YOUR STORIES

“Happy Xmas everyone... and thank you.”

STEPHEN RUSSELL

The Mountains for the Mind Facebook group is a supportive, inspirational community of 16,000 people just like you. We hear so many stories of social media being bad for your mental health, which is why we’re proud to have created such a positive online environment.

“Took my mate (and my Winnie) up Cat Bells yesterday. It was his first trip up a Lake District mountain and he loved it. If you know someone who’s been a bit down in the dumps, get them out. The mountains are a great place to refresh your mind.” STEVE HIRST

“My first visit to the Lake District. A muchneeded escape from Glasgow after way too long. Visit to Grasmere from Keswick and hop up Helm Crag. We encountered the most awesome inversion. It was like being in a secret world away from everything that was going on below. It was heaven. Coming back home reduced me to tears.” ALISON DUNCAN

“2021 was a very challenging year but

I didn’t let my anxiety or depression win.

I am still fighting and I will carry on in 2022. But 2021 was a year for loads of new things for me too: first bivvy in the summer, first solo camp, first solo trek, first solo adventure in Scotland, first solo winter hike. This all helped me to keep going. I have learned some great skills on the way and 2022 will be bigger and better. I cannot wait!”

AGNIESZKA MATYJASZEK

“2021 was really tough and at the end of the year I just wanted to get away from it all. So I booked myself a week away in Snowdonia, intending to go on one group walk with Blackdog Outdoors and the rest of the time throwing myself up mountains alone as that’s what I thought I needed.

“Instead the weather was dire and at points too dangerous, so I ended up having an amazing low-level week with friends old and new. I pushed myself up climbing walls and learnt new skills, and it’s the most I’ve smiled in a long time. From learning how to trust others to not let me fall on a climbing wall, to hugging so many people on New Year’s Eve when I struggle to let people touch me, it was a lot of new experiences.

“On the last day I had a walk by myself on the Aberglaslyn trail, and on the way around I bumped into a couple coming the other way. We chatted for a while and then they asked what mountain it was we could see peeking through the low clouds. I pulled out my paper map, orientated myself, located features and identified the mountain as

Cnicht. Before this year I wouldn’t have had a clue, but thanks to doing my bronze National Navigation Award Scheme and my Mountain Skills course with Blackdog, I was able to share knowledge with others.

“The rest of the walk was a thoughtful one. I realised that perhaps it wasn’t the mountains that I needed to get me through the hard times, but maybe the connections I make through them.” SARAH PERKINS