ILLUSTRATED LECTURES

John Merrill is a popular lecturer on his walking exploits. Here are some of the subjects. He brings his own projection equipment and you will find his fee very reasonable!
Contact me at email - marathonhiker@aol.com
NEW ILLUSTRATED LECTURE -
WALKING AROUND LONDON - Covering more than 1,800 miles around the Capital and boroughs of London - The Jubilee Way, The Capital Ring, The London Loop, The Pymmes Brook Trail, The Regents Canal, The Paddington Branch, Grand Union Canal, River Thames, Epping Forest, the Rivers Lee and Stort Navigations historical walks in London,the Wandle Trail, the Green Chain Walk,The St. Albans Way, and walks in the London Borough of Enfield.
Illustrated with 166 colour slides.
NEW PILGRIMAGE LECTURE -
650 MILE WALK THROUGH PORTUGAL TRACING
A MEDIEVAL PILGRIM ROUTE VIA FATIMA
TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
John set off on April 27th. 2003, from Lagos, on the Atlantic coast of Algarve (Portugal) and headed north through the entire length of Portugal and into Spain to Santiago de Compostela; arriving June 4th. 2003.
His route followed a medieval pilgrims route, often used by the Kings and Queens of Portugal, to give thanks for their military successes. In Aqueda he crossed the river using the bridge used by Saint Queen Isabel of Portugal on her way to Santiago. John averaged between 30 and 50 kilometres a day and his route linked together the finest architectural wonders of Portugal; many of which are now World Heritage sites. These include the monastery at Mafra, built for 500 monks; the Gothic church of Batalha; the 800 year old university of Coimbra and the San Franciscan monastery in Porto, whose Baroque nave is covered with 400 kilos of gold leaf. In Spain he saw the mooring stone under the altar in Padron, where the boat carrying the body of the apostle St. James was moored, before being taken to what is now Santiago de Compostela. (Santiago is the Spanish for St. James.)
This is his third pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but by far the finest walk there. “All walks are different but this one went like clockwork and round every corner was a different view or building to see.” John said.
At Batalha he walked eastwards to visit Portugal’s pilgrimage centre at Fatima and joined in a 3,000 candle lit procession. The story of St. Mary’s apparition to the three young shepherds there in 1917, is a remarkable story. “The feeling of the place extra ordinary and you know you are in a very special place” John said.
THREE CLASSIC LECTURES
BY JOHN N. MERRILL
TURN RIGHT AT LAND'S END
Is the remarkable story of how John Merrill became the first person to walk the entire coastline of Britain - 6,824 miles - averaging 26 miles per day with 50 lbs of equipment for ten months. He climbed our three highest mountains en route, drank 529 pints of milk, ate 1,511 bars of chocolate, wore out three pairs of boots and 33 pairs of socks, and raised more than £45,00 for the blind. The walk is an outstanding personal achievement and earned him a permanent place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The lecture is illustrated with 199 slides.
TURN RIGHT AT NICE
Following a training walk in the Himalayas, John set off from the North Sea at Bergen Op Zoom in Holland to walk across Europe. His 107 day walk took him through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France to Lake Geneva. Here he crossed the Swiss Alps and walked down the Rhone Valley before gaining the French Alps near Chamonix. He descended the French Alp[s in 14 days to Nice. Here he bought a new pair of boots and broke them in while he walked 500 miles around the south coast of France to Spain. From the border on the Mediterranean end of the Pyrenees he set off on the final 750 miles across the Pyrenean chain to the Atlantic; completing a 2,800 mile walk with more than 600,000 feet of ascent.
The lecture is illustrated with 198 slides.
TURN RIGHT AT DEATH VALLEY
In 1984 John walked across America - 4,224 miles in under six months. The walk is his greatest achievement and without equal. En route he crossed Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and California. He crossed Grand Canyon, ascended 14,000 foot mountains, crossed deserts and remote National Parks and Death Valley. The scenery is the finest in the world and is breathtakingly captured in the 198 slides used to illustrate this lecture.
SOME OTHER LECTURES -
With walking more than 180,000 miles in the last thirty-three year's on footpaths and trails in different parts of the world, John has taken more than 120,000 colour slides and has numerous other lectures of which these are a few

WALKING MY WAY - An informal talk - "Meet the Author" - on how he walks and why - the planning, training, equipment. diet, and full of anecdotes from his many walks. A hilarious but tiring talk from more than 183,000 miles of walking!

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO CANAL - A magnificent walk of 250 miles from Washington DC, along the remains of a fascinating canal, to Cumberland, Maryland.
THE RIDEAU TRAIL - 220 miles in Southern Ontario, Canada.
THE BRUCE TRAIL - 460 miles in Southern Ontario, Canada, from Tobermory to Niagara Falls.
THE BUCKEYE TRAIL, OHIO - The story of how John became the first person to walk around Ohio, USA. A 1,300 mile walk around one of the lesser known States.
SEVILLE TO SANTIAGO - 700 miles through Spain following the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella - The Silver Way.
THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - 2,800 miles walk along the National Trail from Mexico to Canada - one of the most beautiful walks in the world.
LAND'S END to JOHN O' GROATS WALK - a unique 1,600 mile training walk!
HEBRIDEAN JOURNEY - Stunning 1,000 mile walk through the Inner & Outer Hebrides - his first 1,000 mile walk! Could include St. Kilda and Orkneys and Shetland Isles.
THE PEAK DISTRICT - John's own countryside - author of more than one hundred books on the National Park he has limitless subjects, including - "The Peakland Way"; "The Limey Way"; "Halls and Castles of Derbyshire": "Legends of Derbyshire"; "Walking in the Peak District."

Letter from lecture about "Turn Right at Lands End", in May 2007
"Thank you so much for your excellent talk on Monday at our club, not only was it enlightening and amusing, but I think we all have so much admiration for your courage and willpower; long may you do it."

As a basic guide a lecture costs £1 per head, with a minimum fee of £30, plus expenses depending on the distance.