In 2023, finally understanding that his life circumstances were not making him happy, Glen Pilkington made a big move, from Oxfordshire to the north-west and the hills.
The scent of the woodland, the sun dappling through leaves hanging from the trees, and the repetitive sound of my boots on rough paths – this is my new therapy.
Over the last five years, life has been difficult. A separation, divorce, change in financial circumstances, hospitalisation with Covid-19 and then work changes. When would it end? If there was ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, this seemed to be a very long tunnel. I had tried to deal with everything on my own, as many men do, staying quiet a lot of the time and not asking for help. Over time, my mood continued to decline and I became isolated, depressed and anxious.
I clearly remember the day that things had to change. Over a telephone call, my older sister said: ‘Only you can actually do something and make the decision – no one is going to do it for you’. It was a stark comment but after the previous five years, I finally realised, it was up to me. If I didn’t make a change, I would always look back on life and wonder, ‘what if?’.
My life for more than 35 years had been a neatly scheduled symphony of spreadsheets and deadlines, but had morphed into a cacophony of discontent. I felt constricted by office walls and isolated working from home – the glow from the laptop screens left me hollow. Life seemed to happen to me and decisions, especially in my personal life, never really felt like my own.
Taking control
It was time to trade city life for my beloved fells, the keyboard for climbing holds, and the glare of screens for sunrises. My escape route?
Relocating to the north-west of England. I grew up in Lancashire, and from a very early age we took holidays in the Lake District where as a family we camped and walked in the fells. My dad was a big walker and he passed on his passion for the fells to me. I yearned to go home.
I made the move in autumn 2023 with a one-way ticket to a new home, a backpack overflowing with hope and uncertainty, and a thirst for rediscovery. There, the shackles of my old life, severed by miles and mindset, finally snapped. I was seeing my life and future, once unthinkable, with new clarity. Fear of the unknown was eclipsed by the thrill of possibility. This wasn’t just a job change; it was a declaration of independence, an exhilarating leap of faith into the unknown.
The first step was movement. My body, stiff from years of desk-bound paralysis, reawakened beneath the endless sky. Hikes that initially left me gasping became invigorating. My lungs burned with clean air, my muscles sang with exertion (still aching but for the right reasons!). Each step f
