Finding Hildasay: How one man walked the UK's coastline and found hope and happiness

Product Information

In his darkest depression, one idea brought Christian Lewis out of the depths - and into a new life. Finding Hildasay, read by the author, is a brutal and beautiful true story of depression, survival, walking, and the meaning of home. Christian had mounting bills, debt and the tenancy on his rented flat was coming to an end, and then he hit upon his big idea.

But what he really hadn’t bargained on was the passengers set to join him: Jet, a beautiful dog he adopted on the west coast of Scotland, who hasn’t left his side since, and the love of his life Kate, who he met by a pure twist of fate and who has just welcomed their baby Magnus into the world. The family of four are set to finish the final leg of their coastal journey together." I've read The Salt Path a few years ago, after hearing the author speak at The Hay Festival. I got annoyed with that book because I felt, she felt everyone should be in awe of what she and her ill husband were doing. They put themselves in their situation as did Christian, but Christian always looked to the future and was grateful for the smallest of things such as a kind word or sandwich given to him. The view of the public reaction and social media coverage is undestandably given from the perspective of the author but I would have liked to know a bit more about the coverage from other perspectives. I have, a very, very long time ago spent months traveling (mainly hitch hiking in my case) down through Europe and in other countries. I slept out and spent everyday looking for a place to sleep (once waking up in Israel realising I'd slept on a dead cat, it was dark when I'd put my sleeping bag down), wash and find cheap food. So I have a small understanding of what it was like for Christian. But I could stop at any time and I certainly didn't do that much walking.Publishing director Sara Cywinski acquired world all language rights directly from the author. Lydia Ramah, Pan non-fiction editor, will edit the book. The book will be published on February 2023. It was also important to me to talk about the mental health side of things and show that you can come out of a dark hole, there is hope for everybody that things will get better,” he says. Christian, now 42, left the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment in 2005, after winning custody of his daughter Caitlin. Finding Hildasay is Christian Lewis's brutal but beautiful true story of survival, walking the coast of Britain - his dog Jet in tow - and finding a different way to live. With a foreword from longtime supporter Ben Fogle.

With a foreword from long-time supporter Ben Fogle, Finding Hildasayis a brutal and beautiful true story of depression, survival and the meaning of home. And it was while riding the waves that he had a flash of inspiration to attempt to walk the entire coastline of the UK, a challenge that so far has taken him nearly six years. I expect it’ll take another five months to finish. With Kate and I having a baby things are different and we are making slower progress, but we are really enjoying it. We want to bring Magnus up to love and appreciate the outside world and nature.”Christian was camping in Whaligoe, on the North East tip of Scotland, in November 2020 when he met his future fiancee, Kate Barron, 36. But he struggled as a single parent, and it was Caitlin’s decision to leave home when she turned 16 that drove him on to make a change. Christian says doing his walk, ­estimated at more than 12,000 miles, has made him the happiest man. He often relied on the kindness of strangers who helped him as he took on his fundraising mission. Well-wishers bought him a new tent when his old one got destroyed by harsh winds and offered him food and places to stay. While struggling with depression and facing homelessness, the former soldier would find respite from his suicidal thoughts by surfing at a nearby beach.