When 30-year-old Rob Aston was struggling with his mental health, he was told to go on medication. However, for Rob, that was akin to putting a “plaster over a water leak”.
So, he quit his job and decided to walk the entire Welsh coast in a journey that saw him covering nearly 100 miles in just 55 days, wild camping, battling blisters and extremes of weather, and seeing the best of humanity.
Having walked from Chester to Chepstow, Rob fell in love with the Pembrokeshire coast, but he did say some prime locations are losing their charm. Read here about a veteran cycling the entire British coast to raise money for PTSD camp for fellow citizens in uniform.
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He witnessed the best of Wales has to offer on his journey -Credit:Rob Aston
” I was struggling with my mental health,” said Rob, who is originally from the Midlands, but now lives in west Wales. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
“I didn’t really see a point in waking up in the morning or even being here—it was getting that bad.
“I went to the doctors and they were going to prescribe me pills, but I just see that as being a plaster over a water leak.
“So I thought I’d go and do something mad. I quit my job, saved up a few quid and started walking.”
Rob carried a backpack weighing 20kg and woke up early in the morning to start his day.
“I was wild camping along the way, I’d wake up about 5am or 5.30am, check my body over for ticks and things like that.
“Then it would be a case of strapping my feet up for the blisters, packing everything down into my bag and then getting up and walking.”
Of the 55 days he walked, Rob took four days off, three for an injury and one for a hangover. His exploits raised £1,600 and counting for charity.
Rob walked almost 19.4 miles, or 40,000 steps a day.
Though the Wales Coast Path is 870 miles, Rob clocked in additional miles as he had to look for a camping spot, food, water, and shelter everyday, taking his total to an impressive 991 miles.
It wasn’t always easy -Credit:Rob Aston
“The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is absolutely gorgeous. I did that in a heatwave actually, so that wasn’t too pleasant, but then I met an older gentleman who was about 91, I think I was in St. Ishmael. We were having a chat in a pub and the entire pub went quiet and sort of listened to us talk for about 30 minutes.
“He was extremely interested in what I did, a very wholesome old gentleman, that was really memorable,” he said.
But even in the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, there’s one place that he really liked and that was Moylgrove.
“Around that, it’s just the overall landscape, like the ruggedness of the terrain and the freedom you feel. You feel like you’re almost the only one alive—it’s so barren.”
The journey was difficult at times as Rob dealt with strong winds on the coastline -Credit:Rob Aston
What didn’t live up to his expectations was the north Wales coast.
“It was basically four days of tarmac and caravan parks, that was about it,” he explained, although Ynys Mon stole his heart. “Anglesey was gorgeous,” he said. “Anglesey is definitely up there on my list as second [best].
“It blew my mind that they were still able to leave tractors on the beach with the keys in. The trust in the community there was brilliant but in north Wales, the scenery was just caravans.
“It was so built up that it sort of took away from the natural beauty of things.”
Despite the different sights he enjoyed, the journey was challenging for Rob and the unpredictable Welsh weather did not make it easy for him.
Rob didn’t stay at any accommodation, instead choosing to camp wherever he went -Credit:Rob Aston
“The worst part I think was towards the end because I lost a lot of weight,” he said “To get up and carry on to do it in the lashing rain and the wind, and having to keep moving because you haven’t got a choice— mentally that is the toughest part.
“I was seeing four seasons every day. It was mental.
“The worst part of the whole thing was the wind. I think it was 40 to 60 miles an hour gusts, just before Tenby.
“I was on the coastline up there and it was getting dangerous to be fair. The wind was taking my feet from underneath me.”
However, Rob kept on going due to the support he got on the way.
“There was a pub just outside of Anglesey, I can’t remember what the name of it was, they allowed me to stay in their beer garden. “Everyone I met along the way was really interested in the mission. I had countless conversations, and above all, it put my faith back in humanity a little bit.
We always see so much bad going on in the world, when I believe that if you step out into the world the majority of it is good.”
You can support the Samaritans and Surfers Against Sewage through Rob’s fundraiser and follow his journey on TikTok and Instagram @justrobmate .