I am currently walking from Dublin to the Great Blasket Islands in Kerry.

In July 2019, I walked out the front door of my brothers home in Firhouse and into the Dublin mountains. Over the next five months, I walked around Ireland and explored a collection of long distance trails including the Wicklow Way, South Leinster Way, Munster Way, Avondhu Way, Duhallow Way, and Kerry Way.

After 3,000km, I arrived back in Dublin to complete the walk around Ireland.

You can follow the journey on any of the following:

Walking Ireland on YouTube

Walking Ireland on Facebook

In late May (2019), Derek is walking the Camino de Santiago.

Also known as the French Way, the Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrim path that runs for 490 miles (790km) through Northern Spain. Many centuries ago, pilgrims would start from their very own home which is why there are several different paths for the Camino. However, the most famous of these is Camino Frances which starts in a small French town called Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and ends at the famous Santiago de Compostela.

In fact, people have been walking this route for more than 1,000 years and further evidence suggests that locals in pre-Christian times were walking this path because they were following the Milky Way to the edge of the earth.

While the precise details are unknown, it’s thought that one of the twelve apostles (St James) helped spread Christianity on the peninsula here and King Alfonso II insisted that Santiago de Conpostella should be built to hold his remains.

Ever since that time, pilgrims have been walking the Camino and even during the Middle Ages, it’s thought that as many as 250,000 pilgrims made this walk every year. Camino de Santiago is now one of the top the pilgrimages in the world with Rome and Jerusalem accounting for the other two.

Watch all 26 Episodes of my Camino de Santiago Vlog.

Cycling 12,000km from Cape Town to Cairo

In late 2013, Derek Cullen left Ireland to cycle across Africa. His journey took one year to complete and traced the ancient explorer route “Cape to Cairo”.

Derek began cycling in Cape Town at the southern tip of the continent and continued north into Namibia and the oldest desert in the world. After travelling east across Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, Derek headed north through Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and North Sudan before finishing at the Great Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.

During this journey, he encountered wild elephants, hyena, buffalo and many more species of African wildlife but his mental health was very much the focus of the trip. Derek cites the friendliness of the people in Africa as being the most influential part of the journey and his time in the outdoors as the main catalyst for enacting change in his life. Derek’s adventure also raised funds and awareness for Aoibheanns Pink Tie – the National Child Cancer Charity in Ireland.

You can also read more (blogposts) about the cycle across Africa.

Hiking 2,652 Miles from Mexico to Canada in 110 Days

In April 2018, Derek Cullen set out to hike a long distance trail in America called the Pacific Crest Trail. Derek hiked 2,652 miles from Mexico to the border of Canada and journey  took four and a half months to complete.

Derek began hiking at the border of Mexico and continued north through the state of California. After leaving the Mojave Desert, he entered the High Sierra Mountains and trekked through multiple wilderness regions in Oregon and Washington before arriving in Manning Park at the Canadian border.

Derek encountered rattlesnakes, bears, wolves and other wildlife on the trail. He trekked through scorching heat, snow and thunderstorms and suffered with a water borne illness named giardia near the midway point. Also, Derek endured multiple injuries throughout such as plantar fasciitis, pitted ketolysis, stress fractures and a twisted knee. He cites exhaustion and constant pains as being the most challenging aspects and refers to the trek as the most difficult journey he has ever undertaken.

Some Statistics from Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

Total Mileage: 2652.8 (4268.4km) – Equivalent to 102 consecutive marathons and more than walking from Lisbon to Istanbul or Perth to Sydney .

Elevation Change: 482158ft/146,962m Up, 480817ft/146553m Down – Equivalent to climbing Mt Everest 16.6 times from sea level.

Highest Point: Forrester Pass, CA – 13,153ft/4,006m

Lowest Point: Bridge of the Gods, Cascade Locks, OR – 180ft/55m

Major Mountain Passes: 60

Highest temperature: 45°c in The Mojave Desert, Southern California
Lowest Temperature: -3°c on Woody Pass, Washington

You can also watch all 14-episodes of Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.