Alastair Humphreys Adventurer | Author | Motivational Speaker

Walking a lap of the M25

A microadventure documented through microblogging (Twitter).

- Coldest snap in 30 yrs… Perfect timing to set off to walk a lap of the M25! I leave at dawn tomorrow. Think it will take about 8 days.
- 3 hours into walking round the m25 we’ve stopped for our first bacon butty and cup of tea
- Tucked up in bed just off junction 3… 8:45 AM Jan 6th
- Fox tried to nab food last night. Chilly night in bivvy bag.
- Told off for being on private land by man with shotgun
- Bread and ketchup for lunch near junction 6: living the dream
- Dark now. Headtorch on. Cold. Hoping to reach junction 8 in a few hrs to camp
- Starving! Headed into a pub by junction 8. Barmaid gives us free beer!
- Ronan and helen, two people we met in the pub, have invited us to stay in their house! Heroes!
- Anyone live by the m25 and fancy letting me stay the night?! Bloody cold and wet in a bivvy bag…!
- Found a tea tray on reigate hill. Sledging descents should speed us up
- thank you for heroic offers of coffee at junction 10. But we don’t have time for fun!
- Extra large chips and cheese in leatherhead’s finest kebab house
- Slow day so far. Almost sunset and less than 2 junctions walked.
- 3 more junctions to walk before sleep. We only have 8 days to complete walk so cannot slow down…
- Sitting in the snow as cars rush by. Eating a mars bar and feeling glum. 2 hours more walking to go.
- Had two beautiful days trek through leafy kent and surrey.
- Camping at intersection of m3 and m25. Heathrow planes circling.
- Matt – thanks so much for inviting us in to your house for sausage sandwiches!
- Printing out Google Map zoom-ins at Matt’s house to get us past Heathrow airport. Not a good place for the usual fence hopping..
- It’s quite a buzz to lie on ground under flight path as planes land at heathrow
- Free brandy and garlic bread at a kind pub in rickmansworth
- Live band in local pub (“these boots were made for walking”). Someone’s allowed us to camp in their garden.
- Found broken kids’ sled. @roblilwall towing his pack on it. Good training for south pole.
- Less fence jumping today. Commandeered shopping trolley for packs and accelerating towards junction 21
- Grr… I lost our map. Hard work trying to get through dark, rural hertfordshire without one. Idiot.
Enjoying warmth in deserted south mimms service station. Never considered it an oasis of luxury before.
- Slept in bushes in car park at south mimms service station. Handy for getting breakfast in morning!
- People avoid my gaze in service station. Without my pack i look like a homeless man.
- Grey sky, slushy paths, damp sleeping bag, sore feet, a little whine and a moan.
- The prospect of cooking super noodles in a cold field has been trumped by a turkish chippy near junction 26
- Free chips! Walking on now. Hope to sleep in epping forest tonight.
- Camping 10m from the noisy road. Imagining the trucks are waves on the shore to lull me to sleep…
- Cup of tea at a stables in essex. “my son’s mad like you. A hot drink will do you good”
- Asked directions from two essex geezers shooting pigeons in a slushy field.
- Hopped a fence and striding across a golf course.
- Marching on together into our final gloomy dusk. My own bed and a hot shower beckon…
- Finished the m25. What a walk!

For some “proper” writing about the experience please click here.
Or listen to Rob giving a micro-talk about the trip: