My name’s Tom and I moved to London back in 2019. I moved with my girlfriend at the time, with hopes of a more fast-paced lifestyle and better job prospects.
As I was just beginning to settle into the city – the pandemic hit and the world shut down.
It felt like a double blow – being in a new city with a limited social circle and suddenly having no way to connect with people.
At the time, I remember sitting in my flat, staring out the window, feeling like life was happening somewhere else, but not to me.
When Isolation Turned Into a Struggle
Loneliness started bringing all my underlying mental health struggles to the surface, and before I knew it, I was spiralling.
At my lowest, I felt like I was just going through the motions, like I was physically present but emotionally absent.
Without connection, I wasn’t really living – I was just existing and weeks would go by where I barely spoke to anyone except my girlfriend at the time.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with depression during that time, and honestly, I wasn’t surprised.
I lost both of my grandmothers during the pandemic, and that grief, combined with the loneliness, made everything feel even heavier.
Even when restrictions started easing, I felt stuck. I wanted to go out and meet people, but I had no idea where to start.
It wasn’t as simple as just going to a pub and chatting with strangers – it felt like everyone already had their own groups, their own routines, and I was just floating in between.
A Social Walk That Changed Everything
Then, by sheer luck, I met someone at an event who told me about the project and their weekend walks.
So, I took the plunge and went to one of their very first events in November 2021. There were only about 10-15 of us there, and I was nervous as the idea of making friends as an adult felt daunting.
Would people talk to me? Would I have anything to say? Would I feel awkward the whole time?
But within minutes, I realised something – everyone else was there for the same reason. We were all just there, looking for connection. That day, for the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of relief.
That one event turned into a second, then a third. I started going back every weekend, and before I knew it, those small walks snowballed into something much bigger – 15 people quickly turned into hundreds.
I started seeing the same faces week after week, and soon those familiar faces became friends.
We started organising our own meetups outside of the events – going for drinks, trying new activities, and even planning weekend trips together.
Before I knew it, I wasn’t just attending – I was helping out with planning, hosting quizzes, organising music nights and even being chased as a chicken at the annual Easter Egg hunts.
Rediscovering Life Through Friendship
The friendships I formed through the project have become a great source of support and a source of so many great memories, laughter and fun over the last few years.
Interestingly, having that solid circle of friends also taught me to be more comfortable alone. Without loneliness in the background, I feel I can now happily go to the cinema by myself or spend a quiet weekend without feeling restless.
So for me really, joining the project was a major turning point for me – it gave me the connections I had been searching for, the confidence to put myself out there, and the reassurance that I wasn’t alone in how I felt.
