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Walking a lap of the M25

Walking a lap of the M25

As soon as the idea formed I knew it would be an adventure. Not a massive adventure. But that was fine. I was not looking for that. I wanted something small. I wanted a microadventure. I recruited friend and fellow adventurer Ron Lilwall to accompany me, we decided to make a film of our experiences, and we set off to walk a lap of the M25.

“Walking the M25?! Are you mad?”
“Well it should be quicker than driving.”
“In this weather? Rather you than me…”

For, completely by chance, we had chosen the coldest week of the worst winter in 30 years with which to undertake our adventure. A Siberian suburban experience.
The general consensus was that we were mad, that it was a stupid, nonsensical idea. It made people chuckle, made them roll their eyes at our folly, made folks wrap their arms round themselves and be glad they would soon be in their warm car commuting to work, their warm bed at night.

The M25 is 118 miles long, encircling London. Our plan was to walk as close to the motorway as possible, from Junction 1 to 31, from Kent to Essex via Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, through fields and farmland, down footpaths if we saw them, along occasional small parallel roads from time to time. We deliberately had no real plan. We carried just one map, a large scale one that showed the whole M25. We would sleep outside at night, in bivvy bags, but hoped that we would find refuge under a bridge, in a barn, or in some kind stranger’s home from time to time. It seemed likely that we would walk somewhere between 150 and 200 miles.

Walking a lap of the M25 - Dartford Bridge. The start and the end.

It was dawn. Snow was falling. Rob and I were in a cheerless industrial estate on the banks of the Thames estuary. Above us arched the impressive span of the Queen Elizabeth bridge, gridlocked with traffic creeping towards the toll booths, towards Junction 1 of the M25. It was the first working day after the New Year holidays and everything about the scene was gloomy and dull. I began to feel that this was not such a great idea after all. I tried to look on the bright side: a week from now we should be finished.

It is not very easy to walk a lap of the M25. It is, understandably, hardly geared towards pedestrians. Sliproads and flyovers and high fences blocked our route. We walked down pavements and through housing estates, across waste land and through hedges. On the corner of Main Street a greasy spoon cafe confirmed all my hopes about this trip. People in hiking gear with large packs on their backs were not the cafe’s usual customers (“Oi mate, shut the bleedin’ door”, “two sugars or three?”). The walk was an instant opening into conversation and we were bombarded from all sides with questions, incredulity and good-humoured mocking. Builders, old men, a young couple: all thought we were mad, that our idea was ridiculous, and that doing it during the worst winter in a generation sealed our insanity. And so began the first of many attempts over the next week to explain ourselves. To say that we were looking for a challenging adventure right here on our doorsteps, that we would learn about our own country, meet interesting people and so on. A bacon butty and mug of tea; hat and gloves steaming on the radiator. But what really warmed up us and quickened our stride back towards the M25 were the wishes of goodwill, the laughter we had created, and the feeling that we really did have a good story here, that we must never rush so much to miss a story, that we should have the nerve to talk to everyone. And that maybe we weren’t mad after all.

Walking a lap of the M25

Eventually, round about lunchtime and Junction 2, we broke free of Dartford, and its satellite sprawl, breakin’ out of this two-star town. We left behind the wandering through housing estates and round cul-de-sacs, the fence jumping through fields watched only by gypsies’ ponies.
I find it exciting being under a motorway bridge. Above you the huddled masses race madly in both directions 24 hours a day. And down below is little you, unseen by the world, sheltering from the falling snow beneath massive slabs of concrete. While Rob removed his boots to tend to his already-sore feet I glanced over the repetitive, basic graffiti tags of bored youths who had been here before me signing proof of their repetitive, basic lives, kicking cans through puddles, smoking fags, boasting of women and Saturday nights.

Walking a lap of the M25

It was only early afternoon but the light was already seeping from the dull, monochrome January day. Britain was beginning to return to work after the New Year festivities. We were beginning to get back into the mindset and rhythm of life in the outdoors. Normal modern life is played out in permanent sterilty – we live in the light until we choose some hours of darkness. Temperatures remain the same, even as the seasons outside rotate through their cycle. The fridge holds food, taps give water, and the warmth and refuge of our bed awaits us each night.
But we were having to return to the old ways, the daily forage for food and water, the challenge to keep warm or dry in response to the whims of the day’s weather, the mild anxiety of seeking a safe shelter each night. And all this played out, just miles from central London, within the strict constraints of the hours of daylight which, we were remembering, limited us to only about 9 hours of action each day.

By now we were tramping through white fields, their silence emphasised by the drone of the M25 muffled by the snow falling all around us. Pylons loomed in the gloom. It was a disorientating, fantastical feeling, crunching across the snow covered stubble of fallow fields. We had no idea of where we were or what lay ahead of us but it mattered little so long as we were following our road.

Walking a lap of the M25

Night fell and we lashed a poncho between two trees. Home sweet home! We lay in sleeping bags beneath our poncho eating Supernoodles and feeling well with the world. It is amazing how your mood rises once you are warm and tucked up in bed, even if your bed is under a poncho in a snowy wood.

