Finding Hildasay: How one man walked the UK's coastline and found hope and happiness

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I was still determined not to cut any corners or skip any sections just because they were wild, pathless or incredibly difficult, regardless of the time of year.

I had no gimmicks or things to make life comfortable; no books or any entertainment other than my phone.Five years later, he has navigated the west coast, Northern Ireland, the hard-rock cliffs of Scotland and the perimeters of the Scottish Islands. Instead, he focused on staying fit and “working hard for the basic amenities, some heat, some food and making sure that Jet was warm, and I was warm, too. That morning, all my new friends, whom I’d now named ‘Team Northern Ireland’, drove down to Belfast to see me off. He has, he says, learned so much when it comes to talking about mental health and how “the more I opened up, and the more honest I was, then actually, the more that would help people”.

A man who lived in Shetland for nine months while walking the length of the UK is to release a book about his journey. Another time, he cracked a tooth clean in half, and was forced to extract the part that was protruding into his gums with an old guitar string, after glugging some whisky from his hip flask. Now, I had some really decent gear to continue my journey north and had no doubt that it would all be tested very soon. His “absolute highlight”, though, was the three months he spent on Hildasay, off the west coast of Shetland, during that first lockdown.During this time, Chris has learnt to live off the land, but he has also been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who have provided shelter, warm clothing and food for him to keep going. But to be open to life-changing events, discovering who you are and the real meaning of happiness is extraordinary. He gave himself a few days to rustle up a tent and walking boots, then left for good with just a tenner in his pocket and two days’ worth of food.