{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"In 2020, Chris Howard \u2013 a father of three from Cambridge \u2013 set off on an extraordinary adventure: to walk the entire coast of Britain. Along the way, he\u2019s slept in an old lighthouse keeper\u2019s cottage, boatsheds, and even shared a tent with a fox. \nOver the last eighteen months, Chris has done over 100 Zooms with Scout groups across the country, as well as many schools, and all along the way, he\u2019s been raising funds for Children in Need.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat gave you the idea for the coastal walk? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve always done endurance based challenges. I\u2019ve also travelled all over the world with my backpack. I was looking at my children during the first lockdown and I thought about how it would\u2019ve been for me if I was a child. I wanted to raise money for children in every corner of the UK.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInitially, I wanted to do something abroad but realised I couldn\u2019t. So I said to my wife, \u2018I might go on a walk around the coast.\u2019 And she said, \u2018Which bit?\u2019 And I said, \u2018All of it. If I maintain about 26 to 30 miles a day, I can do it in a year.\u2019 She just said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to do it.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe\u2019s the star and has been holding the fort at home; supporting me on those days when I\u2019m in tears, it\u2019s been raining for 10 days and there are ticks in my legs.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich is worse, the ticks or the weather?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWeather\u2019s just weather. People say, \u2018You must hate it when it\u2019s raining\u2019. The truth is, it just makes it a different experience. If you let something like the weather get you down, you\u2019ll never get anywhere. You\u2019ve got let go of the things you can\u2019t control and just concentrate on the things you can.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe rain becomes quite refreshing and pleasant after a while.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat were you like as a child? \u00A0\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAngry. Quite stubborn. But I always wanted to do things to help other people. I was always doing charity things at school. I was quite sporty. I played a lot of rugby and did martial arts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy mum was great but constantly at work. We were just kind of surviving. I also had a job from the age of 13 because I wanted to give my mum some money to help pay the bills.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI grew up in a challenging area and I failed every single one of my mock GCSE exams. It was a real wake-up call. It taught me a really important lesson, which is to ask for help. I did, and ended up passing all my exams.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was a Scout from quite early on. We did challenges and went away at weekends. I once went to Austria for an adventure weekend with Scouts. It taught me a lot about how to treat people well.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat sort of skills did you get from Scouts? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA lot of my practical skills. I\u2019m very good with knots and ropes \u2013 that came in handy when I rowed the Atlantic. I can splice rope, which is something most people can\u2019t do. It also built my confidence.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI liked it because it was less about competition and more about learning. Sometimes sports can get too competitive. I liked being practical and doing things with my hands.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15326/chris-the-coast-walker.png","width":1140,"height":896,"altText":"Chris the coast walker sat in a hat by a fire at night time","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow does being out in the wild support your wellbeing? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI think the outdoors is where we\u2019re meant to be. Until people spend time out in the wild, they don\u2019t realise how important it is. You don\u2019t have to go off on some grand adventure, and go out and spend a thousand nights under the stars. If you just get out there, even for a day, you realise there\u2019s so much natural beauty and wonder in the world that you never to see in a city or your normal working life.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u2019t think living indoors all the time is good for us. It dulls us and makes us less capable. We realise our true potential when we\u2019re out in the wild.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat sights and sounds and smells have you enjoyed most out in the wild? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome days the smell of rotten seaweed can be pretty off-putting. But the thing that amazes me most is how calm our sea can be around the coast. It\u2019s like glass.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s also the colours that I find so special. Walking actually improves the eyesight \u2013 seeing the colours of the ground and the rocks, and the different parts of the grass and heather, for example. Seeing the different colours in the clouds tells you what they\u2019re going to do next. That gives me a massive advantage \u2013 I can happily walk through the rain, but if I know that if it\u2019s going to rain for twelve hours straight, I know I\u2019m going to have to find shelter.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat have been the most challenging times on the walk?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe real challenge is thinking about what\u2019s going on back home with me not there: maintaining contact with my wife and children, friends and family. It\u2019s really difficult. Sometimes I\u2019m out of touch for two or three weeks. Phones are brilliant, but I don\u2019t always have connection, and people are busy too, leading normal lives.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s a loneliness side to long distance walking that people don\u2019t always understand. Especially up here in Scotland; I can go days at a time without seeing anyone. This often means the only person I\u2019m having conversation with is myself.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou have to remind yourself, when you do see someone, that social etiquette still exists.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you combat loneliness?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve learnt to enjoy my own company. But I also challenge myself in different ways, or think about different things. I try and learn about the environment that I\u2019m in.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe other day I was on a really big stretch of beach. I didn\u2019t see anyone the whole day, and I knew I was going to have to pitch up somewhere.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI always try and pick one good thing I\u2019ve done that\u2019s good, so that tomorrow I\u2019ll wake up and feel positive. So for example, once I did a beach clean for the last hour of the day. I knew then that there was less litter on the beach.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe other day, I set myself the challenge of counting to a thousand because I don\u2019t know anyone who\u2019s done that before. And I now know why: because it\u2019s boring! Thinking of different things that will occupy your mind and distract you is useful.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut you also have to remember that things are temporary. So no matter how hard it seems, it\u2019s going to end. So just over that hill for example, there\u2019s another flat beach that\u2019s good for walking.