Epic 7,000 mile coastal walk highlights UK not-spots

While for most people Friday signals the end of another working week, for one man it will signal the end of something slightly more impressive - a 7,000 mile walk around the entire coastline of mainland UK.

Nat Severs, 24, set off from Portsmouth on 10 January, when snow was still on the ground, and has via Lizard Point, Lands' End, Anglesey, John O Groats and Skegness found his way back home again, finishing tonight against a backdrop of fireworks.

Camping wild and unaccompanied by any support vehicle or personnel has meant Severs had to rely on mobile phones, three to be precise - an Orange iPhone and two Sony Ericssons, one on O2, one on Vodafone - for contact with the world.

All this has given Severs some interesting, if admittedly unscientific, insights in to the state of UK's mobile network at its extremities.

"Overall I was quite impressed with the coverage I was able to get around the coastline, the longest I went without a connection was two days when I was right in the north of Scotland," he told V3.co.uk.

"There were occasions when I was down below cliffs in places like Cornwall or Pembrokeshire when it would be hard to get signal too, but overall it was fine."

However, using his iPhone to get online and find hostels, shop and check maps of his upcoming route proved less fruitful.

"It was often painfully slow waiting for the internet, and in many remote areas it was essentially impossible," he said.

Severs' experience coincides with a release from Ofcom outlining its upcoming work to examine the state of the mobile internet in the UK and ways consumers can ensure they get good mobile coverage, mainly by using postcode checkers.

So, if you fancy setting off for a brief stroll around the UK's coastline, there's a good chance you'll be able to make a call as you do, but don't hold out to much hope of being able to check the football scores online as well.

You can see a map outlining Severs' day by day route here and to sponsor him visit his website and follow the relevant links.

05 Nov 2010