Walk 2009
The Tercentenary celebrations in the UK commenced on 2 March 2009, the 272nd anniversary of the departure of Johnson and Garrick from Lichfield for London. A modern-day Johnson and Garrick re-enacted their journey (occasionally with shared horse). They visited a number of schools en route to talk about their walk and the lives of Johnson and Garrick. On arrival in London on Thursday 12th March, a reception took place at the Guildhall. You can follow their route on an interactive map .
Although Johnson and Garrick took the most direct route of the day (Watllng Street now the A5), the modern-day walkers, Peter Martin (Johnson), author of the recent highly acclaimed biography, Samuel Johnson: A Biography and Nicholas Cambridge (Chairman, The Johnson Society of London) walked 165 miles using canal paths from Lichfield to London. The walk was in aid of the National Literacy Trust ( you can sponsor them here ).
 
Peter Martin was born in Argentina of English parents and educated there and in the US. He has taught English literature on both sides of the Atlantic and written extensively on 18th-century British and American literature and culture. He divides his time between Spain and a house in West Sussex. Peter is the author of the recent highly acclaimed biography of Johnson: Samuel Johnson: A Biography.
 
Nicholas Cambridge retired as a GP in 2008 and is a research associate at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. He is Chairman of the Samuel Johnson Tercentenary 2009 Committee and the Johnson Society of London. He has previously completed the London Marathon and Triathlons. Last year he completed all 15 peaks over 3000 feet in North Wales.
Track the walkers' progress with our interactive map.
Blue pins show overnight stops and yellow pins show events along the route.
Use the zoom in the top left to see more detail of the route and move around the map. |
Johnson and Boswell
walking up the High Street, Edinburgh The Word from the Walkers...
The final celebration of the completion of the walk was a reception at London's Guildhall in the beautiful Library. The Lord Mayor of London welcomed 'Johnson' and 'Garrick' home, along with nearly 500 other guests and Johnsonians.
To read the full blog click here
Very many thanks to the City of London police and Inspector Rowbottom for bringing Bugsy the House to join in the celebrations at Gough Square!
Murphy the Irish Horse (who likes to drink stout) and his rider Steve Gifkinsaccompanied the walkers at the Cock Hotel, Stony Stratford, on Sunday morning. Many thanks go to Milton Keynes Eventing Centre for kindly loaning Murphy for the tercentenary celebrations.
for their kind loan of Buzz, the Irish draught horse, to join in the tercentenary celebrations in Birmingham.
© Birmingham Library and Archives Services
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View Larger Map
| March |
From |
To |
Miles per Day |
| Mon 2 |
Lichfield |
Birmingham |
17 |
| 3 |
Birmingham |
Solihull |
14 |
| 4 |
Solihull |
Warwick |
15 |
| 5 |
Warwick |
Daventry |
20 |
| 6 |
Daventry |
Blisworth |
15 |
| 7 |
Blisworth |
Milton Keynes |
13 |
| 8 |
Milton Keynes |
Leighton Buzzard |
16 |
| Mon 9 |
Leighton Buzzard |
Berkhamsted |
14 |
| 10 |
Berkhamsted |
Norwood Green |
21 |
| 11 |
Norwood Green |
Barnes |
7 |
| 12 |
Barnes |
Guildhall |
13 |
| |
|
Total |
165 |
The Word from the Walkers...
The final celebration of the completion of the walk was a reception at London's Guildhall in the beautiful Library. The Lord Mayor of London welcomed 'Johnson' and 'Garrick' home, along with nearly 500 other guests and Johnsonians.
'Johnson' and 'Garrick' have made it to London! They were welcomed at Dr Johnson's House, 17 Gough Square by Lord Harmsworth and children from English Martyrs Catholic Primary School.
'Johnson' and 'Garrick' have started their final day of walking and have stopped for a coffee at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham FC. Meanwhile at Dr Johnson's House in Gough Square, the bunting is out ready for a grand welcome..
The walkers relax in the Dove Pub, nursing their battered feet as they wait to be interviewed for Radio 4's Front Row at 7.15, to be broadcast this evening.The walkers begin the day talking to the students of Three Bridges Primary School. Later Lord Young, tercentenary patron, joins the walkers for mid-morning coffee, and London suddenly feels closer as their route joins the Thames.
More wildlife at Bridge 198 near Hayes Town, with clouds of hundreds of pigeons. After a 16 mile day, they are looking forward to a long bath and hot supper.
