Marilyn Thipthorpe
A businessman who aimed to walk from Britain to India without spending a penny to prove a world without money could exist has given up less than a month into his trip.
Mark Boyle, 28, set off at the end of last month on his trek from Bristol to Gandhi’s birthplace on India’s West Coast.
Carrying just a few tee-shirts, an extra pair of sandals, sunscreen, a knife and one bandage, he hoped to reach his destination in two-and-a-half years.
The former organic food company boss belongs to the Freeconomy movement, which wants to get rid of money altogether.
But Mr Boyle only managed to get to Calais before the language and cold defeated him. He used money to get back to the UK.
On an internet blog, Mr Boyle said he and two friends who had joined him on the “pilgrimage” started to face difficulties as soon as they arrived in France.
He writes: “Not only did no one speak the language, they saw us as a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is about.
“That really scared us, and given that we now were pretty much out of food, hadn’t slept in days and were really cold, we had to reassess the whole situation.”