Group of Wigan friends set up rambling society to encourage men to talk about their mental health

After joking that they were “past their best” and feeling the effects of approaching 40, Sam Roberts and his friends Jack Rasburn and Sam Cleworth decided to take action by starting a walking group.

The group, now known as the Fat Lads Rambling Society, initially consisted of just two men taking a walk up Rivington.

The following week, numbers doubled to four, and by the third walk, 16 men had joined. Since then, interest has continued to grow rapidly.

Sam said: “We decided we were going to go for walks to build our fitness and to have a bit of a break from work.

"When we first started it was just me and Jack, we just went for a walk, on our own and then one of the lads said ‘oh well you should have said I'd have come with you’ and then as soon as we actually opened it up to the public and said would anybody else be interested, there was quite a lot of reaction straight away.

"We've met people we didn't know before and they said just being out for a couple of hours is good for their health when they're struggling.

“We've not much else apart from working and children, its a bit of a release more than anything, just a bit of time away to yourself and a bit of fitness while you're there, just lose a bit of weight.”

After setting up a Facebook page, the group gained 250 followers within 12 hours.

The page has since grown to nearly 400 followers, with 36 active walkers regularly taking part.

Several members have spoken openly about struggling with mental health, explaining that meeting new people, getting fresh air and having the chance to talk has made a significant difference.

One person said: Never met a single one of you in my life but I was made to feel welcome straight away.

"I’ve been going through it mentally recently and seeing the post on Facebook I just thought why not give it a go, couldn’t hurt!

"I’m not the chattiest person I’ll be honest but even just being a part of something and being around people, not stuck at home with your own thoughts, makes more of a difference than a lot of people would realise.”

Sam added: “We didn't realise there was such a need for the group. There's obviously a lot of men out there who kind of need that bit of break.

"We have a WhatsApp group and a Facebook page. The Facebook page is open to the public and then the active walkers who want to come along join the WhatsApp group.

"Details of each week's walk gets put in on a Wednesday, so we have got a lot of people now coming who's contacted us just through Facebook, asking can they come along.

"It's open to anybody, it's just a men's group, there's no other ties to it, just be a man and come for a walk.”