About John N. Merrill Few people have walked the earth's crust more than John Merrill with more than 182,000 miles in the last 33 years -the average person walks 75,000 miles in a lifetime. Apart from walking too much causing bones in his feet to snap, like metal fatigue, he has never suffered from any back, hip or knee problems. Like other walkers he has suffered from many blisters, his record is 23 on both feet! He wears out at least three pairs of boots a year and his major walking has cost over £135,000. This includes 103 pairs of boots costing more than £11,000 and over £2,000 on socks - a pair of socks last three weeks and are not washed. His marathon walks in Britain include - - Hebridean Journey....... 1,003 miles. Northern Isles Journey......913 miles. Irish Island Journey .......1,578 miles. Parkland Journey.......2,043 miles. Land's End to John o' Groats.....1,608 miles. East of England Heritage Route - 450 miles and in 1978 he became the first person to walk the entire coastline of Britain - 6,824 miles in ten months. In Europe he has walked across Austria - 712 miles - hiked the Tour of Mont Blanc, the Normandy coast, the Loire Valley (450 miles), a high level route across the Augverne(230 miles) and the River Seine (200 miles) in France, completed High Level Routes in the Dolomites and Italian Alps, and the GR20 route across Corsica in training! Climbed the Tatra Mountains ,the Transylvanian Alps in Romania, and in Germany walked in the Taunus, Rhine, the Black Forest (Clock Carriers Way) and King Ludwig Way (Bavaria). He has walked across Europe - 2,806 miles in 107 days - crossing seven countries, the Swiss and French Alps and the complete Pyrennean chain - the hardest and longest mountain walk in Europe, with more than 600,000 feet of ascent! In 1998 he walked 1,100 miles along the pilgrimage route from Le Puy (France) to Santiago (Spain) and onto Cape Finisterre. Recently, John walked from Prague to Vienna, through the unspoilt Czech Republic - 270 miles. In the Spring of 2002, John walked another pilrim route in Spain from Seville to Santiago de Compostela - 700 miles. In 2003 he walked, 650 miles through Portugal to Fatima and Santiago de Compostela - one of the finest long walks he has ever done; the Pilgrim route in Norway - St. Olav's Way - 400 miles from Olso to Trondheim, and the trails of the Hong Kong islands. In America he used The Appalachian Trail - 2,200 miles - as a training walk, before walking from Mexico to Canada via the Pacific Crest Trail in record time - 118 days for 2,700 miles. Recently he walked most of the Continental Divide Trail and much of New Mexico; his second home. In 1999 he walked the Chesopeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Trail. In 2,000 he hiked 1,310 miles around the Buckeye Trail in Ohio, becoming the first person to do so.In Canada he has walked the Rideau Trail - Kingston to Ottowa - 220 miles and The Bruce Trail - Tobermory to Niagara Falls - 460 miles.

In 1984 John set off from Virginia Beach on the Atlantic coast, and walked 4,226 miles without a rest day, across the width of America to Santa Cruz and San Francisco on the Pacific coast. His walk is unquestionably his greatest achievement, being, in modern history, the longest, hardest crossing of the U.S.A. in the shortest time - under six months (178 days). The direct distance is 2,800 miles.

Between major walks John is out training in his own area - The Peak District National Park. He has walked all of our National Trails many times - The Cleveland Way thirteen times and The Pennine Way four times in a year! He has been trekking in the Himalayas five times. He created more than thirty-five challenge walks which have been used to raise more than £750,000 for charity. From his own walks he has raised over £150,000. He is author of more than 240 walking guides which he prints and publishes himself, His book sales are in excess of 3 million, He has created many long distance walks including The Limey Way , The Peakland Way, Dark Peak Challenge walk, Rivers' Way, The Belvoir Witches Challenge Walk, the Forest of Bowland Challenge. the Lincolnshire Wolds "Black Death" Challenge Walk, the Happy Hiker (White Peak) Challenge Walk and Jennifer's Challenge Walk. In January 2003, he was honoured by Derby University, for his walking and writing, being made an Honorary Master of the University. He is currently writing walk guides to London and Hertfordshire and has so far walked more than 1,200 miles in the pursuit of this. In 2006 he was made an Honarary Member of the Paxton Society, for his book on Sir Joseph Paxton. He lectures extensively about walking.

