My time, my legacy
A lifetime of writing and adventure + an extreme midlife running crisis. How can I put that to good use?
In July and August 2024, I will combine my abilities, running 2000 miles, linking every one of England’s 42 cathedral cities whilst telling the story of modern and historical England with a daily postcard blog.
The result of this will be a powerful legacy in words and deeds to help inspire the next generation.
If you’ve got 5 minutes, there’s a video of me explaining who I am and why I am capable of doing this.
The Route
30 miles/50km per day for 62 consecutive days
Every Cathedral City – from Newcastle to Canterbury, Truro to Carlisle
The run takes in:
Sustrans cycle routes – to promote urban-country exercise and wellbeing
5 National Trails
6 National Parks
Numerous National Landscapes (previously Areas of Natural Beauty)
Passing a vast collection of tourism highlights of England, from natural wonders to historical monuments to cultural celebrations and museums.
The Story Telling
Journey journal: Where I have been that day and what I found noteworthy
‘Where I live’ – interview snapshots with the people I meet about where they live and what they love
Fuel – Local cuisine from cheese in Cheddar to Balti in Birmingham and drink from tea tasting to local apple juice, I’ll also answer that crucial question, what’s the best pint in England?
Venues: Hotels, Wedding Venues, Conference Centres, Shopping Centres, Sports Grounds – all being reviewed in my FMBE Magazine.
Overnight stay: The place I stayed in and why the area attracts visitors.
Shopkeeping: From small independents through to our shopping and leisure centres, I will snapshot the mood and the data as I travel around the country, together with a look at the brands and culture that are defining the modern era. I’ll also chat with shopkeepers from tradional to modern pop-ups getting a true view of this nation of shopkeepers and our habits and expectations. A special edition of my FMBE magazine follows the tour tracking shopper and grocery habits.
The Natural World – I’ll pick out the flora and fauna of the day, celebrating life in urban gardens, parkland, farms and wilderness
Friends old and new – I’ll be connecting with friends all the way around the route, to meet, help, support and run with me, and also making new friends using the power of the Internet connecting with fans of my running and writing.
Club Scene – I’ll note any notable sports and outdoors clubs I come across, especially running, cycling, triathlon and long-distance walking and inviting club members to join me on each leg of the journey. This company will be helpful in terms of motivation, useful in terms of local knowledge, practical in terms of lifts and logistics.
Heroes and Villains – Famous folk and Cultural Icons – from William Shakespeare to Stephen Hawking, from Emmeline Pankhurst to Judy Dench, I’ll note the notables. I will live their stories too, using audio book and music content as I run.
Dog of the day – a daily chat with a dog walker.
Photo of the day – from village green cricket to summer carnivals, there will be a photo of the day selected from the daily album.
Events and Festivals – I’ll chart the ones we see and the ones that are hosted each summer in the places we go through creating a diary
Inspiration – What inspired me most that day. This will link to the charity programme.
The Charity Programme
The Tour of England’s ethos encourages and support the connection between urban life and outdoor wellbeing, with a leaning towards youth and youth development. You can get directly involved with through volunteering – which enables an ongoing legacy of support.
Brathay Trust
This is the charity I am raising funds for on the TOE. Inspiring young people to make positive changes (The Trust also organises the ASICS Windermere Marathon and the Brathay 10in10 fundraising events).
Yvent: Events and Adventures for underprivileged youth. Yvent is my own cause, currently formalising for charity status. We are going to work directly with charities like Brathay, and directly helping them with end of process solutions by providing guidance and work experience in the events, marketing and sales sectors via Field Marketing and Brand Experience agencies.
The Schedule
Saturday 29th June
Pre Event day 1 – Drive to Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire ahead of tour. Bucks and Beds are the only two English counties that my running tour doesn’t set foot in.
9am -Higginson Parkrun, Marlow followed by Thames Path walk then lunch at Tom Kerrdige’s Hand and Flowers Michelin 2* pub. Afternoon drive Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, Woburn Abbey and Gardens, Beds and Bletchley Park and Caldecote Lake, Milton Keynes.
Sunday 30th June
Pre Events Day 2: Caldecote run followed by Bletchley Tour. Then on for tourism day in Northumberland, including Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle and a walking tour of Newcastle.
