An English adventurer has been dodging ISIS militants while walking across Iraq in 40C heat to raise money for Christian children in Gaza and “clear his mind after a break-up”.
Miles Routledge, an explorer who goes by Lord Miles online, shot to fame in 2021 after sharing his experience surviving the fall of Kabul while on holiday in Afghanistan, and has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The 27-year-old was then jailed by the Taliban for eight months after returning to the country in 2023, but last month returned to the Middle East to begin his trek from Iraq’s northern border with Turkey to Kuwait in the south, which will be a world-first.
Lord Miles told Noticer News he decided to make the 1,058km (658 mile) journey, which he plans to complete within 50 days, after he and his American girlfriend broke up “because the CIA blocked my US tourist visa for not working with them”.
“I need a walk to clear my mind,” he said.
He said on Sunday he had completed 33% of the trip already, and was given refuge on a military base days earlier because ISIS was active in the region.
The adventurer has also shared selfies taken with locals and Iraqi soldiers along with his impressions of the country, said he had received “countless” offers of accommodation and help, and has started a GiveSendGo for supporters of the expedition to donate to Christian children in Gaza.
“I’ve found a small but righteous Christian charity based in Palestine (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) that I believe will do a good job with the funds,” he said.
“All proceeds go directly to the charity and do not cross my hands. God bless you for any donation or prayer.”
Go detained for a few hours so I just wandered into a military barracks and smoked shisha with the soldiers. Cool lads 🇮🇶 https://t.co/Fec6F8VrL1
— Lord Miles (@Lordmiles) October 3, 2026
I have taken a rest day from walking the length of Iraq. I am enjoying Burger King https://t.co/V5AYnBRTIW
— Lord Miles (@Lordmiles) September 23, 2026
Early in the journey he was told to walk around the city of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and one-time ISIS stronghold, by the government due to security threats, and went through Erbil in Kurdistan instead.
At one point he stopped at a Burger King where he posed wearing a paper crown, and posted photos of a fast food outlet called Four Guys Burger & Fries, British-themed stores and pizza restaurants, and army checkpoints.
“Got detained for a few hours so I just wandered into a military barracks and smoked shisha with the soldiers. Cool lads,” he captioned a selfie with Iraqi soldiers in the background.
“I walked in a desert that had a type of military base every 4 miles due to the prevalence of ISIS in the region. I was kindly gifted three cigarettes and accepted many selfie requests from soldiers. My feet are f*cked,” he wrote on X a day later.
Lord Miles also said during the journey that he wants to start an online fundraiser to support seven Cornell University students who have been accused of rape by a woman who had drug-fuelled group sex with them that she said was consensual, only to change her story weeks later.
“Anyone with any connection to the Cornell 7 who got raped by that evil foid reach out. I will create a GiveSendGo for their legal fees to sue her,” he said.
Header image: Left, right, Lord Miles in Iraq (supplied).
