Chris Lewis, ex-Paratrooper, and recent star of Ben Fogel's New Lives in the Wild TV show, has been walking around the UK to raise money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity for the last four years.
He has now written a book about his adventures, and will be carrying out a book signing at Ledbury Books and Maps on Saturday the 18th March at 4pm.
Chris had hit rock bottom, suffering with depression so severe he would shut himself in his bedroom for weeks. Then, in August 2017, while surfing – his only respite – he cast his eyes along the rugged coastline and found himself irresistibly drawn to it.
Chris said: "Each one of us has the potential to be happy, and I knew that if I stayed here where I was, doing what I'd been doing, I was on the spiral in the opposite direction: to nowhere and worse. As I looked at the grassy sand dunes and driftwood-strewn beach disappearing into the horizon as if it went on for ever, I heard a voice in my head. 'Walk the UK coastline,' it said."
Making an impulsive decision to set himself a challenge – to walk the entire coastline of the UK – 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. Little did he know at the time just how long it would take to cross the finish line – and the encounters that lay ahead that would turn his life around.
Having made his way around Wales, he then navigated the West Coast, Northern Ireland, the hard-rock cliffs of Scotland and the perimeters of the Scottish Islands – where he spent three months on an uninhabited island called Hildasay, where there was no fresh water or food. It was there, the most barren his route had become, that the more pride and respect he found within himself – and the more remarkable his journey became. Happiness and hope was just around the corner.
From adopting a dog called Jet, to finding love with fellow adventurer, Kate, Chris had no idea that when he started this remarkable experience that he would be heading to the finish line (some five-and-a-half years later) with a fiancee, a baby and a renewed sense of purpose. His story is one of survival and hope, but it's also proof that, with a renewed mindset, anything is possible.
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