'Christmas Day hike saved me from a miserable day'

Christmas 2023 was going to be a tough, lonely time for Hattie Wilderman in Nottingham.

The 44-year-old had split up with her ex-husband and her two children were not going to be at home for the festive celebrations. Then, her beloved sausage dog Bertie died.

"It was just going to me alone on my own," she says. "I would have stayed in bed all day and been really miserable."

But then it all took a turn for the better when she found out about a Christmas Day hike in the Peak District on social media.

"I thought oh my God, this could be perfect for me," she recalls.

The hike was aimed at anyone who found themselves spending Christmas Day in solitude.

Ms Wilderman says she was "really nervous" at the prospect of turning up alone because she was not confident at meeting new people but was "so glad" she did.

"It just made my day and I couldn't believe how many people were there," she said. "There was no judgement – just people walking together."

Ms Wilderman says anyone struggling alone this year should think about attending this year's Christmas Day hike.

"I really want people to know about it so they're not on their own because if you are alone, it's such a hard day," she says.

Jason Milner, a dad from Dronfield in Derbyshire, has been on the last two Christmas Day hikes while his daughter spent the day with her mum.

The 45-year-old says it was hard facing the day alone.

"My parents were in Australia so I would have been home on my own feeling a little bit sorry for myself," he says.

"It was nice to get out and meet some similar people in a similar situation."

Mr Milner says his first Christmas Day hike was a "life-changing moment".

Now he says he is hooked on hiking, and he even helps to organise them, supporting the founder, Damon Alexander-Cole from Manchester.

Mr Alexander-Cole, 37, started the hikes in 2020, after becoming homeless for a brief period.

He says the walks helped his mental health, and so it became something he wanted to share with the world.

"When you're indoors you can be so internal and negative and when you get out you get yourself moving and in the fresh air you start figuring out solutions to your problems," he said.

Now living with a partner, his dog and running a photography business, Mr Alexander-Cole is preparing for the fifth Christmas Day hike he has organised.

Only one person came to the first Christmas Day hike in 2020.

But the event has gained so much popularity ever since that hundreds are expected to attend this year, says Mr Alexander-Cole.

He says he will be organising three separate walks in the Peak District and Snowdonia as a result.

Anyone looking to spend Christmas Day by themselves should not hesitate to come along, says Mr Alexander-Cole, adding: "You're going to absolutely love it with a great group of people who are all on the same page."

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