A Castletown man has managed to walk more than 100 miles around the Isle of Man over the festive period for charity.
Neil Allcote has raised around £6,500 in aid of Isle Listen charity in memory of his late sister Lesley who died in 2020 after suffering with her mental health.
The 45 year-old said that he also wanted to highlight the plight of the island’s homeless community during the trek and slept rough in every town he visited during his walk around the Isle of Man coastline.
He started his seven-day challenge in his hometown on Christmas Eve and completed the 102-mile (or 164km) stomp back in the ancient capital on New Year’s Day, finishing with the traditional Manx new year’s dip.
Neil said the main motivation behind the challenge was to reach out to people struggling with mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.
He specifically chose to complete the trek over the Christmas and New Year period as it ‘can be really lonely and the worst time’ for some individuals, he said.
Despite his determination, the weather hampered Neil’s planned progress at times, forcing him to veer off the Raad Ny Foillan coastal path and onto Manx roads as torrential rain and strong winds left him battling the elements.
According to Neil, the torrid conditions often left him ‘soaked’ and he admitted that the most challenging section of the walk took place in the west of the island.
During one night camping out, he managed to find shelter in Peel only to be woken up at 3am to find his equipment and clothes soaking wet.
But Neil was determined to push-on and was helped along the way by businesses, friends, family and even strangers.
Q’s Stores, the island’s only army surplus retailer, provided him with all the kit needed to camp out in harsh conditions, ensuring he kept warm.
And a number of kind-hearted island residents also lent him a helping hand - offering him everything from Christmas meals to shelter during his trek through the island’s communities.
Some people who approached him even ‘opened up about their issues’ , many discussing their own mental health battles.
This, according to Neil, made him even more determined to finish the walk.
He said that living homeless for a week was bearable thanks to the ‘generosity of the people who helped’ him during the trek.
Once both the walk and the New Year’s Dip in Castletown was completed, he was presented with a cheque for £1,000 from the Castletown Ale Drinkers Society in recognition of his mammoth efforts.
This, combined with £5,500 raised by Neil through his own online fundraising page, took the figure up to £6,500.
Neil says he was inspired by the feats of other fundraisers to complete the trek.
He said: ‘There were three guys in England who did a walk after they lost their daughters to suicide last year, that’s something that I thought was quite good.
‘And the ‘fella who walks in trunks, Speedo Mick, I thought “I’m not doing that,” but what he did is amazing.
‘I thought about these things and thought “I can do something like that but different”.
‘This isn’t just about my sister, we need to do more to highlight mental health issues.
‘I did this because if you have ever suffered from mental health, Christmas time is the worst time, and even if I’ve helped one person then this has been all worth it for me.’
Isle Listen provide vital early intervention mental health support and training in schools, the workplace and the general Manx community.