Victoria C of E Primary School's students gave the walkers a warm send-off first thing this morning. Things became more fraught along the canals however - a sudden whoosh and bump turned out to be an escaped golf ball from the local golf course, which landed at the walkers' feet!
'The walkers were delighted to spend a whole day without being rained on once. They had a nice cup of Earl Grey tea at Woody's Cafe having made it to Berkhamsted. They are looking forward to meeting the children at Victoria C of E Primary School tomorrow.
'Garrick' and 'Johnson' survived the night in a hotel that resembled Fawlty Towers (no heating, builders, a closed dining room...) and have been walking for just over an hour and a half. Two very tame robins popped onto the canal path to say hello.
The walkers have made it to Cheddington and are looking forward to a nice long soak in the bath. At the final bridge of the walk today they were treated to the sight of 6 cygnets, a sure sign of Spring. A good roast dinner for lunch.
The two walkers, accompanied by Monty the Shetland pony and Murphy the Irish draught horse, were waved off from the historic town of Stony Stratford by the Mayor of Milton Keynes. They had been staying in the sixteenth century Cock Hotel, formerly the Cock Inn, where Johnson and Garrick would have stayed on their journey to London in 1737.
A chance encounter with a journalist taking photos of a shopping-trolley stuck in a canal led to a visit to his houseboat, getting a close look at real canal life, just before the end of the day's walk.After stopping for a bite of lunch at Thrupp Wharf in Cosgrove, the walkers make their way towards Milton Keynes. With the sun still shining, they set off to the glorious sound of church bells ringing. The walkers have reached Blisworth Tunnel, a beautiful brickwork tunnel navigable by canal boat and begun in 1793. It's said to be haunted, but today the walkers have only met cheery groups of horseriders, motorbikes and cyclists on their way. They're pausing to wait for a cafe to open and have breakfast, before getting underway again.
The walkers have just made it to Blisworth, whilst a passing mallard encouraged them on with friendly quacks.
After a good 9-mile start to the day's walking and an encounter with 3 angry canal geese, a trip to the Narrowboat pub was called for. Pints, moussaka, bubble and squeak and the company of a pub cat were the preparation for the afternoon's walk towards Milton Keynes.
A sunny send-off from the children of Abbey Junior School and the Mayor of Daventry, Peter Harper, began a beautiful Friday morning in great style - but a closed towpath has caused some problems with the planned route!
Feeling slightly footsore, the two walkers have made it to Daventry, right on target. They have completed an average of 16 miles per day so far and are starting to collect a nice selection of blisters.
Johnson' and 'Garrick' walk along the canal paths, greeted by the owners of the boats en route. Dogs abound, cats relax inside barges, the sun is shining and it feels like a nature walk.
The two walkers have an early start as they visit children at St Mary's before being waved on their way by the Mayor of Warwick. The children and walkers were interviewed for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio and got the chance to look at an early version of Johnson's Dictionary.
Click here to listen to the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's interview.
'After another day of walking nearly 20 miles, 'Johnson' and 'Garrick' are having a quiet cup of tea before heading to their hotel in Leamington Spa.
'Johnson' and 'Garrick' stopped at a cafe on the lock to top up with coffee and carrot cake before heading onwards to Warwick. Two local swans stopped for a chat but were unimpressed that the walkers had no food to offer them!
The walkers have their feet up and are drying out after a very wet day walking. As they made it through the Birmingham canal system and beyond they saw lots of ducks enjoying the weather. They also savoured the varying delights of the smells of the industrial side of Birmingham and the wood burning stoves of the long boats along the canalside.
Peter Martin is interviewed for BBC Radio 4's front row programme. Click here to listen again to the interview.
The two walkers arrive in Birmingham and are photographed with their horse on the steps of Birmingham Central Library, before being welcomed by the Mayor.
 Buzz is a ten year old, Irish Draught horse from Lake View Horse Transport in Tamworth. It was his first time to Birmingham, but he settled in quickly and didn't shy away from the cameras! He usually spends his time in green fields and his favourite foods are carrots and apples.
© Birmingham Library and Archives Services
The intrepid walkers left Lichfield accompanied by hundreds of wellwishers from Johnson's home town. The two walkers, dressed in frockcoats and breeches, had a bacon sandwich at the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum before starting their 165 miles journey...
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