Walking Back To Happiness

When life’s not all sunshine and roses, TV’s Julia Bradbury knows what to do. Linda Dearsley reports

- Linda Dearsley

It’s difficult to imagine a more positive, cheerful person than TV presenter Julia Bradbury. With her glossy hair, glowing skin and sunny smile, she radiates boundless energy and good health as she laces up her boots and strides off on another country walk.

If this is what walking does for you, we should all try to be a bit more like Julia. Certainly her TV series following her on picturesque walks have proved popular.

But she wasn’t always like this. A few years ago, Julia felt really down. Day after day, she was miserable and low and just couldn’t seem to pull herself out of it. In the end, she sought medical help.

‘I went to my GP,’ says Julia, 47. ‘I’ve got a very close family but I felt I needed to talk to someone outside, someone neutral. A combination of worries had built up in my life. I’d just been diagnosed with endometriosis, which can affect fertility. I hadn’t had children at that point but I knew I wanted a family. Then there were difficulties at work and emotional ups and downs with a relationship. After a while, it was just too much.’

It was baffling for Julia, because it was so out of character. ‘Normally, I’m a problem-solver,’ she says. ‘I don’t wallow in self-pity, I hate to be a pain in the neck to people, but I began to feel sad all the time. I lost my energy and vigour. My mojo had gone.’