Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'Excuse me, is this the way to Camelford?' I asked an elderly walker, who was walking
in the opposite direction to us, with a lady who appeared to be his daughter.
'Yes. It's just a few miles further down the trail,' he said. 'Is that where you are head-
ing?'
'For now, yes, but we're on our way to John O'Groats,' said Ben.
'Oh really? I walked from John O'Groats to Land's End a few years ago. I'm actually
mentioned in the museum at Land's End, as I'm the oldest person to walk the route. I'm
just along the wall from Ian Botham.'
'Andthestoryofthemanwhotried topushapeawithhisnosetheentire way,'Iadded.
'Yes, that's right. The stupid idiot,' he said.
Reg Savill was the only person we had spoken to since setting off that morning, and
it turned out that he was a Land's End to John O'Groats record holder. What were the
chances?
Hewas74whenhecompletedthetripandhehadwalkedtheentiredistanceonhisown.
Fairly early on in his trip, he had a chance meeting with a man named Gil Campbell who
was out driving in his campervan. He had noticed Reg walking along the side of the road
looking languid, and offered him a lift to the next town. Reg declined the offer, but asked
if the man could drop his rucksack at the next B&B along the route. Not only did the man
oblige, but he also did the same every day, all the way to Land's End. They had been close
friends ever since.
'He truly was a lifesaver,' said Reg. 'I honestly believe if it hadn't been for him I would
never have completed it.'
'That's incredible,' I said. 'We've met a few of our own versions of Gil already on our
trip.'
'And you'll meet plenty more. There are lots of them about.'
'So, it looks like you are still keeping yourself fit then, Reg?' asked Ben
'Well, yes, I used to be a Navy commando, so I was fairly fit. Until last year, I was
doingmyarmytrainingregimeeverymorning;100press-ups,100sit-upsand40chin-ups.
I had a hernia operation last year, so now I can only manage 20 chin-ups.'
Ben and I were both in awe. We had found a new hero. We wanted to hear as many
of Reg's stories as possible, and so spent 45 minutes standing in the middle of the Camel
Trail, being treated to tales from his journey.
'I ended up on a motorway one day, by mistake. I was walking along and I took what I
thought was the correct road, but it turned out to be a slip road that led onto the motorway.
The road was fairly quiet so I decided to keep walking, as it was too late to turn back. The
police picked me up after a few miles and drove me back to where I'd joined it. I had to
take a different route then, and ended up walking 38 miles in one day. I wouldn't recom-
mend that.'
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