Related Articles
A mum is set to break a new world record – by walking 7,000 miles around the entire British mainland coast. Lindsey Bell, 47, left London’s Greenwich Park on March 1 to embark on an adventure of a lifetime – and has so far travelled more than 5,000 miles.
She wants to be the first solo person to complete a circumnavigation of the mainland British coast without using ferries – an estimated 7,000 miles in 298 days, equalling a marathon covered per day on average. It means she will walk around all the bays and coastlines where others have previously taken boats that are quicker. She has also scaled Yr Wyddfa, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. The mum-of-two from Essex is currently in Edinburgh.
She said: “I have always loved being in nature and it helps me being the best version of myself. I want to encourage people to go out and enjoy outdoors – I have lost some people in my life to addiction and mental health issues.”
READ MORE:Secret codes and what they mean used by tube staff Essex Underground stations
READ MORE:The breathtaking Essex village so beautiful it belongs on a Christmas card
Lindsey has always been an ‘outdoorsy person’ and done long walking challenges including 530 miles on Camino de Santiago starting in France. She fell back in love with nature and walking during the Covid lockdowns.
Lindsey added: “I have always been practical. I have always been outdoors. Me and my parents grew up camping and surfing down in Cornwall.” With this challenge, Lindsey is raising money for the mental health charity Mind and National Trails UK.
She said: “It nurtures us nature. I think we’ve forgotten that we boxed our lives so much that we are so disconnected with nature and nature does that for us.”
With just 2,000 miles to go, Lindsey has so far conquered Kent, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Liverpool, Lake District and Edinburgh and she is now making her way down the east coast of Scotland.
As part of her journey, she has also done the Three National Peaks. And she also invites people through her website to join her and walk with her whenever they want.
She added: “I have met people from all over the world, different ages and cultures – I say hello to everyone.” When asked about what she had learned about the people she met she said: “We pretty much are kind beautiful human beings who want to feel happy in life. They are their inner selves when out in nature. Some people might feel sad but within an hour with nature it enables them to connect with nature and make them happy.” She even celebrated her birthday at the top of John O’Groats with her mum, her kids who and her uncle came from Essex and Ireland to celebrate.
After first six weeks of camping she realised that her mind and her body could not recover and gain the rest it needed. The walker was then gifted over 160 nights on various hostels, hotels and B&B’s. She said: “When you have done 8 weeks of hiking your body realises that you need more rest.
She said: “There are many challenging days mentally and physically but that is what I like about it – I am always growing with this. I experience various different points in this journey. I thought I was a supercharged human being but after this ‘oh my god’ I am now super-super-charged.”
Lindsey planned to conclude the challenge on December 23 as she is 8 days ahead. In one of the days she managed to walk 45 miles as she was coming into Scotland. She has applied for Guinness World Record where she needs to submits her route daily for the team to monitor it. She has another walking challenge set for next year involving other countries in Europe.
Lindsey had an interior design business but she has now made walking her profession. Sponsors are helping her getting funds with this journey, including Osprey Europe, Moduleo and Onebright.
Reflecting on what she hopes to achieve with this journey she said: “I hope to continue to live a life with nature and get as many people as I can out there. For me nature has always been my safe space. I feel more unsafe at an event in London than I would in nature.”
