A man in his 70s, who is hoping to become the oldest person ever to walk continuously around the coastline Britain, has set off with his wife from Studland in Dorset to help raise funds for a second Dorset and Somerset air ambulance.
Mike Langley, who has two replacement hips, will be 75 years old by the time he returns to Swanage in autumn 2027, if he completes the two-year, 7,300 mile walk around the coastline of England, Scotland and Wales.
Zoe Langley-Wathen and Mike Langley are fund raising for a much needed second air ambulance
One Coast Any Age challenge
Mike and his wife, author and adventurer Zoe Langley-Wathen, 54, hope to use the big adventure to raise the profile of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, which has just launched a £1 million appeal to buy a second helicopter.
It’s the final goal of a £30 million investment to meet a rising demand and expand the critical care the charity provides, having flown some 3,000 missions in 2024.
Mike and Zoe set off from South Haven Point, Studland, at the height of Storm Amy on Saturday 4th October 2025 for their One Coast Any Age challenge, to motivate others into taking their challenge and making a difference.
Covering a path from Studland to Arne, Wareham, Holton Heath, around Poole Harbour and Bournemouth sands to Christchurch in their first week, they aim to walk anti-clockwise around the country’s coastline, finishing where they began in two years’ time.
Two replacement hips won’t stop Mike Langley walking 7,300 miles round the coast of Britain
“We can’t rush the journey!”
Mike Langley said:
“I know this won’t be easy, but I’m determined to prove that age doesn’t have to hold you back. We’ll be on the road for two years, covering about 12 miles a day and staying wherever we can find to stop – I have two replacement hips, so we can’t rush the journey!
“We’re hoping to cover 12 miles a day, going down to eight miles a day in Scotland, overnighting wherever we can find to stop.
“I’m sending a statement out, saying that I will be the oldest person to walk around the coast of England – there have been older walkers, but they have just completed stages with rests in between.
“We have satellite tracking so we can prove that we have completed every last mile of the coastline – we won’t be taking any ferries or short cuts!”
Mike and Zoe at the start of their journey, heading for Arne with Storm Amy blowing a gale!
“We know how crucial the service is”
Zoe Langley-Wathen said:
“I lived in West Lulworth for about eight years and often saw the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance at work saving lives – we know how crucial the service is for the local communities.
“If we or someone we love needs the ambulance in future, we want to make sure it’s available. It relies solely on public funding and it amazed me to hear that it cost £3,500 every time it was deployed.
“They don’t just fly people to the nearest hospital, they carry out life saving procedures, often in very remote locations or in the middle of the night when victims of road accidents or heart attacks would die if they didn’t get immediate attention.
“We needed to know that we were doing something worthwhile for our communities, so we set a target of £10,000 – and actually had £1,500 of pledges before we took our first step on the beach.
“We will be delighted if we break that target, because although £10,000 sounds like a lot to us, it would not even cover three emergency flights for the helicopter, which brings it all into focus.”
The start and the end of the trek round Britain, at South Haven Point, Studland
“Adventure has no age limit”
Zoe added:
“Mike and I had a chance meeting on the South West Coast Path, and we got together as a couple three years later. There was no romance at first – we were just walking buddies, but now we are making the journey of our lives together.
“My longest walk so far was the Wales Coast Path of 870 miles over 43 days, while Mike climbed all 252 mountains in Wales over 600 metres in six weeks at the age of 62.
“But this is an unsupported 7,300 mile walk around mainland Great Britain, to inspire adventure, resilience and positive mental wellbeing,
“It’s not just a walk, it’s a statement that midlife is not the end of the adventurous road. Gap years aren’t just for the young, and we want to show that adventure has no age limit and to inspire others to discover what they’re capable of.
“I was intending to write books about our walk of the Wales coast path and our honeymoon walking from Camino to Santiago through Spain, but we have both wanted to do this walk for years and we decided it was time.
“We chose to set off in October so that we could walk the eastern side of Scotland in the summer, when there are fewer midges, and come down the western side of Scotland in winter where it will hopefully be just windy and rainy, but not too snowy. I have a healthy respect for the Highlands!”
Members of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance were at Studland to see Zoe and Mike on their way
“So grateful for their incredible support”
Despite Storm Amy’s winds of nearly 50 miles an hour on their first day, the couple received a rousing send off from friends, family, and supporters, including representatives from the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
Air ambulance supporter engagement officer Charlotte Humber praised the couple’s dedication, saying:
“Their time, energy, and passion are helping fund vital missions and inspiring others to get behind our cause. We’re so grateful for their incredible support.
“As the busiest air ambulance in the South West, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is tasked to nearly 3,000 missions a year and our current helicopter, Peggy, is flown more intensively than almost any other air ambulance of its kind in the UK.
“But we are at the limit of how much we can get from having a single aircraft and a second helicopter will help us to fly hundreds of extra life saving hours every year.”
Peggy the air ambulance is a frequent visitor to the Purbeck coastline
Expand its life saving services
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is allocating £30 million from its reserves to expand its life saving services, in response to the growing demand for critical care services.
The investment will be used to redevelop its operational base at Henstridge airfield, on the Dorset and Somerset border, and for key modernisation projects.
It has also launched its 2ndHeli Appeal, to raise the final £1 million needed to buy and equip a second air ambulance helicopter.
Swanage Railway is also helping to raise awareness of the fundraising appeal with posters on the platform at Herston Halt
“We can’t complete this journey alone”
Charles Hackett, chief executive officer of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, said:
“Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, and the careful management of the funds entrusted to us, we are now able to make these vital investments in our future.
“This is a significant commitment – every penny is being spent to help us reach more patients, save more lives, and provide the very best care we can, day and night.
“We have the foundations in place, but we can’t complete this journey alone. As we draw on our reserves to make these developments a reality, we will continue to rely on the incredible support of our local community.
“Every donation, every event, and every act of kindness helps us take the next step towards ensuring that everyone who needs us can be reached, whenever they need us most.”
See you in two years – the charity trek is due to come through Swanage in October 2027!
Further information
- Follow the adventures of Zoe and Mike on their website
- More about the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance
