Lands End, a relatively small headland at the most southwesterly corner of England. Although not the furthest point south, this being 35 miles along the south coast at Lizard Point, it is the furthest point from its northerly counterpart John O’Groats and therefore the start (or finish) of the challenge.

The first recorded end-to-end walk (actually from John o’ Groats to Land’s End) was undertaken by the brothers John and Robert Naylor in 1871. Since then the walk has been undertaken many times, more particularly since 1960, after a well-publicised road walk by Dr Barbara Moore. In 1960 the entrepreneur Billy Butlin organised a road walking race, which gave further impetus to the idea.

Since the 1960s, walkers have mostly chosen off-road routes, using the growing network of long-distance footpaths. A classic account is from 1966 by the travel writer John Hillaby. Off-road walkers usually complete the journey in two to three months. There is a considerable choice of off-road routes, but all are much longer than the shortest road distance, usually 1,200 miles (1,900 km) or more. The walk is still undertaken by road walkers, often doing the walk, like Sir Ian Botham, for charity, or as a “challenge walk”. They typically take a month or even less.

Some walkers aim to complete the route piecemeal, perhaps over several years, to achieve the walk within the time constraints of a working life and before the possible health problems of retirement.