A MAN from Chester is currently seven days into a 570-mile journey which will see him walk from the city to Amsterdam in aid of Mind.

Tyler O’Gorman began his mammoth walking challenge on September 1 and plans to reach the Dutch capital by September 23, averaging nearly 25 miles a day.

The 27-year-old from Blacon spoke to the Standard as he reached the village of Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire.

Tyler said the journey so far has been “both great and painful”.

He said: “My legs are ready every day, but blisters have been a nightmare, even after doing everything I can think of to prevent and treat them.

“I have never done anything to this level before, but I have been involved with fundraising before and my first experience was in high school raising money for Salvation Army for Christmas, and I can remember how rewarding it felt back then.”

Tyler said that he has visited Amsterdam several times before and its reputation as one of the ‘happiest’ cities in the world made it seem like the perfect destination for the charity walk, which has at its core a focus on mental health.

“This cause is so important to me because I have been going through mental health services now since I was in primary school and am still under multiple services today, I know so many people who have lost their own battles to mental health,” he said.

“We really need to break the stigma surrounding mental health all around, and especially in young men, as it’s my age group that has the biggest suicide rate and if I can do anything and help anyone at all on my journey then that is enough for me.”

Indeed, the Office for National Statistics’ latest finding state that rates of suicide are consistently higher for males and the age groups 25 to 44 and 45 to 64.

Tyler is currently on his way to Milton Keynes today (Friday, September 6), and from here he will continue to Hemel Hempstead, Shoreditch, Gravesend, Canterbury, and Dover.

Once he has crossed the Channel to Calais via ferry, he will then make his way through France to Belgium, and on into the Netherlands, heading from Rotterdam to The Hague and finally to Amsterdam.  

Tyler is hoping to raise £2500 for Mind UK, which offers mental health support to people across England and Wales.

To view Tyler’s donation page click here. You can also follow his journey via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damsterman/?hl=en. 

For more information about mind, visit: https://www.mind.org.uk/.

If you are struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, you can also contact Samaritans at https://www.samaritans.org/ or by calling 116 123.