Iceland is a country where travel can be difficult – only 11% of the land is habitable, another 11% is covered in glaciers, snow coats everything more than a couple of miles inland for up to ten months of every year, mountain roads frequently have glacial rivers running through them, a lot of roads are… More Photoset: Large Icelandic vehicles
I have a confession to make. I, at the age of too-old-to-care, have discovered fashion & beauty bloggers, vloggers and influencers – and I find myself starting to care. When I went to Paris in January, I conscientiously looked up “what to wear in Paris”. A lot of striped woolly jumpers, black heeled boots and… More Travel blogger style
The first time I jumped off a mountain was my twenty-first birthday. I was in Austria, in the village where my parents have spent their summer holiday every single summer since 2005 or 2006, and I’d been watching people soar through the sky for years. I’d always thought it looked magical. And now I was… More My first paraglide
I spent last weekend at Girlguiding’s flagship annual event, the massive festival-themed camp Wellies & Wristbands. I’ve done quite a lot of camping and quite a lot of Guide camping but Pixie, my other leader…. is not very experienced. So here are ten things you should know before taking your Guides to camp: 1 Guide… More 10 Things You Should Know Before Taking Guides to Camp
I went to Wellies & Wristbands last weekend. It’s Girlguiding’s huge annual festival camp and I’d been looking forward to it for weeks. It was a bit of a washout. (I didn’t take many pictures. I did a few videos and put them on Instagram Stories and they’re now saved as a highlight on my… More Wellies & Washout 2018
Back in the summer of 2014, I rented a car and based myself in and around Borgarnes, on Iceland’s west coast and spent one of the days driving around Snæfellsnes. You can do it in a day but I find it’s such a long way and there are so many things to stop for that by… More The Volcano Adventures: Climbing Saxhóll
At the moment, it seems like I add another place I just need to go to my to-go list – wow that’s a messed-up sentence! – every other week. So I thought I’d write them down. 1) Russia View this post on Instagram A post shared by Topaz Hooper (@topaztravelstheworld) Yes, let’s be specific with the… More 10 Places I Want to Go To in the Next Five Years
Sundhöllin is Reykjavik’s oldest public pool. Designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, who also designed Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik’s Catholic cathedral and the big church in Akureyri, it’s a Art Deco style building and was opened in 1937. Unusually for an Icelandic pool, it’s freezing. I visited a couple of years ago. It’s right in the centre of downtown… More I visited the new Sundhöllin extension
I know that in the twenty-first century, the only people who don’t use a mobile phone for the time are the over-70s and stand-up comedians. But I like a watch and I wear one whenever I leave the house. It’s particularly essential when I’m travelling. How else am I going to know when to get… More Useful Travel Items: Watches
I know, I only did “My apartment in Glasgow!” the other day and now I’m already showing you around my room in Edinburgh. For the last three visits, I’ve stayed in Euro Hostels. It’s based in Kincaid’s Court, which is a student block just off Cowgate. Last summer it was having work done and the… More My room in Edinburgh