6 Trails And 6 New Trail Guides For 60!
I have ambitious hiking plans for 2024: 6 trails (meaning 6 new trail guides) and a goal to walk/hike 2,000 miles.
Unbelievably (for me, at least), I turn 60 in August and I reckon that’s worth celebrating with a year of awesome hiking. My latest adventure plans are below, what do you think?
Hiking TrailS For 2024
In no particular order:
| TRAIL | MILES | KM | WHERE | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyndwrs Way | 135 | 217 | Wales | |
| Pembrokeshsire Coast Path | 186 | 299 | Wales | |
| West Highland Way | 96 | 154 | Scotland | |
| Tamara Trail | 87 | 140 | South West | |
| Yorkshire Wolds Way* | 79 | 127 | North East | |
| Cleveland Way* | 109 | 175 | North East | |
| North Downs Way | 153 | 246 | South East | |
| TOTAL DISTANCE: | 845 | 1358 |
If I can pull all these off it means I can actually bring you 7 new trail guides, not 6. This is because although the Yorkshire Wolds Way and the Cleveland Way can be hiked as one, they’re actually two separate trails that warrant separate guides.
Whatever happens during the year though (ie as long as 2024 doesn’t hurl as much crap at me as 2023!), there are 3 non-negotiable trails on the list:
- The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, postponed from 2023
- Glyndwrs Way, also postponed from 2023, and
- The West Highland Way – the 60th birthday hike
But 6 for 60 would be totally awesome – and
You Can Help Me Smash My 6 For 60 challenge!
Why I Need Your Help
It’s simple: the cost of travel from the far South West can be prohibitive and often determines whether I can hike the trail and write the guide or not. Last year my wonderful Ko-fi friends helped me raise the travel costs to Wales to hike the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Glyndwrs Way (which is why they’re non-negotiable hikes in 2024) and this year I’m fundraising for travel costs for the West Highland Way, The Yorkshire Wolds/Cleveland Way and the North Downs Way.
How You Can Help
If you love my trail guides (written especially for backpackers) you can help me get to the next trail with a donation from just £3.00 – and you’d make my day! Become one of my lovely supporters and hop over to my Ko-fi page (also a mini blog), or stay on the page and make a donation in the box right here!
More About The 6 For 60 Challenge
Why These Trails?
5 of the trails on the list contribute to my bucket list goal to hike all 15 national trails in England and Wales before my 60th birthday. I’ve completed 6 so far, so obviously I’ve failed that goal! (thanks to a couple of unintended zero years, including last year). But that’s only the time frame – maybe completing the remaining 4 in 2025 (whilst I’m still 60) would count? Oh hang on, there’ll be 5 in 2025 because that’s when the Wainright Coast to Coast becomes a national trail, though I should probably finish 2024 before getting too excited about that! (Insert grinning emoji here.)
The West Highland Way is a very exciting prospect on my 60 for 60 list as I’ve hoped to celebrate with this one for a number of years. It’ll also be the first of 4 Scottish trails that make up all of the UK’s national trails – another bucket list goal (currently without a timeframe).
By the way, did you know that you can register the national trails you’ve completed on the The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) register? 5 trails qualify for Bronze level, 10 for Silver, 15 for Gold and 19 for Diamond (this includes the 4 Scottish trails) and you don’t need to be a member to register them. You can check out other hiker’s progress too.
My Latest Adventures Have Begun!
I mentioned my goal to hike 2,000 miles this year (an average 38.5 miles a week), which is a fair distance that means no hanging about, so I kicked off the challenge on the 1st of January. Here’s why I’m doing it:
Hiking 2,000 Miles In Memory Of Hana
My friend Hana passed away in 2023 and in her last year walked an awe-inspiring 2,000 miles through debilitating illness. I plan to walk a total of 2,000 miles in 2024 in her memory. No doubt plenty of them will be on the Cornish coast that she loved, along with loads of coffee and cake!
Follow my progess on Google Sheets (no sign in required).
I’ll update all my latest adventures throughout the year, including new trail guides – but why not check out the latest ones below and plan your own? And finally, if you’ve supported me to write more guides this year – I can’t thank you enough.
Happy hiking!
Other Long Distance Trails
Are you looking for more inspiration? Then take a look at these trails – they’re all roughly 100 miles long in southern England, and I recommend them all!
