Early-risers go from dark into light on Walk of Hope
SOME 740 early-risers started their Sunday at 4am with a walk round the east coast to raise awareness of suicide and remember loved ones.
The concept of walking ‘from dark to light’ aims to create conversations about suicide and bring comfort to those who have lost friends and family to suicide.
The east coast was graced with a superb sunrise as walkers made their way from Vale Castle to La Vallette.
‘It’s a very special walk because it’s supportive, reflective and people talk about all sorts of things,’ said Guernsey Mind chief executive Jo Cottell.
‘It was pretty perfect with the weather because it was so still and people seemed to enjoy it and got something out of it as well.’
Last year more than 600 people took part, and numbers were up by more than 100 this year.
About 25 dogs were also brought along for the journey.
While some people choose to walk in silence, others were having conversations about suicide and mental health awareness.
Some wore the names or photographs of friends and family they were walking in memory of.
‘It was very atmospheric, people are walking for an hour or so and it’s an opportunity for people to check in on each other,’ said Mrs Cottell.
‘We let people take from it what they like, but it seems to instil gentle enquiring and people checking in on each other which has a really lovely feel.’
Darkness into Day is specially written and recorded to link with Walk
This year’s walk was backed by a specially-recorded song.
‘Tim Osborne recorded a song called Darkness into Day, with local singer Georgia Pollock, who goes by the name of ROMA,’ said Mrs Cottell.
‘There is a video that they put together as well, which has some fabulous shots of Guernsey and a bit of the walk as well.
‘When Tim approached us, we thought the lyrics were
really resonant of what we do with the Walk of Hope, which is walking from the darkness into the light.’
. The video can be viewed on the georgiasmusic.gsy page on Instagram.
