Mental health awareness walk across Scotland

Hi there, my name is Ronan, and I'm aiming to walk 140 miles across Scotland at the start of June to raise money for the UK mental health charity 'Samaritans.' The walk will take me from Fort William in the Highlands, across to Glendoll Forest, just north of Dundee. It consists of approximately 40 Munro's (any mountain in Scotland over 3,000ft) including Ben Nevis, and roughly 45,000 feet of elevation. I aim to start the walk on the 30th of May and be finished by the 6th or 7th of June. Along the way I will be wild camping about 50% of the time, and staying in Bothy's (an unlocked shelter to be used free of charge in mountainous areas) the other half of the time. The route I am taking is almost completely remote, only passing over 2 public roads the whole time.

 

If you would like to read into the back story of why I am doing this, please keep reading on. However, if not, I would really appreciate it if you could donate some money, or even just share this fundraiser around. It is my goal to raise £2500 and hopefully with your help I can do that.

 

 

 

I’ve been sitting at my laptop for a while now trying to think of the best way to write this. But as the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realise there is no right way to elaborate something like this. I realise that all I need to do is be genuine and say what I feel to be right. I also know that you probably don’t want to be spending any more time in your day right now reading this text; so all I ask is that you take 2 or 3 minutes to hear what I have to say.

 

I’m aware that being 17 myself, I’ve not experienced an awful lot in my life. However, as I’ve gotten older, I really have noticed some things. One of those being that no one is truly okay. Whether it be the stress of exams, the anxiety of leaving the house after covid, or the depression felt after losing a loved one. Everyone’s going through something, and we all need to deal with it in our own ways.

 

I can’t say that I’ve faced mental health problems personally, of course I’ve had bad days, but nothing that I’ve not been able to get through. Unfortunately, many people I know have not been so lucky, and that is exactly why I’m doing this. For a long time now, my dad has suffered from severe mental health issues, and although it’s not something I really want to talk about, I feel I need to so that you can get an understanding of what I’m trying to achieve.

 

I never really knew what my dad was going through until I started to get a bit older – maybe 13 or 14. I saw him in and out of hospital with lung and bowel cancer, thinking that’s all he was in for over the years. But now that I know, he was also in there to get treatment for what was going on in his head. It has been very hard for me to come to terms with, but I’m very proud of him for staying strong for me over the years and continuing to keep in a stable place.

 

When my dad was in hospital around 14 years ago, he met a woman called Nikki who was also inside getting treatment. Little did my Dad know at the time this would be the start of a journey; as they got to know each other better, they built up a strong relationship and began to love each other. They took trips to Paris together, as well as often walking around the botanics in Edinburgh and enjoying time just being together. She was a rock to my dad over the years, and the same for her too.

 

In October of 2020, my dad’s girlfriend Nikki moved back to Glasgow after 13 years in the hope that it would solve the problems she was dealing with. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and we sadly lost her to suicide in March of last year. This was devastating for me to hear, but especially for my Dad. With such terrible news, and then the second lockdown, my dad faced a massive setback and has been struggling over the past year.

 

It is my hope that from this fundraiser I can spread around a message and help people who are going through similar situations by reading this. For anyone who is thinking about taking their own life, or for anyone who feels stuck at a mental blockage; go and speak to a friend, a family member, a stranger on the street – anybody. It’s as simple as that. The only person who can help you start off in the right direction, is yourself. Take action and get the help you need, for your own sake, and for the sake of your loved ones. The same goes for anyone who isn’t in need of help, ask the people you love how they are, make sure they’re genuinely okay and keep them close.

 

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this, and please, donate any money you can to the mental health charity I have chosen through this page. If not, a share would be perfect.