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Straight line mission

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A straight line mission is an outdoor recreational activity where participants attempt to cross an area in a completely straight line, typically on foot. Straight line missions have been popularised by British YouTuber Tom Davies (GeoWizard) who has attempted a number of ambitious straight line missions and documented them on his YouTube channel.[1][2][3][4] These videos have inspired others to attempt similar missions.[5]

Another similar challenge is Beeline Britain, where participants travel (using kayaks, bikes and on foot) from Land's End to John o' Groats in a straight line. This was first completed in 2014 by a four person team.[6]

Straight line missions also have some similarity to parkour, where practitioners attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, though are usually attempted over much longer distances across non-urban environments. Well known parkour practitioners Storror have attempted straight line missions.[7] Walking in a straight line following a specified compass bearing is also a commonly required skill in wilderness navigation.[8] The revolutionary organisation the Situationist International suggested walking in a straight line as a potentially revolutionary act[9] though most straight line missions are attempted for recreational or entertainment purposes. The artist Richard Long completed a straight line mission across Dartmoor[10] the map of which is held in the MoMA collection.[11]

Criteria

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Straight line missions can be planned using software such as Google Earth and tracked using a GPS device.[12] Mapping the line on software such as Google Earth ensures the line is a great circle and does not depend on the map projection.[13]

Straight line missions are scored according to a number of criteria based on the largest deviation from the planned route. With max deviations less than a certain amount achieving the following grades

  • 25m - Platinum
  • 50m - Gold
  • 75m - Silver
  • 100m - Bronze

A total score (Burdell score) can also be computed for the entire line.[14]

Notable Missions

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Straight line across Wales

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The first crossing of Wales in a straight line was accomplished by GeoWizard on the fourth attempt,[2] a feat which received national media coverage.[15] The line was 42-miles long from Craignant, Shropshire, to Tal-y-bont, near Barmouth, in Gwynedd.

Straight line across England

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The first crossing of England in a straight line was accomplished by GeoWizard[3] on a route going from near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway to Bamburgh, Northumbria. A straight line across England was also achieved by Adam and Archie Fieldhouse, who completed the crossing with a higher grade.[16]

Straight Line across Scotland

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The first crossing of Scotland in a straight line was achieved by Adam and Archie Fieldhouse.[5] The longest straight line mission at the time, 49 miles, was completed in the Cairngorms National Park from the Pass of Drumochter to Corgarff.[17]

Longest possible straight line

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The longest possible straight line mission goes from Portugal to China over a distance of around 20,000 miles.[18]

Popularity

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Due to the popularisation of the idea by GeoWizard a number of others have attempted straight line missions across different countries such as Scotland[19] and New Zealand.[20] Other attempts focus on lines of the longest possible distance,[21] use different modes of travel[22] or are simply recreational.[23] There is a dedicated Reddit community for discussing straight line missions.[24]

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ Campbell, Oliver-James (2021-02-16). "Meet the Man Who Walks Across Entire Countries in a Straight Line". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  2. ^ a b GeoWizard. "Mission Across Wales (Attempt #4)". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  3. ^ a b GeoWizard. Straight Line Mission Across England. YouTube. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  4. ^ GeoWizard. Mission Across Norway Series. YouTube. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  5. ^ a b Herbert, Miles (2025-03-23). "Could you walk across the UK in a perfectly straight line? Inside YouTube's strangest challenge". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  6. ^ Lewis, Ciaran (2014-06-16). "She's Beeline Britain record breaker Welsh". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  7. ^ Storror. Attempting STRAIGHT LINE Mission up a Mountain. YouTube. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  8. ^ Cowdrey, Chris (2020-05-06). "Navigation Techniques: Following a Bearing". At The Edge Mountaineering. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  9. ^ "GeoWizard and the Mission Across Wales". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  10. ^ Barkham, Patrick (2017-04-16). "Richard Long: 'I'm proud of being the first person to cross Dartmoor in a straight line'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  11. ^ Richard Long. "Walking a Straight 10-Mile Line, Dartmoor, England". Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  12. ^ Rachel Hall (2021-06-11). "Straight story? The YouTuber taking a direct route to success". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  13. ^ "KML Reference". Google Developers. Google. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  14. ^ "Straight-Line Mission Scorer". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  15. ^ "YouTuber Tom Davies walks straight line across Wales". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  16. ^ "Walking across England in a Straight Line! #4". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  17. ^ Angie Brown (2021-09-01). "Pair complete UK's longest straight-line challenge". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  18. ^ Frank Jacobs (2023-01-30). "The world's longest straight line connects Portugal to China". Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  19. ^ "Former cross-country athlete crosses Scotland in straight line". The National. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  20. ^ "Kiwi trio want to become the first to walk a straight-line across New Zealand". RNZ. 2024-11-29. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  21. ^ Ramage, Tom (2025-04-27). "Aviemore constable and son go on straight and narrow for a record distance". Strathspey Herald. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  22. ^ "Cycling live blog: 19 September 2024". road.cc. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  23. ^ Allf, Bradley (2022-08-15). "The Peculiar Appeal of Straight-Line Hiking". Backpacker. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  24. ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/StraightLineMissions/
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