Lincolnshire
Fundraising
Celebrating Chris Jones
After walking an incredible 6,479 miles. Taking 13 million steps, and spending nearly two years away from home, Chris Jones has completed his monumental journey around Britain.
A Freemason from Lincolnshire, Chris set out with the goal of raising funds for the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF, the Freemasons’ charity). He wanted to shoot for the moon and aim for £100,000 to be raised. Chris is currently amongst the stars with £75,000 collected, with the moon in sight, as donations keep rolling in. Already, Chris has become the largest single fundraiser for the MCF, so we wanted to extend our deepest thanks to Chris for his dedication and support.
While the excitement of Chris’s wonderful achievement is noteworthy, it’s also important to acknowledge Chris’s own personal journey. For 10 years, he struggled with mental health challenges, facing numerous low points along the way. It was his wife, Michelle, who encouraged him to seek help. As Chris recalls, ‘I can’t remember why I was looking at the MCF website, but I saw a link to a Mental Health Support programme. I called the number, and 35 minutes later I received a call back from a mental health specialist. We talked for over an hour. She set me up on a counselling programme and I don’t have any doubt that her persistence, understanding and thoroughness saved my life.’
According to Mental Health UK, men often conceal their struggles with mental health, which can make their challenges even harder to overcome. Yet, Chris found the strength to ask for help when he needed it most.
Grateful for the support he received, Chris wanted to give back to the MCF so others in similar situations could have access the help they need. He decided on walking around Britain, where he started his walk from Skegness on New Year’s Day in 2023 and ended it there on 14 December 2025. His massive endeavour resulted in him visiting 44 Provinces (21 in England and Wales, 23 in Scotland), spending over 400 nights in a tent and meeting Freemasons all around the country.
I’m constantly being asked what the best piece of coastline was or what was the nicest part of the walk and it’s been difficult to respond as we have many beautiful places on our coast. After much contemplation, I now know. It wasn’t the endless sandy beaches of Northumberland, the wilderness of the West coast of Scotland, the beautiful sunsets from the West coast of Wales or the dramatic cliff top walking on the Jurassic coast of Devon and Dorset. It was the people I met in all these places, the people that welcomed me, that looked after me, that shared their food and their stories with me. Despite the difficulties so many people have dealing with poor mental health, the stories about how they were saved or how they are managing their problems with the help and support of other people, it is these stories that define the best parts of my walk.
