A year and a half ago, I had an idea.

I felt it was a good idea, and when I told people, they'd say "Ooh, that's a good idea!"

For a while the idea bubbled under the surface like an evolving fish checking the land for morsels. The time wasn't right to take the first steps, so I let it mature in the back of my mind until earlier this year.

It was a simple idea, but they say the best ones are. I would offer a listening ear to people who needed to talk, with the backdrop of a walk through the great British countryside. Getting away from the hustle and bustle, into nature and having an opportunity to open up and talk seemed like a nice thing to give. From experience, I knew that if such a service were around when I was depressed I'd have found it very helpful.

An old friend, one who'd praised the idea when I told her, got in touch in the spring to say she was feeling low. She'd mentioned past depression during a social walk we took in summer last year, and I asked if she'd like to take part in the idea. The charity. Would she like to be the first client for Walking for Wellbeing? We arranged fortnightly walks and covered a lot of ground, both physically and in terms of her depression. We walked, she talked, I listened and developed my basic counselling skills, she opened her soul and discovered things she needed to face. Once she'd clarified what she wanted to achieve she asked her GP for further counselling and is now in the system on her way to getting fixed. All this while covering miles of quiet, beautiful rural countryside on foot.

The benefits of countryside walking to mental health became obvious to me after a course of counselling for depression ended in 2008. My parents had been walking for a few years and it'd done them the world of good as individuals and as a couple. In February 2009 I came across a pair of walking shoes in a charity shop and got me and daughter out of the house to investigate some paths. Before I knew it I'd covered 185 miles in seven months, my OS map was covered in pink highlighter and I was hooked. My parents were kind enough to buy me new boots and I've never looked back, other than to see where I've come from and enjoy the view.

Walking provides what I call empty-head time. When I'm stomping across the countryside I'm not really thinking anything, but my head's busy turning things over and clarifying thoughts and emotions. It's like a wakeful dream, with no distractions or interruptions, nothing to command your attention other than where to put your feet and where to point your body. The exercise is great for the body and the mind, and getting out of your routine, out of your comfort zone and into the quiet countryside can be very calming.

So, once I'd cut my teeth, proven the concept was sound and built my confidence in the idea, I put some posters together and posted them in doctor's surgeries, the town supermarket and community centre and the sports centre. That was about four months ago and finally, yesterday, someone called and asked to go for a walk.

Someone phoned my idea!

We ended the call after we'd discussed the service and exchanged contact details. I bounced, and laughed, and almost cried, and laughed again. I texted a couple of people to share my excitement. We're meeting tomorrow afternoon, probably in the rain, to wander around the parks and talk about what we might achieve together.

I'll have calmed down by then, but I won't lose this feeling, the knowledge that a complete stranger, one who's not feeling 100% about themselves and the world around them, had enough faith in this good idea to pick up the phone and reach out.