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In the small hours of 23rd August 1994, on the wild Scottish island of Jura, the K Foundation set fire to a million pounds. The duo of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty had also been known as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, The Timelords and most famously as The KLF – the biggest selling singles act in the world in 1991. The plan was to drag a suitcase of cash up one of the trio of mountains known as the Paps of Jura and incinerate it at the top as piece of performance art. Possibly the pouring rain put them off the long walk; they burnt the million quid in the fireplace of a boathouse at Ardfin. Both struggled to explain why they’d done it, publicly wondering if it was a crime, a burnt offering, madness, an investment, rock ’n’ roll, an obscenity, art, a political statement or bollocks? In 1995 they painted a contract pledging not to speak of it again for 23 years on a Nissan Bluebird and pushed the car over a cliff at Faraid Head in Scotland’s far north. They’d been aiming for Cape Wrath but couldn’t get across the Kyle of Durness, and a police spokesperson from Dornoch said: ‘You would think that people with a million quid to burn might be able to afford a decent map.’ In fact, Drummond loves maps: ‘Ordnance Survey maps… are the most beautiful manifestation of twentieth-century British functional design. Ever since I can remember, I have spent stolen moments, wasted evenings and secret hours studying the mystery and beauty of the Ordnance Survey maps of these islands. The concrete trig points that had originally been used in their creation became almost as powerful in mystical properties for me as standing stones.’
WALK HERE: Grab OS Explorer map 355 and hike the Ardfin shore or download a Paps of Jura route at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH
The Capital Ring, London Loop and London Countryway all circle Britain’s biggest city, but the new North to South London Trail strides right through its heart on a 34-mile journey from Cockfosters to Carshalton. Created by Lucy Maddison and Emily Morrison of The Walking Post, it treads through 32 of London’s green spaces and 75% of the trail is on paths or car-free routes, and it can be split into five stages designed around transport links. If that’s not enough, they’ve now plotted a London to Brighton walk, on across the North and South Downs to the sea. Its 70 miles dodge major towns to enjoy the most scenic countryside in seven stages, all bookended by train stations. Find maps and info to walk the trails independently at walkingpost.co.
