Chris Lewis, long-distance walker
Chris Lewis is aiming to raise £100,000 for charity by walking the entire UK coastline with his dog Jet.
“I feel most alive when I’m in the mountains and wilderness.”
Chris has been walking non-stop for two years, carrying everything he owns on his back. Currently in the Scottish Isles, and now joined by his rescue dog, Jet, his end goal is to walk the 18,000 miles around the entire coastline of the UK. But as well as raising £66,000 of his £100,000 target for SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity) so far, walking has become a salvation from his crippling depression.
“On a personal level, getting outside and into the mountains and wilderness of the UK is what this whole thing has been about. I was severely depressed for such a long time – in truth it probably started before I joined the army, but when I came out I was thrust into being a single parent.
“Over 10-12 years I found it hard to settle and sank into a deep depression, but I was the best in the world at hiding it. My circumstances got worse and I was in a vicious circle. A paranoid, anxious wreck. I was a mess. and I didn’t know what to do.
“One day I was surfing, I looked at the cliffs and I just felt the need to walk. So, I walked home, packed my stuff and I started walking that very day. At first I wasn’t organised, I didn’t have all the right kit, but I could have pulled a tank I was so driven to get away.
“But as time went on and the support increased for my challenge, people donated better kit. I feel like a tortoise, with everything in my bag essential. Of course, I have to carry more in the north because it’s so wild, and there are no facilities, but I love it. I love nature and being in the middle of nowhere.
“On the Isle of Harris I walked a mountainous stretch of coast 110km long that has never been walked. It was scary, but something happened. It was the best section of the walk so far. I felt so tiny, insignificant, battling the elements, not thinking about anything else but that moment, concentrating on every step to make sure I didn’t break an ankle.
“Completing it, I was like a kid at Christmas. I’d made it, and I was in my tent with the wind hammering, watching 30ft high waves smashing around me. I can’t explain it but I feel most alive when I’m in the mountains and wilderness. It’s that, and the love I’ve been shown, that has completely turned my life around. The generosity and kindness of people has been unbelievable every step of the way.
“The west coast of Jura was hard – at times I even had to rope Jet and me up. The weather came in so hard one day that we had to shelter in a cave with sheep. I was 20km from another person, and I thought, ‘What the F am I doing?’ But I’d never felt so alive and I started to chuckle to myself that I used to get stressed about money and stuff.
“That was the moment I realised something had changed in me. Even when things get physically hard, the weather is bad, or I’m getting eaten alive by midges, at the end of the day I’m dry and warm and the dog is fed. It puts life into perspective. It’s very grounding and makes me realise I’m lucky to be here.
“People ask me if I plan. Society is built around plans and routine, but for me the key to making this work is to just wing it. Keep the sea to my left-hand side. Listen to my body and stop when I need to. No pressure. No targets. Doing this, something I genuinely enjoy, with all the love and support from the people I meet along the way, have made us the happiest man and dog alive.”
Follow Chris’s journey on Facebook @Chriswalksuk