A star of The Traitors has left the Highland castle where it is filmed for a 1,200km trek to mark his “miracle” recovery from a brain injury.
Andrew Jenkins, 46, who was a finalist in the second series of the hit BBC show, will walk 1,200km over the next 42 days to raise funds for Headway – the brain injury association.
The walk began at Ardross Castle, near Alness, on Sunday and will end at Cardiff Castle in November.
Andrew was told, aged 21, he may never walk again after suffering a serious brain injury in a crash.
The incident forced him to abandon his promising rugby career.
‘The Traitors castle changed my life’
However, Headway says he was described as a “miracle patient” after making a full recovery.
Now, 25, years later, Andrew is raising money for Headway and awareness of the mental health challenges.
Andrew, from Wales, said: “Being back at The Traitors castle – a place that changed my life – has brought back great memories and it was the perfect place for me to start the walk.
“Headway does incredible work to support survivors of brain injuries and their families as it can have a huge impact on all of their lives too as my family and I found out following my accident.
“I’m delighted to be able to raise awareness and funds for their vital work through the trek.”
He added: “I’m also undertaking this challenge for everyone out there who has been told they can’t do something, who think they can’t achieve anything, and who have lost their self-belief.
“I want to show them that even though life can feel impossibly hard at times, there’s always a way forward – literally one step after the next can take you a long way.”
The Big Trek will include stops at Lancaster Castle in England and Carrickfergus Castle in Northern Ireland so it covers all four home nations.
Conversation