PAR Group Step Challenge

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year, we wanted to do more than simply acknowledge it. We wanted to do something that actually embodies what good mental health looks like in practice,  so we're walking. All of us. Together. The entire length of Great Britain.

Welcome to the PAR Group Land's End to John o'Groats Step Challenge.

Why walking, and why now?

Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 takes place from 12 to 18 May, with this year's theme being Community, celebrating the power and importance of the people around us, and the fact that we thrive when we have strong, supportive connections with each other. Mental Health. That theme couldn't be more fitting for what we're doing. This challenge isn't about fitness or competition. It's about every single person on our team moving a little more, feeling a little better, and doing it together. The science behind it is well established, regular walking reduces anxiety, lifts mood, improves sleep and gives you headspace that's hard to find any other way. It's free, it's accessible to everyone, and it works.

Around one in five adults in the UK has a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. Mental Health Foundation: That's people in every workplace, on every team, in every family. Mental Health Awareness Month exists to open conversations that don't always happen naturally, and we hope this challenge gives our team a reason to get outside, talk to each other, and check in with the people around them.

The challenge

Starting 23rd April and running until 17 May, our team is collectively walking 874 miles, the full length of Britain from Land's End in Cornwall to John o'Groats in the far north of Scotland. That's 1,748,000 steps pooled together across our whole workforce. Every step counts. A lunchtime walk, a morning run, the school run, a stroll with the dog, choosing the stairs, it all adds up, and it all moves the team closer to John o'Groats. This is a collective effort to encourage everybody to get involved!

As our virtual journey heads north, it passes through some very familiar places. After winding up through Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham, the route passes through Newcastle-under-Lyme, home to our friends at Fast Gaskets and Rubberfast, before continuing into our own back yard, through Heywood and Chorley, to PAR Group Preston and Manchester, and then on to Thornaby on Teesside, home to Henry Gallacher.

If getting outside and moving gives someone on our team the chance to talk to a colleague, clear their head after a tough day, or simply feel like they're part of something, then it's done its job. Mental health affects all of us.

At PAR Group, we believe that a healthy, happy team is the foundation, and we're proud to use this challenge to shine a light on something that matters far beyond the workplace. If you're struggling, please reach out to someone on site; we have Mental Health First Aiders who are a good place to start, or you can reach out to the Mental Health Foundation at mentalhealth.org.uk, or call Samaritans free at any time on 116 123.

We'll be sharing updates on our progress throughout the challenge and on other initiatives we are taking to raise awareness. Follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook and cheer the team on as we make our way across the country, one step at a time.