Farmer completes 142-mile walk for mental health

A Herefordshire farmer has completed a 142-mile walk from Ross-on-Wye to London to raise awareness of mental health pressures in farming and support rural communities.

Sam Stables, co-founder of We Are Farming Minds, set off from Ross-on-Wye Market on Monday, 9 February.

Walking about 30 miles a day, he travelled mostly alone before arriving at the Farmers Club in Westminster on Friday, 13 February.

See also: Farm Safety Foundation honours mental health champions

Speaking on arrival in Westminster, Mr Stables said: “We are at the end. What a week. There have been some incredible highs, some incredible lows. I have met some amazing people on this journey who have all supported me through.”

Watch a video of Mr Stables at the end of his walk in Westminster.

The challenge was organised to highlight isolation within the farming community and to raise funds for the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC).

It was carried out in partnership with the Farm Safety Foundation, also known as Yellow Wellies, as part of its Mind Your Head week (9-13 February), which focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention in agriculture.

For most of the route, Mr Stables walked alone to symbolise the rural isolation experienced by many farmers across the UK.

By the end of the week, he had raised just over £44,000.

© Sam Stables

Mr Stables said: “One thing I know is true is that there are so many people out there supporting British farming.

“I am very proud to be a farmer, and I think, and I hope, what we are trying to show is that with mental health in farming, there is support out there, there are organisations; if you are feeling at the lowest point, there is hope out there.”

Reflecting on the walk, he said: “When I have been at the lowest point in this journey, and I thought I couldn’t go on any longer, some people jumped out and gave me support, and I’d be back on my feet again.”