Monday 1st July
Run Route – 33.8 miles
9am Newcastle Cathedral – Greggs (1) – 10am Angel of the North (4.3) – 1pm – 2pm Durham Cathedral (15) – 3.30pm Spennymoor (21) – 4pm – 4.30pm Bishop Auckland (25) – 6.30pm Piercebridge (33.8)
Post Run – 7.30pm – 9pm Driving Tour – Barnard Castle – Richmond – Darlington – Piercebridge
Overnight: Piercebridge
Tuesday 2nd July
Run Route – 31 miles
6am Piercebridge – 9am Catterick (12) – 10.30am – 11am Bedale (18) – 3pm Ripon Cathedral (31)
Post Run – 4pm Short drive to Fountains Abbey (last entry 16.30.)
Evening
Dinner in Harrogate
Overnight: Green Hammerton (30 min drive from Ripon)
Wednesday 3rd July
Run Route – 30 miles
Dress Code – Viking Helmet
7am Ripon Cathedral – 10.30am Linton (15), 12noon – 12.30 Beningborough (19.5) – 2pm – 3.30pm York Minster and City Centre (25) – 4.30pmCopmanthorpe (30 miles)
Overnight: Camponile, Wakefield (40 mins from Copmanthorpe)
Thursday 4th July
6.30am Copmanthorpe to Bradford Cathedral (5) via Tadcaster Town (incl. John Smith’s Brewery), Bramham, Headlingly and Pudsey. The Route passes north of Gascoigne Almshouses and The Triumphal Arch, a surprising celebration of American Independence. With John Smith’s and Tetley (Leeds) en route, this day will need end with a couple of pints (31 miles)
[Time Permitting – Evening visit to City Centre and Trinity Leeds shopping centre and/or Saltaire Bradford]
Fuel – Kohinoor Curry, Symington’s (Leeds), Seabrook Crisps (of Bradford), Bitter
Friday 5th July
7am Bradford Cathedral to Locke Park, Barnsley via Wakefield Cathedral (6) – via Wakefield Bridge & Chantry Chapel and Newmillerdam Country Park (total 25 miles)
[Time Permitting – drive to sunset in the Peak District, Edale Rocks]
Fuel – Barnsley Chop (Lamb)
Saturday 6th July
9am Barnsley Parkrun – Locke Park – 5km – 3 miles
10am Barnsley to Worksop via Sheffield Cathedral (7) and Rother Valley Country Park – 29 miles
Total including Parkrun – 32 miles
Fuel – Bingham’s potted beef with Henderson sauce.
Sunday 7th July
8am Worksop to Lincoln Cathedral (8) via Babworth Hall and Retford (31 miles)
Evening walking tour of Lincoln’s historic city centre including Steep Hill, Roman Gate, Medieval wall, Lincoln Imp and the International Bomber Command Centre.
Fuel – Lincolnshire sausages, Hazlet, a cheese meal at The Cheese Society incl Yellow Belly Cheese
Monday 8th July
9am Lincoln Cathedral to Southwell Cathedral (9) via Fosse Way and Newark Castle, finishing at Calverton village (total 30 miles)
Tuesday 9th July
Dress Code: Robin Hood/ Lace
9am Calverton to Derby Cathedral (10) via Gedling Country Park, Nottingham City Centre and Wollaton Hall, finishing at Wilson village – 33 miles
Fuel: Bakewell Pudding, Fidgety Pie, Local cheeses and oatcakes.
Wednesday 10th July
7am Wilson village to Leicester Cathedral (11) and onto Goadby village (31 miles.)
[Time Permitting: At cathedral, visit to Richard III visitor centre by 3pm]
Fuel: Melton Mobray Pork Pie, Stilton, Red Lecicester
Thursday 11th July
9am Goadby to Peterborough via King’s Cliffe village (33 miles)
The heart of Weetabixshire
Fuel: Weetabix
Friday 12th July
Peterborough Cathedral (12) – Chatteris – the ‘last refuge of Boudica’ – Ely Cathedral (13) (29 miles)
Fuel: Ely means ‘Isand of eels”
Saturday 13th July
6am An early off in order to get from Ely Cathedral to Milton Country Park Run, located at mile 13 by 9am.
