Well, I should have known really – as soon as I say that I will do these walks in 20 weeks instead of the rest of the year, I end up unable to do one for several weeks. My last walk was 11th of April, and today is the 8th of May, almost a month! I am still aiming to do these 20 walks within the 20 weeks, by 1st August, but it is going to be much more difficult now – especially as some of the reasons for the break still apply. Then also, I am likely to be away for two separate full weeks and some shorter periods during that time. Well, we will see how it goes.

While I was walking today I was wondering what to write about today’s walk, and my mind kept going to the reasons I’d not done a Prom Walk for a month, and how that fits in with my support of West End Impact. I struggle with depression, stress, anxiety, and the biggest way they affect me is physical. That can be unexplained aches, or that I become exhausted to the extent of brain fog, muscle weakness and very wobbly knees. I find that any exertion will be wearing, and by exertion I mean daily living, showering, sorting washing, etc. During my walk today I was walking alongside the boulders that make up the sea defences, big, heavy, dark, and immovable. Like a lot of the circumstances I face, we all face. It can feel like life is full of massive boulders. The last month has been the cumulation of a tough few months, with viral colds (not covid), dental treatment that took months to heal, and several stressful circumstances all coming together – and I’ve spent several weeks surviving and sleeping.

But – and there is a but- as Impact says, there is hope, and it was evident today, everywhere I went there were flowers. My eye was drawn to daisies and dandelions, simple, bright, cheerful, vital for the bees and insects, especially this early in Spring/Summer, and with the ability to grow just about anywhere. They are such cheerful and confident plants. The dandelions were especially attractive, and their bright, vibrant, flowerheads were making me smile all the way down the Prom. The seedheads were like pearls when viewed en masse in the distance.

There were lots of other flowers though, some planted, some growing in the grass, some in cracks in the paving – but lots of flowers. Flowers like these always help me to smile and to hope. This is one of the reasons I love my daily walks. Even when, as recently, I’ve had to do shorter walks, I find being outside each day and looking for things to take photographs of, is relaxing. There is tonnes of research about exercise and mental health pointing to benefits to do with sleep, hormones, vitamin D, stress relief etc. I don’t know, but I do know that whether I manage five minutes or an hour or two, it feels like time aside, time out, time away from stresses. Of course, it isn’t for everyone or not all the time. I think it only works for me because I am willing to be as flexible as necessary. I’ve done it if I walk four miles, or if I walk around the block, or if I do five minutes doing laps of my garden.

All of those little walks add up and keep me going, keep some momentum up and hopefully mean that I can do the longer walks as well. A Prom walk is an average of 4.65 miles, a lot more than my usual daily walk. Today it really felt like it. When I met these friends, (above centre, two of whom had been manning the Sunday Drop-In at Impact, giving out meals) I was so glad to stop for a few minutes – and even gladder when one of them was kind enough to nip round the corner and get me a cold drink. The thought of the extra steps on and off the Prom was just too much at this point, about three miles in.

Even at this point, there were still more flowers to see. I found areas with bluebells and some next to a bench that looked as if someone had decided to share some spare garden plants. I also came across some large patches that had been seeded for bees, I do hope that they don’t get walked over too much until they start growing. I found more daisies, and as I got to the end of the Prom, just as you go from the steps at the end to the road in Heysham Village, there is a little cafe with a community garden next to it, which has been planted up and is looking fabulous.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this walk, or liked the flowers, please consider supporting West End Impact. They do some excellent work, both with community mental health and with many other things. I will be posting about their mental health work in this next week, and about other things they are doing soon. This is my fourth walk of twenty that I intend doing to try and raise funds for them. There is a donate page at the top, and any donations in the next few days will also be matched on crowdfunder – just click through to them here. All support, large or small is appreciated. Thank you.