Walking a lap of the M25 - sleeping under a poncho in the snow

The motorway did not sleep; cars and lorries roared endlessly through the night. Each time I woke I glanced at the moon, its progress across the sky giving me a rough idea of how long I had been asleep. And each time I glanced at the motorway as well and it was always alive and moving. The only disturbance through the long night was a fox who grabbed his chance and crept up to try to steal our bag of food. Hungry times for wild animals. Hungry times for long distance walkers too so I shooed him and he slunk away into the night. One of the few pleasant aspects of a winter expedition is the amount of sleep you get. Twelve hours after going to bed the alarm sounded and we rose and packed our bags in the 6.30 darkness. The stars were blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun.

The ground was covered with the tracks of rabbits, foxes and birds. No longer did this feel like a human-dominated world. It was as though we had moved to a forest in Siberia, flown centuries back in time to mediaeval Kent, switched channels to the nature station. We pushed and ducked under bushes and tree branches. I jumped to grab a brach and showered Rob with snow. We could see no sign of mankind. Ours were the only footprints in the snow. We were alone in the wild, about 20 metres from the hard shoulder.

Walking a lap of the M25

Our idyll was rather spoiled by the realisation that in order for us to cover the requisite four junctions per day we would have to begin trekking into the night. And so each day we just kept on walking through the frozen darkness until we had covered sufficient distance. We woke at 6am and our latest finish was 11pm. Added to this unpleasantness was a good deal of pain for Rob. As well as not wearing in his boots and therefore suffering a lot, it appeared that middle age had also caught up with my long-time expedition partner. His knees hurt, his back hurt and he was in pain for the entire trek. I dealt with this as sympathetically as always (not very). He was far more tolerant on the night when I lost our map and we had to rely on directions from a motorist who sent us on a route that took three hours longer than it ought to have done.

We arrived in Redhill -Junction 8- quite late at night. We were cold and tired and Rob was commenting on how he could walk home in just a few hours from here. We stopped in a pub for some morale boosting food. The barmaid gave us free beer and a kind couple, Ronan and Helen, rescued us from a night sleeping in the snow by inviting us to stay at their house for the night. As well as being thrilled at the prospect of a shower and a warm sleep, we were delighted to discover that the kind strangers who have helped us so often in distant lands also live in southern England. The strongest memories of all adventures tend to be the people that you meet along the way. Once again I was discovering that if you break away from the norm a little bit and do something different, difficult and interesting then people respond.

Walking a lap of the M25 - chips and news of cold weather

Kindness and incredulity followed us in equal measure along the way. Matt, who knew our whereabouts from Twitter, came out on his bike to find us and invite us home for a fried breakfast. We crossed the Thames – a halfway point of sorts- and planes rumbled over our heads as we passed Heathrow. We had learned the importance of pubs as hubs of conversation and community and so headed to another one near Rickmansworth (Junction 17). A lady bought us brandy and the pub band played “These boots are made for walking”.
A city trader finished his pint and said we could camp on his lawn. He didn’t quite feel comfortable enough to allow us into his family home, but he did come out at 6am in his boxer shorts with mugs of hot tea to wish us well.

A man who let us sleep in his garden. He came out at dawn with a cup of tea for us. Rob took a photo of him in his pants.

Rob found a discarded child’s sledge and loaded his pack into it to tow like Ranulph Fiennes. Instead of being in Antarctica though we were trekking through Hertfordshire. The sledge broke and Rob moved on to a shopping trolley, wheeling his belongings through grey streets like a character from Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. We were now degenerating towards Hobo status. A lady walking her dog lowered her gaze, and walked by at speed.

Walking a lap of the M25

Walking a lap of the M25 - aided by a shopping trolley

Our standard diet of ketchup sandwiches was wearing a little thin and we set our sights on the luxuries of South Mimms service station. We walked through a frightening junk yard filled with threatening signs about guard dogs. We were lost, stumbling around in the night and trying to find a way to get across the A1 into the service station.
Not content to just eat chips for dinner in the service station we also slept in some bushes in the car park so that we could eat breakfast there too. I topped up my coffee over and over from the free milk until I was just drinking milk. We marched on knowing we only had a couple more days to go.

Walking a lap of the M25 - ketchup sandwiches

Walking a lap of the M25

The variety of landscapes, natural and man-made, that we encountered walking through six counties was interesting. There was clear separation between the different classes or groups we walked past. The Surrey gentry, clusters of Sikhs, white working class, North London boys done good and moved to suburbia… This “ghetto-isation” is partially voluntary and self-fulfilling and the dividing lines very clear cut.

The M25 walk was through an environment very much controlled by man. But I relished feeling the forces of nature at work as well. We can build highways that transport thousands of people and tonnes of manafactured goods. We can blot out the stars with the glow of a city’s orange street lights. But we cannot control the land being covered in snow that reflects the glow so that even at night it was easy to see and walk cross country, following in the footsteps of Rob’s black silhouette. Down to my left the pouring stream of red and white lights raced on, but the cold on my face and the searing raw wind reminded me that nature is still with us, even in the most mundane of man-controlled environments.

