A man is walking the UK’s coastline for charity and has recently arrived in Cumbria.

Tim Jones, 34, from Stoke-on-Trent, took on the challenge roughly seven weeks ago in central Wales.

By yesterday, he was in Barrow-in-Furness, having last week begun his journey in Cumbria, heading steadily north, having walked the coast of the Isle of Man prior.

He is completing the mammoth walk of roughly 11,000 miles for the mental health charity Mind which he said was close to his heart.

“I’ve struggled from a young age with my own mental health, and especially in Christmas and the New Year, and walking is good for the soul,” he said.

He is doing this full time, funded by his own money as well as donations he receives from the Buy Me a Coffee service through which people can donate small amounts of money, equivalent to buying someone a coffee.

He uses money for various things, but mainly to fortify himself and keep the journey progressing.

He is not a professional athlete, as he explained: “I just enjoy walking, and I’ve got the dog (a three-year-old Staffie cross boxer called Monty) who loves walking.”

He is using the coastal paths as much as possible, including islands, so has completed Anglesey and the Isle of Man already, and will start to walk the many Scottish islands roughly four weeks from now.

Mr Jones has given himself a rough estimate of four to five years in terms of how long he will have spent doing the whole walk, and it will take a very long time to do all the Scottish islands when incorporating the ferries required.

He said he’s relying mostly on the public for help and is wild camping by default: “Obviously, it’s cold at the minute, so I’m asking for support through the British public and companies, asking people if they’ve got caravans and if they could put us up for the night.

“Lately it’s been a little bit quiet, and I’ve had to spend some of my own money on accommodation,” he added.

It’s also a testament to the power of the internet, as he has relied on using groups on social media to reach out to people along the way.

His group has accumulated 600 followers on Facebook and is expected to grow with time.

From Barrow, he is expected to reach Carlisle by the 14th or 15th of January, then take on Scotland.

To follow his journey, visit his Facebook group called Walking the UK Coast for Mind, which is accessible by clicking here.

For links to his JustGiving page and Buy Me a Coffee page, click here.