John Merrill's award speech on recieving the honour of Master of the University, at Derby University, in January 2003; for his walking and writing. HONOURS AWARD SPEECH THANK YOU. I HAVE TWO CONFESSIONS TO MAKE TODAY. FIRSTLY, I DID NOT WALK TO DERBY TODAY. SECONDLY, I WAS AN ACADEMIC DISASTER AT SCHOOL. MY FIRST SCHOOL IN SHEFFIELD, I WAS EXPELLED FROM AT THE AGE OF 7 1/2. WHAT I DI TO DESERVE IT I DON’T KNOW. HOWEVER, THE SCHOOL DID ONE IMPORTANT THING FOR ME. AT THE AGE OF 6 1/2 MY CLASS WAS TAKEN TO THE RIVELIN VALLEY, AND I SPENT AN HOUR RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE ROCKS OF BELL HAGG. THAT SENSE OF FREEDOM AND ENJOYMENT HAS NEVER LEFT ME. NO SCHOOL IN SHEFFIELD WOULD HAVE ME AND MY FATHER GOT ME TO A PREPARATORY BOARDING SCHOOL IN HARROGATE. THERE I SOON SETTLED DOWN MY USUAL POSITION IN CLASS, BOTTOM. HOWEVER ON THE PLAY FIELD OR SPORTS DAY IT WAS THE REVERSE. WHEN ELEVEN I WENT IN FOR EVERY RACE ON SPORTS DAY AND EITHER WON OR CAME SECOND IN EVERY EVENT. I WAS SO EMBARRASSED AT THIS THAT I HID IN THE TOILETS DURING PRIZE GIVING. THERE THE HEADMASTER FOUND ME 1 1/2 HOURS LATER AND PRESENTED ME WITH THE SCHOOL CUP. I BECAME TO KNOW THE HEADMASTER WELL FOR IN THOSE DAYS IF YOU MISBEHAVED YOU HAD TO REPORT TO HIS STUDY, DROP YOUR TROUSERS, BEND OVER A CHAIR AND RECEIVE THREE WHACKS WITH A CANE. ON RARE OCCASIONS YOU RECEIVED SIX BUT I CREATED A NEW SCHOOL RECORD OF HAVING NINE AT ONE BENDING. AT THE AGE ON 12 1/2 I TOOK MY COMMON ENTRANCE EXAM AND FAILED. I LEFT THE SCHOOL WITH ANOTHER SCHOOL RECORD, HAVING THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF WHACKS WITH THE CANE OF ANY PUPIL BEFORE OR SINCE, WHICH WAS 76. I ALSO NEW OFF BY HEART FOUR LATIN VERBS - BENDO, WACKERY, OUCHI, SOREBUM! MY NEXT SCHOOL WAS THE INSPIRED SUGGESTION OF MY QUAKER GODMOTHER. A CO-EDUCATIONAL BOARDING SCHOOL NEAR WETHERBY. THE 100 PUPILS BASICALLY RAN THE SCHOOL. WE HAD OUR OWN VEGETABLE GARDEN, 70 ACRES OF WOODLAND, DURING SUMMER TERM YOU COULD CAMP OUTSIDE ON THE PLAYING FIELD AND ON SUNDAYS COULD GO TO THE KITCHENS AND MAKE SANDWICHES, SIGN YOUR NAME ON THE BOARD, AND GO OUT FOR THE DAY. I OFTEN CYCLED 18 MILES TO ALMSCLIFFE CRAG, A GRITSTONE OUTCROP, TO WATCH THE CLIMBERS. OFTEN I WAS TAKEN UP A CLIMB. AT THE AGE OF 15 I HAD 300 BOOKS ON THE HIMALAYAS AND WAS WRITING A BOOK ON THE HISTORY OF MOUNTAINEERING. IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME THAT THE HEADMASTER CAUGHT ME CLIMBING UP THE SCHOOL BUILDING. HE SHOUTED UP - “MERRILL MY STUDY NOW.” I FINISHED THE CLIMB AND RAN DOWN TO HIS OFFICE, FEARING THE WORST FOR I HAD ALREADY BEEN SENT HOME 3 WEEKS EARLY THE PREVIOUS TERM, “HE HAD HAD ENOUGH OF ME.” USUALLY YOU STOOD IN FRONT OF THE DESK AND RECEIVED A LECTURE. ON THIS OCCASION HE USHERED ME TO A SEAT BY THE DESK AND THEN HAD THE FORESIGHT TO SAY, “JOHN, I THINK YOU HAD BETTER BE PROPERLY TRAINED.” BETWEEN HIM AND MY FATHER THEY GOT ME ONTO AN OUTWARD BOUND COURSE AT THE ESKDALE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL IN THE LAKE DISTRICT. THERE I SPENT A WONDERFUL MONTH, WALKING, CLIMBING AND CAMPING. UNBEKNOWN TO ME MY FATHER PUT MY NAME FORWARD FOR A CLIMBING EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. MONTHS LATER TWELVE OF US WERE CHOSEN OUT OF OVER 300 TO GO. AT 16 1/2 I SAT EIGHT O LEVEL’S AND FAILED THE LOT. MY FATHER WAS AGHAST, AND I STAYED ANOTHER YEAR SWATTING HARD AND TOOK ALL EIGHT AGAIN. I FAILED ALL OF THEM. I TOOK A NINTH ONE, POTTERY, AND THE SCHOOL HAD INITIATED THAT AS AN O LEVEL SUBJECT. I GOT 45% AND PASSED. MY ONLY REGRET TODAY IS THAT THREE HEADMASTERS AND PARENTS ARE NOT HERE TO WITNESS WHAT BECAME OF THEIR NAUGHTY BOY. FOR ALL THEM PLAYED A PART, UNKNOWINGLY, IN WHAT DIRECTION MY LIFE SHOULD TAKE. I HAVE BEEN LUCKY HAVING THE PEAK DISTRICT AND DERBYSHIRE AS MY OFFICE AND GYM. ALL I HAVE DONE IS GONE FOR A WALK AND WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT I SAW. I DO THANK YOU MOST HUMBLY FOR THIS HONOUR. PERHAPS I WILL MEET SOME OF YOU OUT WALKING THE PEAK DISTRICT. THANK YOU.