Then onto St Botolphs Church, Cambridge 16.5 miles then to The Jockey Club Newmarket (Total 29 miles)
Total Mileage incl Parkrun – 32 miles
Afternoon Tour of University colleges
Fuel: Braughing Sausage, Newmarket
Sunday 14th July
8am Newmarket to St Edmundsbury Cathedral (14), Bury St Edmunds via Ickworth Park (16.5 miles), then to Knetishall Heath (30 miles total)
Evening visit to Knetishall Heath, site of Suffolk Backyard Ultra
Fuel: Greene King brewery – Bury St Edmunds
Monday 15th July
8am Knetishall to Wymondham Abbey to Norwich Cathedral (15)(27 Miles)
Time Permitting – Sunset on the Norfolk Broads
Fuel: Colman’s mustard, local fruits.
Tuesday 16th July
Dress Code – Home Guard/ British Sitcom
6am Norwich Cathedral (15), walking tour of Norwich to include Elm Hill and medieval highlights, then southwards to Bressingham Steam and Gardens (Dad’s Army) and then onto Diss (Total 28 miles + 2 x walking tours)
Bressingham Steam and Gardens, including Dad’s Army. Closes 5pm
Wednesday 17th July
8am Diss to Sudbury (32 miles)
Evening walk on Stour Valley Path, that inspired Gainsborough and Constable landscapes, and in Sudbury, The Talbot Trail with its statues depicting the town’s history.
Thursday 18th July
8am Sudbury to Chelmsford Cathedral (16), via Braintree (26 miles)
Visit to Hylands Park.
Friday 19th July
8am Chelmsford Cathedral to Welwyn Garden City 32 miles
A night at Barn Theatre, Welwyn
Saturday 20th July
5.30am Welwyn to St Albans – St Albans Cathedral (17) and Abbey (8-9miles), then to Verulanium Park for St Albans Parkrun
9.30 10am St Albans to Brent Cross Shopping Centre to The Woodman Highgate and on to St Paul’s Cathedral (18) (32 miles)
[Total including Parkrun, 35 miles]
Flash mob arrival
Evening river walk – Fleet Street – Temple Church – Somerset House – Blackfriars Bridge – National Theatre – South Bank – St Thomas’ Hospital – Big Ben – Whitehall – The Mall – Buckingham Palace – St James Palace – The Ritz – Trafalgar Square – Leicester Square – Chinatown – The Royal Opera House
Sunday 21st July
7am St Paul’s Cathedral to Tower Bridge to Southwark Cathedral (19), then to Greenwich [London Marathon route] – then to Eltham Palace – Bluewater Shopping Centre– Rochester Cathedral (20) (total 33 miles)
City centre visit to Rochester Castle
Monday 22nd July
7am Rochester Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral (21) via Chatham Docks, Sittingbourne and Faversham (31 miles)
Pilgrimage character/ Chaucerian character company of runners to join on any of the route into Canterbury
Fuel: Canterbury Tart – recipe by Geoffrey Chaucer and Mary Berry. Sandwich named after the Earl and town.
Tuesday 23rd July
8am Canterbury Cathedral to Maidstone via Leeds castle (27 miles)
Wednesday 24th July
7am Maidstone to Oxted via Ightham Mote and also Chartwell House – family home of Winston Churchill (26 miles)
Evening – Titsey Place and Gardens or Barn Theatre or Hever Castle, Edenbridge (4.30pm last admission)
Thursday 25th July
9am Oxted to Guildford Cathedral (22) (North Downs/ North Downs Way) 28 miles
Time Permitting – Guildford Castle – tower open until 4pm, grounds until dusk.
Friday 26th July
7am Guildford Cathedral to Chichester Cathedral (23) – 32 miles.
