Max Wiecko

We are delighted to highlight the work Max has been doing, which has helped many people. Just over 12 years ago, Max set up a walking group and named it WALKING FOR PLEASURE. He sent out messages to all his friends and promised everyone he would moderate the Facebook page properly, after having had a bad experience of online trolling, on another walking group forum.
Walking for Pleasure has been going for nearly thirteen years and they now have 16,500 members worldwide. Here is Max’s story.
‘The number of private messages that I’ve received saying this is the friendliest group on Facebook, is dozens and fills me with pride. Seven years ago, Facebook sent me a private message saying that they were going to send me a cheque for £1000, for promoting mental health and that I could do whatever I wanted with it. I donated £500 to MIND and £500 to Llanberis Mountain Rescue team.
I have been contacted by members who live in South Africa, Denmark, the USA, and Holland, who were visiting the UK, asking me to take them for a walk, and I have met them and taken them for a walk. Anybody who loves walking, nature and photography is welcome to join and we encourage people to engage and organise group walks.
Last year for the group I personally organised 77 walks, they were attended by 147 different people. In Wrexham and the N.E. Wales area we have about 100 members who walk with us. We have a social scene as well and I organise a meal in the summer and the winter. The summer meal was in Ijazz and the winer one in Levant, both attended by approximately 50 people.
The first mountain I ever climbed was Tryfan when I was 17 years old, and I am still walking mountains now, at the age of 63.
Walking is the best medicine ever; it is good for you both physically and mentally. I have had people say to me that they were on medication for their mental health issues, but since they attended group walks, they have stopped taking it. Walking has opened many avenues for me, through meeting new people, to attending a dry-stone wall course, hedge laying, and I now volunteer for the Woodland Trust, after I attended a course about ancient trees at Chirk Castle.’
Well done, Max, an incredible achievement!