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Man skipping length of UK to 'spread joy and kindness'

Angela FergusonNorth West
Krish Patel A man with a beard and short brown hair and wearing running gear is smiling and standing on the Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn. His arms are raised to either side and he is holding a rainbow-coloured skipping rope. A car and lorry can be seen driving over the bridge.Krish Patel
Krish Patel pictured crossing the Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn as part of his challenge

A man has pledged to skip the length of the UK on a mission to "prove kindness exists everywhere".

Krish Patel is skipping 900 miles (1148 km) from Land's End to John O'Groats - the equivalent of 40 marathons in 40 days - during his Great British Skip challenge.

The 34-year-old, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said he was inspired after seeing skipping children "laughing with joy" while he was volunteering at schools in Uganda and Manchester.

"It clearly brings smiles, it brings joy so I thought, you know what, what about if I skip the length of the UK with a skipping rope," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

He began the challenge on 18 August and expects to finish in Scotland on 26 September and hopes to raise £520,000 for charity.

Krish Patel A man with a beard and short brown hair and wearing running gear is smiling while standing next to the Cheshire sign on the Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn. His arms are raised to either side and he is holding a rainbow-coloured skipping rope.Krish Patel
Krish Patel skipped through Cheshire and into Greater Manchester as part of his journey

"I wondered if anyone had ever done it before," Patel said.

"They've not, and I basically thought I'd open up a kindness portal where people could submit stories of kindness to this portal as I skip the length of the UK."

He said he had not done much skipping prior to the challenge but trained for four months ahead of his journey.

Speaking as he reached the Greater Manchester area, he said his longest day of skipping so far involved a 34-mile (55 km) stretch from Delamere Forest to Wigan, taking him just over 10 hours.

Krish Patel A man wearing running gear and a cap is skipping with his back to the camera. A large white suspension bridge can be seen ahead of him. His arms are raised in the air as he is skipping with a rainbow-coloured skipping rope. Krish Patel
Krish Patel is skipping the equivalent of 40 marathons over 40 days

Patel said he wanted to raise the money for the 52-Lives charity and its free School of Kindness workshops, put on in primary schools across the country.

The charity said the workshops were designed "to empower children by helping them realise that the little choices they make every day have the power to change the world, while improving their own physical and mental health at the same time".

The charity also supports struggling families by connecting them with those who can offer help.

Patel founded the Tales to Inspire social enterprise in Bolton in 2019, with its aim being "to bring people together through the power of real, lived experiences".

His partner Mel Fielding said: "Everything he does encompasses storytelling and documenting stuff to inspire people.

"So when he told me he wanted to do this I wasn't surprised."

She said that even on his rest day he delivered an inspiring assembly for pupils at Coppell Parish School in Chorley.

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