Time Permitting, Harbour Walk
Evening – Festival Theatre or a visit to Goodwood
Saturday 27th July
9am Chichester Parkrun (3 miles)
9.30am Chichester Cathedral to Portsmouth Cathedral (24) via South Parade Pier, Southsea then Gosport Ferry to Fareham 26 Miles
Total incl Parkrun 29 miles
Sunday 28th July
7.30am Fareham to Winchester Cathedral (25) using South Downs Way (19 miles)
Walkiing Tour of Winchester (Visit – 430pm last entry – The Great Hall, King Arthur’s Round Table)
Then to King’s Somborne village – Total 26 miles
Monday 29th July
8am King’s Somborne to Salisbury Cathedral (26) and to Fordingbridge, New Forest National Park (28 miles)
Time Permitting – New Forest evening walk
Tuesday 30th July
8am Fordingbridge to Cranbourne and Cranbourne Manor then to Bryanston village near Blandford Forum – (23 miles)
Wednesday 31st July
9am Bryanston to Milton Abbas, Milton Abbey, Dewlish, Dorchester, Pucknowle – 30 miles
Fuel: Dorset Knobs and Blue Vinny cheese. Apple cake.
Thursday 1st August
9am Pucknowle – West Bay – Lyme Regis – Seaton – Sidmouth joining the South West Coastal Path at West Bay to follow the dramatic Jurassic Coast – route via West Bay, Lyme Regis, Seaton, Beer Head to Sidmouth – 31 miles
Fuel: Lobster
Friday 2nd August
7am Sidmouth to Exeter Cathedral (27) – Mortonhampstead – 27 total.
Time Permitting: Walk an Alpaca through the gardens at Powderham Castle
Fuel: Cream tea with scones
Saturday 3rd August
9am Parke Parkrun (Bovey Tracey) (3 miles)
10.30 Moretonhampstead – Dartmoor – Plymouth 29 miles
Fuel: Fish and Chips
Sunday 4th August
Plymouth (ferry), Tregantle Fort, Looe,(Ferry or Bridge) – Fowey (Ferry) 25 miles
(Polruan Ferry to Fowey)
Fuel: Dressed Crab
Monday 5th August
7am Fowey to Eden Project to St Austell to Truro Cathedral (28) to Trispen – 27 miles
Time Permitting – lunch tour of The Eden Project
Fuel: Pasty, Cornish Yarg
Tuesday 6th August
8am Trispin – Bodmin – Bolventor (Jamaica Inn) – 29 miles
Time Permitting – lunch visit from Bodmin to Lanhydrock House – National Trust – filmed for Trevor Nunn’s Twelth Night starring Helena Bonham Carter.
Run dress code – “Cat ears”
An evening visit to the museum of Daphne Du Maurier and Smuggling and a viewing of the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A discussion of famous authors and books the south west – Du Maurier, Fowles, Golding, Hardy, McEwan, Conan-Doyle
Torchlight search for the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
Wednesday 7th August
8am Bolventor – Launceston – Okehampton – 31.5miles
Fuel: Fudge
Thursday 8th August
8am Okehampton – North Tawton – Tiverton – 28 miles
Friday 9th August
7am Tiverton – Wellington – Taunton – N Curry – 29 miles
Saturday 10th August
7am North Curry to Street for breakfast then
9am Street Parkrun (3 miles) then
Glastonbury to Wells Cathedral (29), – Total incl Park Run 28 miles
Fuel: Cheddar and Cider
Sunday 11th August
7am – Wells Cathedral to Bristol Cathedral (30) via Cabot Circus, then lunchtime tour of Bristol including Clifton Suspension Bridge, Banksy Mural, Street Art, Harbour, then on to Bath Abbey, total 34 miles (+walk tour)
Walking tour of Bath, including Roman and Jane Austen connections.
