Kate and Chris met in Scotland some years into his circumnavigation of the UK, which began in 2017. Chris had been supported by SSAFA, and the walk – 19,000 miles in six years – was about personal healing as much as raising funds, around £500,000, for SSAFA.
Kate and Chris became a couple, and with dog Jet, they continued their walk together, even into the advanced stages of Kate’s pregnancy with their son, Magnus.
As Kate says:
“Wilderness Mum is my story of becoming a first-time mother while walking the entire UK coastline to raise funds for SSAFA, combining new motherhood with a huge adventure and a shared fundraising mission.
“When I joined Chris on the walk, I had no personal connection to SSAFA, but that quickly changed as I met people along the coast whose lives had been profoundly helped by the charity. Knowing we were walking for them gave the journey real purpose.”
Their story touched thousands of people. Some with a Forces connection, but many who did not, greeted them at each town or village they arrived in, offering a bed, a shower, hot food, and a chance to wash their clothes and dry their boots.
They featured in documentaries, including New Lives In The Wild with Ben Fogle, The Long Walk Home, and even Extraordinary Portraits hosted by Bill Bailey.
Astronaut Tim Peake, who supported SSAFA at the charity’s 2024 carol concert, has praised Kate’s book, calling it:
“A truly inspiring story of courage, resilience, and the call of the wild. Wilderness Mum is a testament to the extraordinary things we are capable of.”
Kate backs this up saying that SSAFA
“… became the driving force that kept us motivated on freezing nights in the tent and helped us keep putting one foot in front of the other. I lived in a tent and walked every day for three years, welcoming my baby along the way, who was 14 months old when we crossed the finish line.
“It was a life-changing adventure, and I’ll always be proud to have done it in support of such a remarkable charity.”
