Features / Shetland provides ‘fantastic’ start to UK-wide charity walk – despite the weather
JONATHAN Kemp could not have been dealt a much worse spell of weather for starting his UK-wide fundraising walk in Shetland at the turn of the year.
Snow, ice and cold temperatures have disrupted transport on the roads in recent days, but it has not fazed the 64-year-old as he made his way down through Shetland on foot and ferries from Unst.
After coming through the worst of it, Kemp – who is set to head to Orkney on the boat this evening (Wednesday) – said the Shetland weather has set him up perfectly for the rest of his journey.
He even went as far as saying that starting in Shetland slap bang in the midst of winter was “exactly the right thing to do” – despite initially drawing some puzzled and concerned reactions from people.
Kemp aims to walk across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland before finishing up in Galway in Ireland, with the aim of raising money for mental health charities having gone through his own struggles.
He expects that the trip could take around ten months, covering more than 4,000 kilometres.
Kemp, who holds the title of Viscount Rochdale, chose to start the challenge in Shetland at the very north of the UK.
While many were likely sleeping off a Hogmanay hangover, the fundraiser got on his walking boots to begin his adventure in Haroldswick at the northern end of Unst on 1 January.
It may come as no surprise to locals, but Kemp is full of praise for the hospitality shown to him from Shetlanders, from places to stay overnight to companionship during parts of his walks.
With a bracing wind and cold temperatures foreshadowing the snow to come, Kemp said he may not have completed the first day if it was not for the support of another walker who accompanied him to Belmont.
Speaking to Shetland News on the phone on Tuesday morning while south of Catfirth, Kemp said he is planning to meet with mental health charity Mind Your Head in Lerwick today.
He will then be heading on the boat to Kirkwall in the evening to continue his walking in Orkney. Then, after that, he plans to head down the east coast of Scotland.
“A few people have stopped to offer me a lift, and I tell them, ‘well, I’m actually walking around the UK’,” Kemp said as he reflected on his time in Shetland so far.
He said walking in the wind in Unst also gave him a confidence boost to tackle the snow that was to come as he made his way down through Yell.
“Having walked three days of tough weather, it’s set me up for the rest of the walk,” Kemp added.
“Even if the weather is really tough, because I’ve had the experience I’ve had in Shetland…it’s almost like I’ve got a different mindset.
“Before I came up I was really worried about the wind – and I wasn’t even thinking about snow.
“A couple of days before I set off I was thinking ‘I’m not sure I can even do this’. But this time, coming through the Shetland, it’s been a fantastic start and it’s given me a boost of confidence that what I’m doing is possible.”
In amongst the walking and weather, the overriding message is that mental health matters.
It is something which Kemp said he has grappled with since his youth, being brought up in a life of privilege yet knowing something was not quite right.
His personal journey covers bipolar disorder, depression, addiction and dyslexia, but it took many years for Kemp to seek help after realising that issues he faced were not external.
His path in life is certainly varied; from an upbringing as the future 3rd Viscount Rochdale to a punk rock “rebellion”, a stint working with cattle in Australia and bricklaying back in the UK.
Kemp then spent around 12 years in the Metropolitan Police force in London, before founding his own business while also writing a book about his life called Finding Peace of Mind.
But he said there came a point in the past where, after years of struggling on, things reached a “dead end”.
“With great reluctance, I saw a medical professional,” Kemp said. “Which makes no sense, because if I had a problem with my knee, I’d go and see someone.”
Another facet of the walking project is to encourage open conversations about mental health and neurodiversity, and during his traverse across the mainland he aims to hold talks in towns and cities.
But, back to Shetland. Kemp said that having used AI platform ChatGPT to source recommendations for good quality walking boots, his feet – “surprisingly” – are coping okay.
When he has been walking on his own, battling the elements and feeling fatigue creeping up on him, Kemp said one tactic has been to focus on his walking sticks and the clicking sound they make on the road.
“But those are very much things I would do when my mental health was in really poor shape,” he said. “Sometimes it’s living an hour at a time.
“So yeah, I feel very lucky, and starting in Shetland in mid-winter was exactly the right thing to do”.
People can donate to Jonathan Kemp’s online fundraising page here.
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