Anthony Taylor, 81, of Bradfield St George, to finish 4,000-mile walking around Britain challenge – 25 years after starting

An 81-year-old man is due to finish his challenge of walking 4,000 miles around the entirety of the UK – 25 years after he started.

Anthony Taylor, of Bradfield St George, first set off from Brighton Pier on September 18, 1999, on his journey to circumnavigate the coastline of Britain, which he called Around Britain.

Now, he will arrive back at Brighton Pier tomorrow, having completed his final seven mile stint.

And while some in his shoes may think about kicking back after this milestone, Anthony will soon set off on his next challenge, called Through Britain, where he will try to go from the south to the north of the UK, entirely on footpaths.

Mr Taylor started off by running, as he was a keen ultra-runner and endurance challenge enthusiast, but in recent years he has turned to walking.

He has been home in between stints of completing the challenge, and has not covered the whole coastline consecutively.

“I wanted to find a way of keeping as fit as I could which, at the same time, was interesting – so I thought I would go down to Brighton and just turn left.

“I had no intention of going around the whole of the UK, but it just evolved as a project the further I got.”

There have been years where Mr Taylor has not been able to do any of his challenge, such as in 2001 where the outbreak of foot and mouth disease meant farmers would not let anyone on their land, or in 2020 when he could not book hotels because of the pandemic.

Among the highlights for Mr Taylor were the Western Highlands, which he described as dramatic and where he really had to push himself to get to his destination in time.

As for advice for anyone wanting to under take a similar challenge, he said the complete freedom such an undertaking can offer, particularly if you don’t book a hotel in advance, is delightful.

However, after having to travel all the way to York from Newcastle where he had not booked a hotel in advance, and coincided with the Great North Run, Mr Taylor decided he would secure a place beforehand from then on.

Mr Taylor will be met by his wife, step daughter and step granddaughter when he arrives at Brighton Pier tomorrow.

He also hopes, at some point in the future, he can go and do some walking in the Alps.