Doing the Walk Yourself: Weather

I was incredibly lucky with the weather in the summer of 2003. As I walked from Land's End to John o'Groats the weather just seemed to get better and better, which meant that the temperature remained pretty constant as I slowly headed north. The following summers of 2004 and 2005 were miserable in comparison, and I'm forever thankful that I got the luck of the draw, as the weather can change a walk like this from a delight to a disaster.

Here's the weather I enjoyed, in all its glory. Apart from a few bursts of rain, particularly in mid-May, I managed to escape the worst of it, despite some short but memorable lapses on the Pennines and in the Scottish Highlands (neither of which are known for their lack of precipitation). I found the perfect weather for walking to be cloudy with sunny intervals, but even when the sun came out in all its glory it didn't bother me too much, as I was heading north and the sun was on my back. Heading south from John o'Groats to Land's End in a hot summer would be another story altogether... but whatever the route you decide to take, make sure you carry the right gear for the weather. Walking in the sun is one thing, but getting struck by a downpour in the middle of a soggy moor is another experience altogether. Oh yes...