Men Walking and Talking - Aylesbury

Men Walking and Talking run mental health walks, with the aim of bringing men together in a safe space to end the stigma around men's mental health by supporting each other. Initially started in 2021 by Dan Reid in Telford, and having only one attendee on the first walk, it has now close to 50 groups across Great Britain.

Dan Reid is a man who struggled with his own mental health demons and started going for walks to clear his head, soon he’d be joined by others , one walk would become 2 then 3 and now 4 years later we’re approaching 50 walking groups helping hundreds of men.

To read his story click here 

We walk and we talk. Countless research has shown that it is vital for us as humans to have  personal connections and interactions with people.* Not only can this help with restore good mental health but it can be preventative too. We often have members confide in us that they were on the edge and coming to our walks helped them walk back from that cliff. 

We’re not mental health professionals, though most of our Walk Leaders are Mental health First Aiders, we’re just a group of blokes who meet once a week and walk and talk. There’s no pressure to talk about your issues, or to talk at all unless you’re comfortable doing so, some weeks we just discuss what our weeks been like, others we get deeper. We’re a shoulder to cry on, a friendly face when you’re feeling lonely.

We’re a group of men who say it’s ok to cry, to feel vulnerable and ask for help.

* The “central” importance of loneliness in mental health: A network psychometric study Pascalidis & Bathelt, 2024