- By Toby Wadey and Steve Harris
- BBC News
source of images, Paul Harris
Paul Harris has covered over 5,000 miles so far
A former Royal Marine has described spending most of the past three years walking the UK coast in a bid to improve his mental health.
Paul Harris was living in Bournemouth and working in a call center he hated when he started the journey in 2020.
Covid lockdown restrictions had just been eased and he had suffered major upheaval in his personal life.
Now over 5,000 miles (8,046 km) and nearing the end, Mr Harris said the experience was life-changing.
source of images, Paul Harris
Mr Harris was based in Afghanistan for much of his time in the Royal Marines
The 39-year-old, who served in Afghanistan during his four-and-a-half years in the marines, said he was happiest when he moved to Thailand after leaving the army.
He told the BBC he felt like he had “done his life” when he got his dream job as a kindergarten teacher and started his own school in a country that ‘he liked.
But problems renewing his visa after seven years in Thailand forced him to leave, leading to the breakdown of a long-term relationship and an unplanned return to the UK.
source of images, Paul Harris
He said he felt like he had “finished his life” when he was based in Asia working with children.
“I was back in Bournemouth, working in a call center selling insurance and – to be honest with you – hating my life,” he said.
“I’m a man and a Marine and we don’t talk about feelings enough, so at that point I was four or five months old when I came into myself.
“The way I was talking to myself was horrible. I don’t recognize this person. Three or four times I wanted to end my life – I was really so down.”
source of images, Paul Harris
Mr Harris credited walking with improving his mental health
Mr Harris said a message of support from an old friend marked a turning point.
“[My friend] I said ‘brother you gotta write a book and travel the UK’ and three weeks later I left my life as such and created an Instagram account. I had £300 in my bank and left.”
Mr Harris, who dubbed himself the Warrior Walker, said the trip had helped him ‘heal old wounds’ and opened his eyes to the beauty of the British coast and the friendliness of strangers.
source of images, Paul Harris
Mr Harris followed coastal paths across the country
He added: “I only slept outside for three weeks because people I met in paths, hotels, bed and breakfasts, stately homes, mansions, council houses, young people , seniors, married, single, gay, straight, black, white and everyone in between held my hand and gave me a hug.
“It makes me emotional when I talk about it because it’s still raw. It’s changed my life.”
Mr Harris hopes to complete the challenge on Saturday April 22 in Sandbanks and wants to take a ‘victory lap’ in aid of mental health charity Mind.