Dad battles NC500 trek to raise mental health awareness

Jordan Darby from Sheffield is just over halfway through his mammoth journey around the famous Scottish route and has so far raised more than £4500 for the mental health charity, Mind.
Having battled with depression and anxiety for the best part of two decades, the dad-of-four found solace in walking a couple of years ago.
After doing a charity walk for Mind last year in honour of a friend who had taken his own life, Darby set up his own TikTok account to raise awareness of mental health issues and it was there he chanced upon the beautiful scenery of the North Coast 500.
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'I told my partner I was going to walk it. She looked at me as if to say, 'you're crackers',' he told The National.
'Low and behold, I'm here and doing it. I'm struggling on through at times but I'm fighting fit.
'I've had days when it's been very tough, and I could have easily chucked it in and turned around. But it was the same with my mental health, I gave up on that in the past and ended up back at square one.
'So, I've pushed on through those bad times and I'm still here and I've got a big smile on my face.
'I know what this is doing for me and how much it's helping other people. It's become a lot more than just a walk for me and the charity itself.'
When he spoke to The National on Monday, Darby, 38, was walking towards Ullapool where he planned to set up camp for the night, before continuing down the north west coast and back towards Inverness.
Darby has been spending the last few weeks sleeping in a tent on his trek (Image: Jordan Darby) He plans to finish up the journey on Sunday, which will require him to walk just under 200 miles in less than a week.
While Darby has had to battle with endless blisters, tiredness and a lack of phone signal, he said he had come across so much kindness on his trip which has kept him going.
He said: 'I've met amazing people on my journey. I've had people making me cups of coffee, I've had people donating money along the way, I've had people pay for my food. It's overwhelming.
'I've gone from the most negative person to the happiest, smiling person you can find.'
Darby explained how he was in denial about his mental health struggles for years which led him to a dark place.
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But he now wants to encourage people to seek out help if they need it and raise awareness of how much walking to help calm the mind.
'I've struggled with my mental health for the best part of 20 years,' he said.
'I never really got help. Other people told me to, but I didn't really see a problem with myself, and I just carried on lying to myself and other people. I was doing nothing to help myself.'
He went on: 'I just want people to get that help if they need it because if I had got help years ago, things could have been different. I feel alive now and like I'm living, whereas before I felt like a waste of space.'
To sponsor Darby on his walk, click here.

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