Walking a lap of the M25

After a week of hard walking the columns of the Queen Elizabeth bridge came into view again. Our circle was complete. The snow, the wild camping, the kebab shops, the fence jumping, the shopping trolley: it had been quite a week. We were cold and tired and more jubilant than we would have imagined. We had successfully found adventure in 21st Century southern England, we had scratched our curiosity and proved that if you step just a fraction away from the main road, away from the conventional route, the path everyone else is taking, the road you have always taken then you can see things differently, challenge yourself and have novel, interesting experiences.

All that remained was to get across the bridge and complete our circle. We knew that we would not be allowed to walk across the bridge but had heard rumours that the Transport Police would give a lift to pedestrians and cyclists. Arriving at the bridge we found a phone that was a direct line to request a lift across.

“Sorry”, the man on the other end told us. “We’re only allowed to take cyclists across these days. No walkers.”
“Why?” we asked
“Health and Safety, mate.”

It was the perfect end to a microadventure round 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!

A suitably low-key end to walking a lap of the M25

Read Comments

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Comments

  1. What a great way to find a challenge not many would accomplish closer to home than usual! It was the coldest this country has felt that I can remember, and I was inside!

    I followed your tweets as you were going around it, and wondered how you would get past some of the junctions. How far ‘off course’ do you think you got at the most extreme?

    with best regards,
    Karn.

    Reply
  2. excellent.
    i was looking forward to this post and it didn’t disappoint.
    the scariest part, and something i’m thinking about more and more these days is that while i’ll find the time and the money for adventures, middle age is creeping up on me (charging up might be closer to the truth) and for the first time i have to start considering fitness and well-being before leaping in to the next challenge…

    Reply
  3. Martin Posted

    – again a very inspiring story, maybe it’s getting time for me to do some micro adventuring back here in Holland. One thing is for sure today is going to be a day full of wanderlust while sitting behind my desk.

    with pleasure,

    Martin

    Reply
  4. superb

    Reply
  5. Chris Posted

    Top notch gents!

    This is a realisation of one of those crazy ideas you get when with a group of friends in a pub or a thought that darts through your mind while twiddling your thumbs in work looking at a map on the wall.

    I love it!

    Reply
  6. Fantastic little tale, well done. I wish I knew about this earlier I would have enjoyed following your tweets. Imagine hitting the worst winter in years! but then again sometimes adversity makes a challenge even more unforgettable.

    Reply
  7. Excellent!
    I’ve been looking forward to this post.
    Really like these homegrown adventures.

    Reply
  8. Rob young Posted

    Really great post, inspiring.

    Reply
  9. dexey Posted

    Excellent. I think I’ll take the dog for a walk now :0)

    I’ve got a TN Jupiter bivi, unused in anger, what sort of sleeping bag do you use in yours, down or synthetic? What ground pad do tou use, as well?

    Cheers

    Reply
  10. Cant get a partner for the OMM so do a microadventure adventure instead!
    I have decided that missing out on the OMM I will do a small microadventure, we are going up to visit my mum in Manchester returning Friday but I will cycle it back on Mountainbike using (roughly) the Midshires way back down to Nottingham.
    I will bivvy (still need to buy bivvy bag) somewhere on the way back. Looking forward to it now, hope the weather is kind.

    Great Blog

    Reply
  11. Martha Solomon Posted

    “The stars were blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun.”

    Great line–it’s like poetry! I really enjoy how you tell these stories in words and images–crossing Scotland and the M25. Thanks!

    Reply
  12. Joe Bennion Posted

    Wow, great read, who’d have thought such interesting adventures could be had so close to a motorway.

    Reply
  13. Kathryn Baber Posted

    Im 55,female,grown up kids at home still.Your adventure sounds cool.What a brill idea.Fancy somat similar myself.Worry it’d have been a bit too brassy though.Good on ya

    Reply
  14. Lazyman Posted

    love you idea of micro adventures, and at the ripe old age of 63 took my 10yr grandson on his first micro adventure last Easter now 12 months later with many more micro adventures under our belt we have progressed from 1 night out out to 2/3 nights out. This Easter we start the North Downs Way time to pass from a micro adventure to a small adventure we aim to start Good Friday come rain or shine and hope to finish by the end of the school hoildays but no rush the biggest thing is to have fun enjoy each others company and have an adventure,
    Thank you, you inspired me get out and more importantly you inspired me to take my grandson with me. You are never to old or to young to have an adventure .

    Reply
  15. Mike Pini Posted

    Inspirational. Just shows one doesn’t need to walk a National Trail to have a walking adventure. Ten years on, are you planning to walk the M25 anti-clockwise?

    Reply
  16. Alvaro Posted

    Wonder how many fences you jumped 😀
    what I great adventure

    Reply
  17. Ha ha haaa! That last sentence made me genuinely LOL. What a great adventure!

    Reply

 
 

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