Growing up, I loved the outdoors. I gallivanted through the Staffordshire countryside with my stepbrother, Greg. We used to pick a point in the distance and create “missions” to walk towards it. It was a mischievous challenge that saw us hopping fences, wading through rivers and sneaking around farmers.
I was also obsessed with maps, and even read the Birmingham A-Z for fun. When Google Earth came out in 2005, I spent hours studying satellite images.
As I got older, countryside adventures became rarer. In 2018, I was working as a van driver but made videos about geography and map-based games in my spare time. I found myself craving a challenge.
I thought back to my hedge-hopping days. What if, instead of walking across a few fields, I could cross the width of a whole country – and in a perfectly straight line? I had no idea if it was possible, but using mapping software, I plotted a line across Wales from the English border to the west coast.
Following a straight line might sound – literally – straightforward; the reality is anything but. Plot the wrong course, and you’ll end up reaching rows of houses that are impossible to pass.
You’re forced to shimmy or climb over every obstacle. Trips would take multiple days, so I would carry food and toilet roll in my backpack and a tent to camp in at night. I would have to eat, sleep and “use the toilet” without leaving the line. And even if I managed to navigate all these, there was still a risk being thrown off private farmland.
My parents and my girlfriend, Verity, were sceptical and also concerned for my safety. They may have had a point. I didn’t train for my first attempt, in early 2019. I got stuck on a mountain with no signal, darkness falling and hypothermia setting in. I had to abort the mission.
Nonetheless, when I posted the footage online, I was blown away by the response. Viewers loved the silliness and originality of the concept, and recognised my joy as I scrambled over barbed wire, across rivers and through fields of startled sheep. I’d failed but knew I had to keep trying.
After another failed Wales attempt in 2020, I decided to try Norway. The north of the country is less than 30km wide, with few farms and a right to roam – so no risk of angry farmers. But the landscape was alien to me. On one occasion, I barely escaped from a peat bog after being trapped up to my waist.
Still, after two days, I finished it – crossing an entire country in a straight line for the first time. Verity was there at the finish line. It felt amazing to share the moment with her. But I couldn’t stop there. After my first video, others began to try their own missions. In 2023, two straight-liners told me they planned to cross Wales. By that point, a GPS malfunction had caused my third attempt to fail; the idea of someone else doing it first was devastating.
I devised a new route, prioritising mountains over farmland. It was longer, but I felt that avoiding farmers gave me the best chance of completion. I was right, and finished it in February that year, after four days. The satisfaction was incredible.
Next came England, something I’d long thought was impossible. The route was more than 100km, twice the length of most of my previous walks. I travelled lighter and a crew followed me in a support van. We met whenever my line crossed a road, and I’d restock my supplies and sleep.
It was my toughest challenge yet. Much of the route was forest, and on the last day I hit a sea of fallen trees. The height of the pile, and sharpness of the branches, meant a single slip could be fatal. I faced a gut-wrenching decision: abandon the mission after six days of pain or risk my life to continue. Miraculously, I found a route avoiding the worst of it and got to the end. Still, I’m glad I won’t have to do it again. Since then, I’ve become a father, and my appetite for danger has changed.
I’m incredibly thankful to my viewers, whose support has enabled me to do these challenges full-time. I’m certainly not your typical adventurer. But if I were to have any label, that’s the one I’d choose – after all, isn’t it every kid’s dream?
As told to Ed Harding
Do you have an experience to share? Emailexperience@theguardian.com