A CHARITY which takes people with mental health problems on walks across the UK has been awarded £1,000 to provide new equipment.

Oxford Coasters, which was set up in 1995, helps sufferers find relaxation, discipline and new skills through a range of outdoor activities, from 200-mile hikes to rock climbing.

Last week, a group completed a seven-day walk along The Ridgeway, which runs from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire, through South Oxfordshire, to Avebury in Wiltshire.

In September, others will be setting off on a 200-mile coast-to-coast walk across the country, from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire.

Mental health nurse Michael Moran, 62, who goes on the walks, said: “The main thing I like about the coast-to-coast walks is that everybody starts off in their roles, as either carers or cared-for people, but by about six or seven days, everybody is just doing the walk.”

Mr Moran added: “Everybody meets the walk as they meet life. They struggle to start with, then the routine of the walk takes over.

“They have to get up in the morning, get ready, have breakfast, and leave in time.

“There is a strict structure of walking for 50 minutes, resting for 10, and a 20-minute lunch break. It provides everybody with a sense of community, helping each other and being part of something bigger.”

Rachel Pegler, 44, from Greater Leys, Oxford, pictured front with Mr Moran and other group members, has battled mental health issues for years, but has now climbed Scafell Pike, walked the Ridgeway, and crossed coast to coast with the group.

She said: “It gets you out into the countryside, both for the long walks, and short walks on a Saturday as well.

“It makes you feel you have done something you would never have imagined doing before.

“I had done some walking when I was growing up, but not such long walks, and I never thought I would climb a mountain.”

She added: “I am definitely more positive as a result.”