Stu Skinner MBE, a 45-year-old outdoor leader and mental health campaigner, is walking the length of England carrying a 36kg cast-iron post box to spark conversations about loneliness. He set off from Carlisle last week and aims to reach his home of Weymouth and Portland in Devon by December 20, raising funds for mental health charity Head Outside along the way.
Walking from Newcastle Quayside to the Angel of the North
On Sunday, Stu journeyed from Newcastle Quayside to Chester-le-Street, passing by the Angel of the North. Having connected with people online and then met up on his travels, Stu told ChronicleLive the post box has opened people up to conversations. "Because it is quite ridiculous and helps people in," he said.
"You can see the relief of people who have shared stories. For me, community is a connection through a shared reference and experience. Although people may turn up as strangers there's already a connection between us and that's quite powerful. I've never been to Newcastle so walking through the city centre and across the bridge this morning was a treat."
Connecting with strangers along the way
After reaching the Angel of the North an hour later, Stu said he bumped into a man who introduced himself as 'Wheelchair Dave' and the pair shared stories of their own mental health as they carried onto Chester-le-Street and took each other's photos.
"We wouldn't have had a conversation if I hadn't had the post box on my back. If I just had a normal backpack walking the length of England people wouldn't stop to talk to me," Stu continued. "I think this is less about the walk but more about the people I meet along the way and the kindness of strangers. It's just lovely having that chat with them."
A symbol of shared burden
The post box is the same one Stu carried to the highest point of all 15 UK national parks. More than 250 people walked with him on that challenge and nearly 1,000 postcards were posted. The journey was made into a film, Postcards from the Peaks, which premiered at the Holmlands Adventure Film Festival in Carlisle, Cumbria earlier this month ahead of the challenge.
Since setting off on this challenge Stu has been met with kindness by strangers. "I thought starting on something as iconic as Hadrian's Wall would be something pretty special. It's very different as most of the walk from now on is going to be very urban and I've always wanted to walk it and see all that history," he said.
He immediately got chatting with one man who was puzzled at the sight of the postbox. Stu said: "He didn't ask to join it was just unspoken and we just started walking for a couple of hours." Others have invited him for overnight stays, bought him food, invited him to join a community at autumn equinox and a pub even donated quiz money to his charity.
A farmer offered a place to sleep in his barn one night and the next morning helped Stu with the weight of the post box to let him enjoy the route and recover. "For me that was symbolic of loneliness, people helping shoulder the burden of the weight so I was very grateful for that. The random acts of kindness and people I've met along the way."
Physical challenge and plans for a book
Joking about the physical weight of the post box Stu said "I don't really walk I shuffle. It's really hard to actually lift my leg up. The weights are balanced on the back of the post box so it wants to pull me backwards so I have to walk like the Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Over time Stu has sent out lots of postcards to people experiencing loneliness. He said at first "I was kind of unprepared for just how many people would reach out to share their stories of loneliness. It was really difficult reading a lot of people's stories because a lot of people are struggling and life is difficult. I think so many people just suffer in silence so it's so important they are seen and heard and to know they aren't alone."
He plans to collect stories from his trip for a book. He will use his van as a base to hold his tent with the journey being a mix of van, camping and hotels. As he makes his way down the country people are invited to join him at various cities with dates found on the webpage and social media.
