Oban welcomes epic walker on his birthday
EX-SOLDIER Chris Lewis who is walking the entire 7,700 mile coastline of Britain arrived in Oban in time for his birthday.
The 38-year-old from Wales took on the epic challenge last August hoping to raise awareness and £100,000 for armed forces charity SSAFA that provides life-long support to serving men and women and veterans.
It could take two years for the former paratrooper to walk his way back home to Swansea, accompanied by his faithful four-legged friend Jet.
The single dad, who got help from SSAFA ‘to keep his head above water’ when he returned to civilian life and was going through challenging times, spent his birthday evening surrounded by new friends at The Oban Inn - joining in a ‘jamin’ session. Relying on the kindness of strangers to help him on each leg of his journey, he told The Oban Times: ‘Getting to Oban was a milestone for me. It’s my birthday.’
He has been averaging about 10 miles a day, camping at night. He said: ‘I take it one day at a time and see what each day brings.
‘The generosity I’ve had in Scotland has been continuous. People are amazing. The walking bit is for me but when I stop and talk to people it's about the charity.’
Offers of help came from across the town, including Hope Kitchen. His plan was to rest in Oban for a couple of days before heading to Fort William and the islands.
To follow his journey, search ‘Chris Walks the UK’ on Facebook or go to chriswalks.com.