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

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Making an impulsive decision to set himself a challenge – walk the entire coastline of the UK – Chris 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. Whether it be hunger, lack of sleep, or because my kit was just abysmal, I always reminded myself, ‘What would you rather be doing? I was very professional at this by now, always going through my gear, checking I knew where everything was off the top of my head, only ever packing for emergencies. As we pulled out of Belfast Docks, to the north I could just make out the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, and to the east, the Mull of Galloway, the direction in which I was heading. Most were donated to him by family and friends: gas stove, map, sleeping bag, two days’ rations, and a tent with a hole in the top.

As I began to regain feeling in my fingers and toes, it burned so strongly that I just sat in tears of pain. I had no gimmicks or things to make life comfortable; no books or any entertainment other than my phone. And, in the process, he has raised over a quarter of a million pounds for the charity SSAFA, which had been instrumental in helping him a few years beforehand. When we speak, in mid-January, he is preparing to head to Jersey, where he’ll finish walking the Channel Islands, before sailing to Weymouth, then along to the southwestern tip of England.

Writing this book has finally put a lid on the box to my unsettled past and helped me to accept, learn from and forgive myself for any mistakes that I may have made. I felt it was a very, very calm place for me, while everyone else was rushing around for toilet rolls,” he says. Since setting off, Lewis has found his misfortunes have been turned on their heads – often remarkably quickly. One estimate puts the coast of England, Wales and Scotland – plus their islands, which Lewis has included in his expedition – at 11,023 miles. 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.

Then while surfing – his only respite – he cast his eyes along the coastline and realized it was the only place he really wanted to be.He said the book was “raw, honest and a true insight of what it takes to achieve something like this with no back-up, no sponsor and no money”. Kate gave up a career training teachers and last spring the couple welcomed their newborn son, Magnus, with Kate having walked and wild camped throughout her pregnancy. The day Caitlin left, he went down to Llangennith beach on the Gower Peninsula, where he had an epiphany. The synopsis reads: "In August 2017, suffering with severe depression, Chris Lewis made an impulsive decision to set himself a challenge – walk the entire coastline of the UK. 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.