Hey!

My name is Albie 👋 I am a mental health nurse working in the NHS in Bristol as well as a lover of the outdoors for my own health and wellbeing. I really wanted to set myself a challenge this year to give me a drive to try and accomplish something positive. Over the years I have enjoyed completing a few mountain walks and treks in Wales and have always wanted to see the view from the top of every peak. 

So this  year I plan to summit all 189 of the Welsh mountain tops (Nuttalls), sometimes friends may walk with me, but the challenge in itself is a solo one. To do this I will be completing a series of circular walks at set out in John and Anne Nuttall's book alongside some of my own mapped out routes, completing these when I can get the days off from work. Hopefully I can throw in a few wildcamps for some beautiful sunsets and sunrises (if the mist allows me).

This is my first challenge to myself of this sort, I have walked some sections of the South West coast path over a few days in the past and wildcamped along the way, but nothing to this kind of scale. I am going to be starting from 0 and re-climbing any peaks that I have done previously. I have also decided that I am going to start from March onwards, to give me a little bit of prep time and to have a clear start and end goal (as well as not being on the ball enough to start in January). So I have 10 months in total, averaging 19 peaks a month which I feel is definitely achievable as long as my annual leave holds up..

To document my progress I will be taking a video panaroma from the top of each peak (I can't promise it will be anything more than grey), and posting updates to my instagram: @thatwildchestnut as I go.

Whilst doing this I wanted to give myself a reason to persevere when my motivation wanes, give me a reason to put the waterproofs on in the rubbish weather and to put one foot in front of the other when my legs ache...
Therefore I have decided to raise money for an amazing charity at the same time. They really inspire me with their goals of supporting people's mental health by getting out into nature, helping people to develop resilience to adversity and tackling challenges in a supportive way. 

They can certainly explain their goals and support far better than I can:

“Mind Over Mountains are a mental health charity offering immediate and accessible support by bringing together hill-walking and mindfulness in nature, alongside time with experienced coaches and counsellors in an unpressured, unhurried setting.

Here’s what your donation could contribute towards:
• £50: would pay for one person in need to attend one of our day events
• £200: funds one full bursary place on a Mind Over Mountains weekend retreat
• £300: funds someone through an initial 1-2-1 support programme of coaching and counselling”