Chris Jones spent a couple of hours watching a family of white-tailed sea eagles flying back and forth from their nest on a remote island off the coast of Scotland and thought about how far he’d come. That was true both physically – Chris has now walked some 2,000 miles around the coast of Britain since departing Skegness on New Year’s Day – but also metaphorically, given that a few years before, he had considered taking his life as he stared into a black hole of depression.
‘I’d been through a period of some really poor mental health,’ says Chris over the phone from somewhere in Cumbria between Anthorn and Silloth, as he continues his epic journey around the coast. ‘I ended up in a very dark place. In 2020, I happened to be on the website of the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF, the Freemasons’ charity) and saw they have a mental health assistance programme. I got some counselling that without question put me back on my feet and took me away from that horrible place.’
The walk will take around 18 months and see Chris travel more than 7,000 miles. His original motivation was simply to do something different – maybe learn a bit more about himself and what makes his brain tick – but fellow Freemasons insisted on seeing him off from Skegness. One thing led to another. Now, Chris is raising funds for the MCF, setting a target of £100,000. He’s drumming up support by visiting Lodges along the way – 76 Lodges and 27 meetings at the time we speak in early September. ‘We go to a Lodge, and they have a raffle and donate the proceeds,’ he says.
Chris joined the Freemasons just over a decade ago. After leaving school, he went in to the Royal Engineers as a reservist while working in the building trade. He discovered a niche – helping troubled, often excluded kids get into the construction industry – and set up a successful training business, employing former soldiers and police officers as mentors. To find contacts who could provide opportunities for the students, Chris joined the Lions and then the Round Table. In 2012, he was invited to join Round Table Lodge, No 8240 in Lincolnshire.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed it,’ he says. ‘I could walk the dog and lose myself for hours learning ritual. That gave me something else to think about when I was selling the business. It was a success, but not what I wanted to do. Because of policy changes, it became a monster. I was forced to become an independent school, but if it looks like a school and smells like a school, those kids aren’t coming. It stopped us doing what we were good at and turned us into a machine that pummels a qualification into the kid whether they need it or not.’
After selling the business, Chris sought counselling. Now in a better place, the 52-year-old began to think about his future. He’d read about Chris Lewis, a former paratrooper who had walked around the coast of the British Isles – a trek that took six years and 11,000 miles as he included all the islands. Chris isn’t so strict – his rule is to stay within sight of the sea as much as possible. Some parts of the coast in the north-west of Scotland were impenetrable, so he adjusted his route to walk round the islands of Skye, Mull, and Arran. That flexibility gives him the freedom to follow his nose, whether it’s attending a Lodge meeting, hanging out with friends and family or watching wildlife.
When we talk, Chris is walking with a former colleague from the military, Charlie, who lives in Carlisle. Several friends have joined Chris along the way, while local Freemasons hand him to the next Province when he crosses the border. He’s been listening to books and podcasts about mental health, pulling together his own thoughts for the book he will write about his journey.
Additional insight has come from fellow walkers. ‘The biggest killer for men between 50 and 54 is suicide,’ he says. ‘Some deal with it [mental health] better than others, but a lot of us ignore it. I have had a lot of time to think. I want to write a book and put all this into layman’s terms so it will help others. People I walk with tend to talk to me about their own experiences because as soon as I explain what I am doing, they unload. There’s something about walking and talking. Most blokes know that if you go out for a walk you come back feeling better, and I am doing that every day. Being around the sea is good for mental health, too.’
That’s not to say it’s been easy. There were times in Scotland when Chris feared for his life because of the treacherous coastal path, while after 1,600 miles, he had to leave his boots outside his tent every night because they ‘stank like a dead badger’. Most nights he has camped in fields, but he’s treated himself to the occasional B&B. When possible, he’ll end the day in a local pub – indeed, he has had to deny accusations that he is essentially partaking in the world’s longest pub crawl.
Chris defends himself stoutly, while Charlie chuckles knowingly in the background. ‘When I get to a small village where I don’t know anything, it’s the pub where I can find out where I can camp,’ he insists. ‘Pubs are a great place to meet people, get local intel, get some donations and, obviously, rehydrate. People I meet are very willing to put their hand in their pocket when they find out what I am doing, and it also raises awareness. I tell them the MCF is one of the biggest grant-making charities in the UK. There’s not a community that doesn’t benefit in some way from Freemasons’ money. That always impresses them.’
‘If you go out for a walk you come back feeling better, and I am doing that every day. Being around the sea is good for mental health too.’ Chris has covered more than 2,000 miles since he set off on New Year’s Day. If Chris’s story touches you, your family, or friends, you can take a positive step to prevent that hurt for others by donating to his fundraising page by visiting https://bit.ly/3Cg32Jo.