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15325/chris-the-coast-walker-3.png","width":720,"height":593,"altText":"Chris the coast walker wearing a blue top sitting on rocks","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the biggest luxury that you carry with you? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u2019t really have luxuries but I do have a book with me. I can then swap it with people I meet, or in a book exchange. There are quite a few phone boxes where you can do that.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m reading a book by Levison Wood at the moment, called Walking the Himalayas. I\u2019ve walked the Himalayas myself with my backpack and I thought it would be a nice kind of thing to reminisce about. His writing is brilliant.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s a guy who walked the coast of Britain over many years who sent me the book he wrote about his journey. I read the first chapter and immediately put it down and rang him and said, I\u2019ll have to read this when I get home \u2013 I need to go on my own journey first.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat have been the highlights for you on this trip?\u00A0 \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI did a Zoom talk with a school and had a question from a boy who asked me about the charity I was walking for: Children in Need. Normally, people will ask what food I\u2019m eating or what animals I\u2019ve seen. I asked him why he had asked the question and he said that it was his first day back in school after a brain tumour operation that was funded by the Children in Need. He wanted to thank me for raising money for them. That was a very humbling experience.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI also met somebody in Bournemouth who\u2019s been following my progress since the beginning. He\u2019d leave kind comment on my posts and blogs. He was retired, had lost his wife and didn\u2019t really know what to do with himself. He said, \u2018I just wanted to tell you you\u2019ve really helped me process things and give me something to focus on and distract me from other thoughts.\u2019 That was amazing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are a lot of people who would love to have done this walk, and I\u2019m doing it for them \u2013 both adults and young people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere\u2019s the strangest place you\u2019ve slept? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve been allowed to sleep in all sorts of strange places: an old lighthouse keeper\u2019s cottage, windmills, hay barns, Hurst Castle, boat sheds, and once even shared my tent with a fox. \u00A0Last night, I slept on an island, just off the end of Campbeltown. I stood watching the sun go down and realised I was the only person on the island. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to get off until the morning because of the tides.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the most beautiful sight you\u2019ve woken up to?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOften I\u2019ll just sleep in my bivvy bag, so the last thing I\u2019ll see are the stars and the first thing I\u2019ll see in the morning is whatever\u2019s around me and the sun coming up. That natural cycle of time has reset my circadian rhythm. I feel much more in tune with the natural world.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI once woke up to an amazing sunrise in a field with rabbits and deer all around me. It was like being in a Disney film. Because I didn\u2019t make any movements or noise, the animals just carried on as if I wasn\u2019t there. You just have to take a breath and enjoy it.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15327/chris-the-coastwalker-view.jpg","width":714,"height":658,"altText":"A large body of still water with bright blue sky and white clouds above","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s been the most dangerous moment on your journey? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere have been a few near misses. I came down the coastal path in Devon near a beach that\u2019s notorious for erosion. As I was walking, I heard a grinding noise behind me. Then, as I stepped off the path onto the beach, there were coastguards and blue flashing lights. The coastguard said, \u2018You might be the luckiest person in the country. There\u2019s just been a twenty tonne landslide and you\u2019ve missed it by minutes.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou have to be careful \u2013 there are plenty of places you can slip, especially with a heavy backpack on.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the one thing that\u2019s surprised you most?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m constantly surprised by how beautiful and diverse the British coastline is. It\u2019s different everywhere you go. It\u2019s amazing to me that we ignore so much of it. We fly all over the world on holiday, but why not come to your own coastline, spend money here and support local communities? I\u2019ve just walked a nine-mile stretch, and I\u2019ve only seen five people. Where I\u2019ve just walked here in Scotland \u2013 the water is so clear and the sand so white, you could be in the Caribbean.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe other thing is the people. I\u2019ve met hundreds of people \u2013 and they\u2019re always so kind. It\u2019s the people who make the place, not just the place itself.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat keeps you going? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the beginning, it was the idea that I might raise some money for children who really need it. Also, thinking about John o\u2019 Groats was big mental checkpoint, because I knew that from there on, I was going home. I think about my wife and children and getting home to them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI hope I\u2019ve inspired my children to know that they can do whatever they want in life. They don\u2019t have to take the conventional path \u2013 they can do anything.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdventure can be whatever you want it to be. It starts with you. You have to decide and commit to it. Once you\u2019ve done that, everything will fall into place. But without starting, you\u2019re never going get anywhere. Adventurers aren\u2019t special. They\u2019re just like you. You\u2019ve just got to start doing it.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"11 November 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Follow Chris\u2019 progress","url":"https://thecoastwalker.com/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"November news","url":"/news/2021/november/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48678,"nodeName":"Living on the edge: Meet Chris the coastwalker","title":"Living on the edge: Meet Chris the coastwalker","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/15329/chris.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1af5cdb0","caption":"Chris","type":"jpg","size":70122,"width":624,"height":508,"altText":"Chris looks to the side while wearing a beige cap, blue hooded jacket and black backpack"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Living on the edge: Meet Chris the coastwalker","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"In 2020, Chris set off on an extraordinary adventure: to walk the entire coast of Britain. We interviewed him to find out all about it!","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODY3OCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/november/living-on-the-edge-meet-chris-the-coastwalker/"}