British pair first to walk all of China’s Great Wall

With only a few words of Mandarin and some satellite photos to guide them, a British couple have become the first people to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China.

The 3,000-mile trek across some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth took Tarka L’Herpiniere and his girlfriend, Katie-Jane Cooper, 167 days, walking up to 30 miles a day.

Their journey took them from baking deserts where temperatures peaked at more than 40C (104F) to snow-capped mountains where it plunged to minus 35C. Between them the pair lost 6 st (38kg) in weight and more than an inch in height from carrying 66lb back-packs day in, day out.

Miss Cooper, 27, twice needed hospital treatment, the first time when she collapsed from gastroenteritis and dehydration, and Mr L’Herpiniere had to run for miles across the desert before he came across a road where he was able to flag down a bus full of villagers. Later, she needed three days rest after her rucksack caused compression of the spine.

The couple, from Clayhidon, North Devon, were granted exceptional permission from the Chinese Government on condition that they did not cause damage to the wall.