Fuel: Josh Eggleton Brunch, then Pieminister
[Time Permitting – Bath Komedia]
Monday 12th August
7am Bath Abbey to Avebury Standing Circle via Corsham, Chippenham and Calne – 30 miles
Fuel: Cousin Normans, Coq
Tuesday 13th August
7am Avebury to Wantage via The Ridgeway – 25 miles
Fuel: Wiltshire Ham sandwiches
Wednesday 14th August
7am Wantage to Oxford Cathedral (31) then Oxford to Witney – 27 miles
Afternoon walking tour of Oxford and Oxford University and Oxford Westgate shopping centre
Fuel: Oxford Sausages (Mrs Beeton Recipe), Frank Cooper’s Oxford Marmalade (Sarah Cooper 1874 recipe)
Thursday 15th August
7am Witney to Burford (Cotswolds) – Cheltenham
Friday 16th August
Dress Code – Dr Foster and other childhood rhymes
7am Cheltenham to Gloucester Cathedral (32) then to Hereford Cathedral (33) (34 miles)
Time Permitting – Blackfriars Rose Gardens, closes 5pm
Fuel – Double Gloucester
Saturday 17th August
9am Hereford Parkrun
10am Hereford Cathedral to Worcester Cathedral (34) via Malvern Hills, and Malvern, home to Elgar – 34 miles
Fuel: Worcestershire sauce
Sunday 18th August
7am Worcester Cathedral to Stratford Upon Avon to Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare’s Tombstone) – 29 miles
Afternoon: Guided tour of the theatre with Royal Shakespeare Company
Monday 19th August
7am Stratford to Meriden. Meriden is the Centre of England and is the start point of notorious madcap ultramarathon, Escape from Meriden.
The route has some significant vias:
Via Warwick Castle and Town Centre, Kenilworth Castle, Coventry Cathedral (35) and Coventry Motor Museum.
(total 27 miles)
Tuesday 20th August
8am Meriden – to St Philip’s Cathedral Birmingham (36) and then Lichfield Cathedral (37) via The Bullring and Sutton Coldfield Park – 33 miles
Wednesday 21st August
8am Lichfield Cathedral – Stafford – Market Drayton 36 miles
Time Permitting at Stafford – Tour of Ancient High House – tudor wooden framed town house.
Thursday 22nd August
8am Market Drayton – Nantwich and Dorfold Hall – Chester 31 miles
Friday 23rd August
7am Chester Cathedral (38), Roman Gardens Chester and Chester Castle, then St James Cathedral Liverpool (39) – then to Widnes – 30 miles
Includes a ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’
Walking tour of Liverpool
Evening at the Cavern Club/ Drive to Anfield/ Goodison
Saturday 24th August
7am Widnes to Warrington Parkrun (8.5 miles)
9am Warrington Parkrun
10am Warrington to The Trafford Centre then Manchester Cathedral (40) Total miles for day incl Parkrun, 29 miles.
Evening tourism walk
Sunday 25th August
10am Manchester Cathedral to Blackburn Cathedral (41) via Bolton and Darwen Tower, Darwen – 24 miles
Monday 26th August
8am Blackburn Cathedral to Hornby – 31 miles
Time Permitting visit to Carnforth Station (Brief Encounter/ David Lean)
Evening visit to Hornby/Wray Castle
Tuesday 27th August
7am Hornby – Bowness on Windermere – Ambleside 31 miles
Wednesday 28th August
Ambleside – Rydall Cave – Catbells – Keswick – 20 miles
Midroute swim stop at Rydall Cave a film location for The Witcher.
Celebration of the author and fellwalker Alfred Wainwright with a pint of Wainwright’s at the Wainwright pub
Evening hike to Castlerigg Stone Circle
Thursday 29th August
Keswick – Carlisle Cathedral (42) – Brampton 34 miles
Visit to Carlisle Castle
Friday 30st August
6.30am Brampton to Chester’s Roman Fort, Wall near Hexham, via Vindolanda and also Housesteads Roman Fort, 28 Miles
Walk to Hexham Abbey and Hexham Old Gaol
[Time Permitting – Museum of Classic Sci-Fi in Allendale, by special arrangement]
Saturday 31st August
Tyne Green Parkrun (3 miles)
Possible jog from Hexham to Wall if joined by other runners. (3 miles)
Wall – St James’ Park – Newcastle Cathedral (22 miles)
Total miles 28 incl parkrun and Hexham- Wall extra miles.
A night on the Brown Ale
Bath Abbey , for Sunday 11th August
TOE Highlights
42 Cathedrals, Cathedral Cities
Newcastle – Durham – Ripon – York – Bradford – Wakefield – Sheffield – Lincoln – Southwell – Derby – Leicester – Peterborough – Ely – St Edmondsbury – Norwich – Chelmsford – St Albans – St Pauls – Southwark – Rochester – Canterbury – Guildford – Chichester – Portsmouth – Winchester – Salisbury – Exeter – Truro – Wells – Bristol – Oxford – Gloucester – Hereford – Worcester – Coventry – Birmingham – Lichfield – Chester – Liverpool – Manchester – Balckburn – Carlisle
National Trails –
North Downs Way
South Downs Way
South West Coastal Path
The Ridgeway
Hadrian’s Wall Path
National Parks
Northumberland
North Yorks Moors
The Peak District
South Downs
The New Forest
Dartmoor
The Lake District
About Me (also on video below)
This project is my chance to make sense of a lifetime of energy, experience and wordy worldliness. I’ve created Frank’s Big TOE, my Tour Of England, to be completed in two months, July and August 2024.
Being locked into England in 2020 gave me a new appreciation of what England is. I travelled around it whenever allowed, running and making new friends, finding inspiration every step of the way.
The challenge I have come up with covers 2000 miles mapped around all 42 of our cathedral cities.
Newcastle – Canterbury – Truro and Carlisle are the four corners of an adventure that will take me just about everywhere to snapshot England in 2024.
There is a British Cycling route that does something similar, showing the town and country links. This is my runner/hiker take on it, using all types of terrain to show how accessible and extraordinary – England is and to use its incredible landscape to evoke its history and culture – both ancient and modern.
But why me? Why am I the one doing this?
I describe myself as an experiences writer – living life through experiences, events and travel. I have edited and published event, business experience and travel magazines and written for numerous publications. I have been a public speaker at events and hosted my own radio show.
Travel writing commissions and projects have seen me with many exciting visits – to judge the inaugural Miss Kazakhstan competition, to ride horseback amongst hunting lions in Kenya and to follow a general election around the Ukraine, from Kyiv to Lviv.
I’m entrepreneurial, with previous success in making things happen. I set up my own magazines business in 1999 by writing a book sponsored by Royal Mail and Experian called Data Integrity. I created the Field Marketing and Brand Experience Awards in 2003, which I still host annually.
As an adventurous entrepreneur, I also once transformed a defunct lung hospital in the Auvergne back into a chateau, successfully running horse riding holidays there, simultaneously with the publishing and writing business. These days the lovely Chateau de Chazelles hosts weddings.
Stamina & Charity
2000 miles is a huge ask, but I do have what it takes – both as an athlete and as a money raiser.
I raced Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race as a child, 125 miles in 3 days as part of the winning team.
In my 20s I raised 1000s of £s when running London Marathon.
I was a part of Howards Way Walk, long distance charity walking group for 5 years -a group which raised £400,000 for charity.
I started running seriously as recently as 2018, aged 48, with my first ultra, the 100KM Race to the Stones in the middle of that year. My second ultra was a 125KM volcano ascent and island crossing in Gran Canaria, with 7000 metres of elevation. I have since completed a further 100+ ultras and marathons including epics such as Beacon’s Way, 110 miles, and the Kerry Way, 120 miles, both across extreme terrain.
I have qualified for and competed in the World Series Final, Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc (105 miles, 10,000m elevation) and even won one especially brutal ultra, the Linkenholt Backyard Ultra where competitors complete the same very hilly 4 mile loop over and over until only one runner is left standing.
I’m adding to my multiday running experience this year but I have a good track record so far. I was the quickest participant in the 2022 Mongol 100 – a four marathons, 4 day crossing of a frozen lake in Outer Mongolia. I won the seniors prize for the Lake Tahoe triple in California and Nevada, a 3 day circuit of the lake. In 2021 I completed Ring of Fire, a 3 day circuit of the Anglesey coast – 135 miles.
Through all of this I have always championed youth and the great outdoors. I’m very positive about the next generation. Given the right opportunities, they are destined to be better than us.
This is my chance to make sense of my life, to drive these experiences, their collective energies and the many connections I have made into a substantial legacy.
Using your support, your donations, your spreading of the word, your skills and your kindness I will run and write this unique project, epic in terms of its visceral energy, eloquent, entertaining and evocative in terms of its delivery.
The money raised and the message we put out these will be used to build a lasting legacy – young people growing up to make the best of the country we live in, and then to go on to make it even better.
