got to Land’s End everything had shut 10 minutes earlier, so I got out my two herring rolls and some starlings robbed them out of my hands. That’s when I caught the last bus back to Penzance.” Paul took a day and a half to return to Hoo using his free bus pass. The grandfather of one kept in daily contact with his family, took pictures on his portable Playstation and raised £50 for the Wisdom Hospice, Rochester. He said: “Who would want to sponsor me? I just like a walk.” Paul, who only spoke on condition of not giving his surname, is now planning to walk to Land’s End again from Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britain’s easternmost point. He added: “I don’t think it was such a big deal. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”
Homeless 65-year-old Paul, from Hoo, went out for a walk one day – and 36 days later arrived at Land’s End FM2327235
Hoo, what a trip
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
STOPPED AT: Vigo Back to Hoo Westerham Redhill Dorking Guildford Aldershot Alston
‘‘It’s just one foot in front of the other’’
Penzance
Bodmin Plymouth
New Alresford Chandler’s Ford Totton Lyndhurst Lymington Christchurch Poole Bere Regis Dorchester
18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27
Bridport Lyme Regis Seaton & 22, Sidmouth Exeter Dawlish Teignmouth Torquay Totnes
Aldershot Exeter
LAND’S END
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Guildford
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Ivybridge Plymouth Saltash Liskeard Bodmin St Austell Truro Redruth Penzance
Vigo
HOO Westerham
Totton Dorchester Poole
Torquay
Where Paul stayed on his amazing 36-day walk from Hoo to Land’s End