Travel, outdoors & adventure blogger who loves Iceland, camping and swimming.
For the last nearly-week, I’ve been asked that question many times, by friends, family, colleagues & people who fit in multiple categories. And I don’t really know how to answer. You’re supposed to enjoy all your travels and holidays unconditionally, especially if you’re going to write two month’s worth of blog posts about them. But … More “How was Iceland?”
I’ve talked a lot about the time I got on the wrong train in Finland and went through the train wash. And I’ve talked about my Romanian train accident too but not recently. In June 2009, I went to Bucharest. It was hot. It was chaotic. It was difficult to get train tickets out of … More An unplanned day in Transylvania
You may know I’m a Guide & Ranger leader. You may not know I’m a member of the Trefoil Guild. That’s “Guiding for Adults”, although I usually describe it as “Brownies for grown-ups”. The Trefoil have meetings, do what they like and have no unit leader responsibilities. All the fun, none of the hassle. However, … More I finished my Bronze Voyage Award!
Snæfellsnes is a relatively quiet and peaceful part of Iceland. Every first-time tourist does the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle and a good proportion of them go along the south coast. But it’s a long day trip to do from Reykjavik so Snæfellsnes tends to be the preserve of the slightly more hardened tourist. I … More Photoset: Snæfellsnes
Growing up with reasonably good access to Poole Harbour (the second biggest natural harbour in the world, you know, albeit with an average depth of just 48cm), it took until I was at university to realise what a waste it was never to have used it, and then the best part of another decade to … More Sailing in a storm
I love Iceland with all my heart and soul but there’s no way to say this without sounding like a hipster: I loved it before it was popular. Not because I wanted it all to myself (although I do!) but because Iceland is too small and too fragile to cope with the volumes of visitors, … More It’s now official: tourism is killing Iceland
Over the summer, I saw a post on Instagram that said, amongst other things: What did the younger, idealistic version of yourself want to do when they ‘grew up’? Are you doing it? Once you start earning a wage it’s easy to stop trying for more. To stop chasing your goals. To become settled and … More Having a job is eeevil!
I pick up the story of my trip to Edinburgh on Sunday morning. Tom and I were going to see Ashley Storrie on Sunday afternoon. He had plans to meet someone around Sunday lunchtime; I had plans to try to catch up on a little sleep. However, the hostel was so noisy and I can’t … More EdFringe 2017 part 2
I wasn’t going to write this post because I was ashamed of how much stuff I took with me. I’m terrible at packing and I’ve never mastered the art of packing light. But come with me and see how atrocious it was. This is the bag I took with me. It’s my favourite Mountain Equipment … More Packing for Edinburgh
2017 is my third Fringe, although I did make two trips up there in 2013 – one scheduled and one spontaneous when FOMA got the better of me. Actually, I’d only been half-thinking about going this year (I was only working two days a week after two months of unemployment) but then in the pub … More EdFringe 2017 part 1
I Am A Polar Bear 