ISLE-SOLATION
Ex-paratrooper walking UK coastline for charity feels like Castaway after getting stranded on remote Shetland island
by Colan LamontAN ex-paratrooper marooned on a remote island has told how he feels like Tom Hanks in Castaway — after he yanked out his own tooth during his travels and watched a football wash up on shore just like in the blockbuster movie.
Chris Lewis, 40, has raised nearly £150,000 for forces veterans after leaving his home in Wales nearly three years ago to walk the entire UK coastline with nothing but a backpack.
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He was sleeping in a tent on mainland Shetland when lockdown was announced on March 23 and stopped him from continuing his epic fundraising journey.
Kind locals have since helped the veteran and his dog Jet get to nearby Hildasay, an uninhabited 108-hectare isle where he has lived alone for the last two months with no running water or electricity in its only house.
Chris, from Swansea, said: “It’s just me and Jet on our own island. Initially when I got to Hildasay I planned on living off the land.
“But the family who own the island are on mainland Shetland and their relative who built a house here in the 1980s sadly died in 2014.
“The house had been sitting there ever since with just a padlock on it.
“The family said they would get the keys to me somehow by boat and that I was more than welcome to use it.
“It’s been surreal being stuck in the same spot.
“I’ve been here a while now and there’s a real difference mentally after the initial excitement of being on an island by yourself.
“It makes you realise it’s not as dreamy as people might think — it’s hard work. Most of the time it’s bad weather and cold.
“Try turning your gas and electricity off in your house and sit there. That’s what it’s like for Jet and I.
“People in Shetland and all over the UK have been amazing. They’ve been phoning the local shop and putting a few quid behind the till for me so I have enough supplies.”
Chris reckons he shares some similarities with Chuck Nolan, Tom Hanks’ FedEx employee character who was stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashed in the South Pacific.
Just as Chuck became friends with his volleyball Wilson in the 2000 flick, Chris has also named his own football and has been forced to perform his own emergency dental work during his three years walking the UK.
He adds: “Along the journey I’ve had to pull out one of my own teeth. Jet’s dog bowl was at the side of my bag and when the wind came it hit me in the face and knocked me clean out.
“I woke up with a split tooth, downed the whisky I had in my hip flask and pulled it out with a rabbit snare.
“I even found a football washed up on shore on Hildasay and got my very own Wilson. I have called her Hilda.
“I’m obviously losing it a little by naming a football after a woman. But you don’t walk the entire UK coast if you’re normal!”
The former paratrooper, who arrived in Scotland two years ago, served in the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment.
He has chosen to support SSAFA — the Armed Forces charity — with his epic trek.
“People in Shetland and all over the UK have been amazing. They’ve been phoning the local shop and putting a few quid behind the till for me so I have enough supplies.”Chris Lewis
After leaving the forces in 2004, Chris found himself on the streets and SSAFA helped him cope with the sudden change in his life.
He was also a single dad to daughter Caitlin, 19, before she left home for college in Bournemouth in 2017.
With First Minister Nicola Sturgeon introducing a phased approach to get Scotland back up and running post-lockdown, Chris doesn’t know how much longer he will be on the island.
But if it’s still a while before he can get on the move, he won’t complain after all the kindness he’s been shown.
He adds: “I’m used to isolation. It’s nothing new for me. I’ll use this time to learn more.
“All of the things I’ve said I’ve never had time to do, this is the time to do them.
“I’ve put on a stone-and-a-half since I’ve been here. It’s just a Rocky training regime using what you have, picking up big rocks and using muscles I’ve not been able to use during the walking.
“People have been amazing with me at a time like this — and I will never forget it. Scotland has changed my life.
“I heard there’s a chance I could get back on the road soon but I’d only do it responsibly.
“The most important thing is getting rid of the coronavirus — that’s what matters.”
To donate and follow the adventures of Chris, click here.