My Story
Rediscovering the outdoors changed everything.
After 2020, my health was not where it needed to be. Sarah and I were struggling to have kids, and I knew something had to give. So I started making changes. I got outdoors more. Wild swimming. Hiking. Camping in the van. Just moving and being outside in the fresh air. Nothing dramatic, just better choices, more often. And it all added up.
Wild swimming in the Brecon Beacons
The fairy pools, Isle of Skye
There is something about being outdoors that is genuinely good for you. Not in a wishy-washy way, but properly good for your mind, your body, and how you feel about things. I remember a morning in 2022 on the west coast of Scotland. Sarah and I were travelling the Highlands in a roof tent. We woke at 5am, pumped up an inflatable kayak, and paddled out along Achmelvich Bay. Turquoise waters. Seals. Just the two of us. When I jumped off that kayak into ice-cold water, I felt more alive, more energised, more content than I had in years.
Sarah and me on the Isle of Skye, 2023
"Energised, alive, healthy, content. That is what being outside does."
In 2023, I climbed Ben Nevis with friends who have shown me incredible patience and support. I got stuck on a ridge. The hardest non-technical route. I was on that mountain for about 12 hours. I knackered them out, but they all stayed with me. They always have.
Me and K at the top of Ben Nevis
Llyn Y Fan Fach
Our trusty orange home on wheels
Then in September 2023, Sarah told me she was pregnant. William arrived and turned everything upside down in the best possible way. He is the reason I want to keep getting better.
William's first ridge walk
At the top, with William and Paddy
The three of us. This is what it is all about.
But life has a way of creeping back in. You look after everyone else and forget to look after yourself. I am realising more and more how important it is to take care of my mind and my body. Not just for me, but so I can show up properly for William. Be present. Be there. Set an example that looking after yourself matters.
"I want to show up for William. Be present. Be better. Keep going."
This challenge is my way of getting back to it. Getting out on these walks, away from screens, beyond 5G signal, where you are just there. Breathing. Moving. Appreciating the world around you. And raising money for charities I feel connected to along the way.
