It’s a journey of over 20 million footsteps round the coastlines of over 25 islands.
Alex Ellis-Roswell started walking around the coastlines of England, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, Ireland and many of the surrounding islands on August 3, 2014.
He’s about halfway through his 9,500-mile walk and has already raised £30,000 for the charity RNLI Lifeboats, a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea.
Approaching his third winter, he has no plans to stop anytime soon. In his own words, Alex provided us with some of his greatest adventures so far.
“One of the most beautiful, greenest landscapes I’ve ever been in. This was the view walking along the coast into Glencolumbkille today.”
“One of the benefits of following the road from here was it ran along the northern side of the mountain and protected me from the strong winds. I could hear the clouds roaring over the top of me. I’ve never heard clouds make a noise like it.”
“I was alone in a stone hut, halfway up Mount Brandon on a cold night, drinking whisky from the bottle and watching smoke rings float through the candle light- you can’t pay for or plan solitary moments like that, not really- life just lends you them if you put yourself out there.”
“There’s something really special about sitting on a bench with a stranger and being able to share the experience of a sunset. People should sit and share more.”
“There was complete puzzlement on the Swedish couple’s face when they came into the kitchen at 7am- there I was cooking two lobsters. I hadn’t slept yet. I had just got in from the nightclub. Irish islands can pack a surprising punch of craic.”
“I met the King of Tory!”
“Update on the midges… I want to scratch my face off!”
“My ferry is booked for Sunday morning, I’ll be off the island and back to England. I wish Mother Nature had made the Isle of Man’s coastline longer- I’m going to miss this place a lot.”
“They followed me the whole way through the field like this. Then I tried to feed them some carrot and they galloped away.”
“Clovelly is the most unspoilt, easy to photograph village I’ve ever seen. And more important than that- it’s a living community. This isn’t a village that’s gone the same way as so many other pretty villages. This isn’t a summer playground for those who can afford holiday homes.”
“I’ve been lucky this Autumn. It’s been dry. The colours of the leaves and heather have been breathtaking at times. But the leaves are almost all gone now and the temperature is falling fast as I walk into my third winter.”
All photos are taken from Alex’s Facebook profile, where you can continue to follow his adventures.
You can also donate to his charity fundraising here.
