About John Merrill

Discover the incredible journey of Revd. John N. Merrill, whose passion for walking and creating challenge walks has been shaped by extraordinary experiences. So far, he has walked more than 228,000 miles, wearing out 156 pairs of boots, and authored over 520 books, marking just a small selection of his unique achievements.

Global Walking Feats

His remarkable journey extends beyond Britain, encompassing:

  • The Appalachian Trail in USA - 2,500 miles - as a training walk.
  • The Pacific Crest Trail in USA in record time 118 days - 3,000 miles.
  • The Longest walk across America - coast to coast - joining all the National Parks together, climbing 14,000 ft. mountains, crossing Grand Canyon - rim to rim in a day and walked across Death Valley unaided - 4,253 miles in under 6 months.
  • First person to thru-hike the Buckeye Trail around the State of Ohio - 1,300 miles.
  • First person to walk across Europe from Holland, across the Swiss and French Alps to Nice and around the Mediterranean to Spain and then across the length of the Pyrenees to Hendaye - 3,000 miles and 600,000 feet of ascent.
  • Seven walks via various routes to Santiago de Compostela.
  • Walking all the GR routes in France, including twice walking the Tour of Mont Blanc and 3 times to Mont St. Michel via different routes.

  • Climbed and walked extensively in Norway, including St. Olav’s Way - 400 miles and a mountain expedition across the Jotunhiemen, crossing 28 glaciers and climbing all the highest peaks.

     

    - Completed more than eighty pilgrimage walks in the UK - to Walsingham, Canterbury, St. Albans, St. Chad etc.

     

    - Walked all the National Trails, many times. Including the Pennine Way, four times in four months; the Cleveland Way 13 times; Offa’s Dyke - 3 times; Cotswolds Way - 3 times etc. etc.

     

    - Created and walked the East of England Pilgrimage route - 420 miles - from Norwich via Ely, Peterborough, Lincoln, York to Durham.

     

    - First walker to have an autbiography - “Walking my Way”.

     

    - First walker to receive an Honary Master’s Degree, from Derby University.

     

    - First walker to go on a Nationwide lecture tour - 40 cities speaking in all the main venues, such as Sheffield City Hall; Derby Assembly Rooms; Wembley Conference Centre; Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leicester, Nottingham etc.

     

    - First walker to become an ordained multi-faith Minister.

A Life of Walking Achievements

John Merrill's passion for creating challenge walks is deeply rooted in his unparalleled walking experiences. He is the:

  • First person to link together all the islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides in one continuous walk, climbing all the highest peaks en route - 1,003 miles.
  • First person to link together all the islands of the Orkneys and Shetlands in one continuous walk - 963 miles.
  • First person to walk the whole length of the west coast of Ireland from Cape Clear Island to Malin Head and walk around all the islands off the west coast - 1,578 miles.
  • First person to link together all the National Parks, major long distance footpaths and highest peaks of England and Wales - 2,053 miles.
  • Holder of the Guinness Book of Records for walking around the entire shoreline of England, Wales & Scotland in one continuous walk - 7,000 miles, including the longest Land’s End to John Groats walk - 4,200 miles and the longest three peaks walks - 1,400 miles.