Drunk 20-year-old walks 500 miles to ‘clear head’

Barney Rule, 20, dropped out of his history and politics course at Edinburgh University and went to a nightclub in his home city Chester on September 7.

After a while he felt like he needed to clear his head, so he left for a walk.

He walked and walked and suddenly realised he was nowhere near Chester.

"It was only by the time I got to the second night, when I reached around 13 miles, that I realised I was actually walking, actually doing it with no turning back," said Barney to Metro, a UK based news agency. 

Walking on an average of 20 miles a day, Barney walked through Chester to Ross on Wye to Poole. 

He then hopped on a ferry to continue onto Cherbourg to Bricbeque to Portbait to St Germain Sur Ay to Rennes to Nantes to Angers to Saintes to Jonzac to Bordeaux. 

On his self-funded trip, Barney took along a tent and has already walked 500 miles to the south of France. His plan is to walk 500 miles more to Valencia in Spain.

He said, 'I had always wanted to walk to Spain but it wasn't until I got drunk with friends last month that I actually began walking."

Barney said he feels like he is learning from this experience, and he appreciates this break from social media. 

"Eventually, when I reach my destination, my plan is to come back as far as Paris, and write about what I've learnt," he said.