LETJOG is Nick Heath’s Charity Website, set up in Spring 2021 ahead of my 58-day unsupported solo walk, 1,080 miles from Land’s End To John O’Groats (LETJOG) in aid of Mind, Parkinson’s UK and The Hospice of St Francis
I AM NOW VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE MY MINI-CHALLENGE FOR 2026: THE PORTUGUESE CAMINO. STARTING IN PORTO ON 26 MAY, I WILL SPEND TWO WEEKS WALKING THE 250-km ANCIENT PILGRIMAGE TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA IN NORTH-WEST SPAIN
As well as my LETJOG trek, my past treks include the C2C (Coast to Coast) path across northern England, participation in the R&S (‘Ride & Stride’) Team around the North Coast 500 in Scotland, my PEAKS climbs to the 50 ‘County Tops’ of England, and my 2024 E2W walk, East to West across the British Isles from Lowestoft in Suffolk to the Dingle Peninsula in western Ireland – and last year I ventured overseas, walking the 800-km Camino Francés across northern Spain
With your kind help these challenges have raised over £30,000 for various charities, and you can read more about my adventures on the LETJOG, C2C, R&S, PEAKS, E2W and CAMINO Tabs above. Or for a more detailed look at all these treks and more, please hit the BLOG Tab
THE CAMINO PORTUGUÉS
The full Portuguese Camino walk, or ‘Camino Portugués’, covers 640 kilometres (400 miles) from Lisbon, the Portuguese capital city, northwards to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain – the same pilgrimage destination that I reached last spring. Due to constraints of time this year, I will be joining the path at the city of Porto in the north of Portugal, walking northwards for around 250 kilometres (150 miles) over two weeks. I am travelling solo and unsupported once more, organising my own travel and accommodation and carrying my own pack. I am not fundraising on this trek, but please join me on my Camino adventures by clicking on the above BLOG tab.
About Me
I’m Nick Heath, an active ‘60-something’ who loves trekking, nordic walking, and just being in the outdoors. This passion has led me into some ambitious endurance events and to undertake some wonderful journeys on foot around the UK and overseas.
Based in west Hertfordshire, my trekking experiences over the last decade, aside from LETJOG 2021 and my other charity walks outlined above, comprise many of the UK’s long-distance paths, including the Pennine Way, Offa’s Dyke, the Ridgeway, and some significant overseas walks such as climbing Mount Toubkal in Morocco and completing the Gokyo Lakes and Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal.
I have enjoyed trekking since my teenage years, and in 2008 I took up nordic walking (with poles), initially as therapy for a lower back condition. In recent years I have participated in a number of endurance and competitive nordic walking events, including the 2019 Nordic Walking UK annual marathon around Purbeck, where I somehow managed to stride to second place!
My solo and unsupported LETJOG 2021 (Land’s End to John O’Groats) nordic walk in early Summer 2021 was kindly sponsored by a great many generous friends, family and followers of my Blog. In total we raised nearly £13,000 for three wonderful charities in the healthcare sector, namely Mind, Parkinson’s UK, and The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted. More details of my LETJOG walk can be seen on the LETJOG tab, and on my BLOG tab, above.
The next year, in April 2022, I completed the C2C walk alongside my old schoolfriend Rob Stubbs, raising over £3,500 for Parkinson’s UK. Again, our journey can be followed on the C2C tab, and on my BLOG tab, above.
In September 2022 I joined the Ride & Stride Team of ten friends to complete the North Coast 500 route around the northern coast of Scotland. Together we raised over £13,000 for Cancer Research UK, Mind and Parkinson’s UK. More details are on the R&S and BLOG tabs above.
On the bridge in Inverness, at the end of our R&S journey around the Scottish North Coast 500 route on 15 September 2022
My most ambitious escapade for 2023 was my LETJOG Peaks challenge, completed over six months between March and September, that entailed climbing to the top of all of the Counties of England (50 in total), whilst raising £700 for the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal. All told, my ‘County Tops’ walks totalled 609 miles, with nearly 70,000 vertical feet (21,225 metres) of climb. You can look back on all of these ascents on the PEAKS and BLOG tabs above.
And in November 2023 I completed the 87-mile Ridgeway trail from Overton Hill in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire, in just under 98.5 hours – again my journey can be followed via the BLOG tab above.
My challenge for 2024 was to cover the 675 miles of walking between the eastern and western mainland extremities of the British Isles, namely Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk and Dunmore Head on the Dingle Peninsula in western Ireland. I completed this solo and unsupported walk in 40 days, raising £3,300 for Parkinson’s UK in the process. You can find further details on the E2W tab and follow my journey on the BLOG tab above.
My challenge for 2025 was the Camino Francés across northern Spain in April/May, a 32-day trek that I undertook solo and unsupported. Having said that, I was joined along most of the route by dozens of other pilgrims, all heading purposefully for Santiago de Compostela in the north-western province of Galicia.
I am also in the middle of a another walk – the 184-mile Thames Path, that I am undertaking with my wife Rachel. We are following the river from its source in the Cotswolds, and have now passed Oxford: eventually we will stroll through central London to the Thames’ North Sea estuary. We are undertaking the walk in daily stages, and I will keep you all posted on our progress via the BLOG tab above.
As for the future, I am always looking out for new walking challenges, so watch this space! Meanwhile please feel free to follow me on Instagram: @ nickletjog where I post photos of my regular walks in the Chilterns and further afield.
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 