Hi, welcome back to normal blogging! I hope you enjoyed the Polar Bear Winter Festival but now Christmas is over and we’re back to the regular non-winter-related twice-a-week posts. I don’t talk about TV much and when I do, it’s either about Iceland or somewhere suitably Nordic. But today I’m talking about Marvel’s Hawkeye miniseries. … More Archer reacts to Marvel’s Hawkeye
While I was at my cottage last week, in a rural bit of Somerset, I wanted to go for a walk. I had my daily 2km to walk – yes, even when I’m on holiday – and I’d invested in the cutest map. I knew Ordnance Survey offer custom maps (see my Single Map series … More A custom map, a muddy field and an unexpected hillfort
I think it’s time for the Polar Bear Winter Festival to veer sharply from the wistful (“I miss Iceland and Svalbard and still can’t travel!”) to the everyday. I try to be outdoorsy and walking in winter is definitely a thing you can do. Enjoying the great outdoors is fine in summer. Everyone wants to … More Walking in winter
After my post the other day about the big rescue in OFD, I thought it was about time I did some more cave content. I picked this particular trip because it involved a nice “bimbly” trip with photos – underground photos from my caving days are spectacularly rare – but it also, and completely coincidentally, … More A long caving weekend in the Mendips
It is November 4th and I walked 1000km in 2021! (Ok, it’s November 15th and I finished a week and a half ago but I needed my medal to arrive before I posted this) Last year I did a similar challenge, aiming for 500km of exercise in 2020. I achieved that by September and was … More I walked 1000km in 2021!
Over the weekend, you may have caught this story, which made headline news across the UK: Man rescued from cave after two days, the story of an injured caver in South Wales who had a somewhat… difficult rescue. In fact, it took 250-odd people more than 53 hours to get him out. If you’re not … More Why did it take so long to get the injured caver out of the cave?
Welcome, come on in! This is Pip and Pip’s Cabin, my home for the weekend on the border of Devon and Cornwall. The place is actually called Spring Park and it has eight quirky little places to stay scattered around in their own private gardens. Duke, Duchess and Ragnarr are restored wagons, Hercules is a … More A tour of Pip and Pip’s Cabin | Glamping at Launceston 2021
Dartmoor is 70! Well, it will be the day after tomorrow, October 30th. And by 70, I mean it’s 70 years since it was designated England and Wales’ fourth National Park. The other three weren’t far ahead, all designated in 1951 too. The Peak District came first, in April, followed by the Lake District in … More Happy 70th birthday to Dartmoor! | Glamping at Launceston 2021
My ordinary church hall Brownies seem to have become Forest Brownies. I’m in an outdoorsy bushcraft wild state of mind and the plague is still ravaging, so Monday Evenings Indoors Brownies are (maybe temporarily) Forest Brownies now. Being a Brownie leader is stressful sometimes, especially when you only took on the Brown Owl job right … More Forest Brownies: campcraft & firelighting in the woods
I’ve just watched someone in all seriousness tell a fairly large following that you can use Google Earth to plan a hike and therefore I need to announce categorically that no, you cannot! And thus here is how to plan a hike.. This is about the route, by the way. It’s not about equipment, experience, … More How to plan a hike
I Am A Polar Bear 