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I Am A Polar Bear

Travel, adventure & wellness with plenty of snow

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Category: Adventures

I decided not to climb a mountain in Wales! | iamapolarbear.com

I decided not to climb a mountain in Wales!

November 28, 2022

On Thursday, I left you at the foot of Fan Brycheiniog, after having climbed to the summit and then descended the sharp ridge and walked down the mountain that way. It was getting dark by the time we got back to the car and pretty properly dark by the time we were driving back to … More I decided not to climb a mountain in Wales!

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I climbed a mountain in Wales | iamapolarbear.com

I climbed a mountain in Wales

November 24, 2022

At the weekend I went to Wales for a Region level 3 walking weekend. In our part of the country, landscapes that fit the Remote criteria are a bit harder to get at than they might be for people who live further north, so when we do a level 3 walking weekend, it’s usually in … More I climbed a mountain in Wales

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I met the Rebel Badge Club! | iamapolarbear.com

I met the Rebel Badge Club!

October 20, 2022

I suppose this doesn’t strictly come under the headings of “travel”, “outdoors” or “adventure” but I’ve done so much that does come under one of those labels thanks to the Rebel Badge Book that I think you should see the inaugural Big Rebel Meet Up of the Rebel Badge Club. There are 3,884 members in the … More I met the Rebel Badge Club!

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How did my garden grow in 2022? | iamapolarbear.com

How did my garden grow in 2022?

October 13, 2022

I think it’s time for a garden update, to be a bit less sweary than Joe Lycett’s Instagram garden updates. We’re going outside, as we often do on this blog, but we’re only going as far as the garden. I’ve become a keen veg grower in the last couple of years and I think it’s … More How did my garden grow in 2022?

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I did the Pawprint Volcanoes badge | iamapolarbear.com

I did my Pawprint Volcanoes badge!

October 10, 2022

I know, you frequently see “I did [this or that] Rebel Badge but I do other badges as well. I spied that Pawprint Badges had a Volcanoes badge and as they’re big and beautiful and I was going to Iceland, I thought I’d do that one. To be honest, I find Pawprint badges work better … More I did my Pawprint Volcanoes badge!

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A shorter walk up tors and across downs | iamapolarbear.com

A shorter walk up tors and across downs

October 6, 2022

Welcome to part two of my Dartmoor weekend! Today we’re off on a different route, in the hope of getting another logbook walk. But today we’re setting off in two groups rather than splitting up. In theory, that’s because there are now eight of us and that’s a tiny bit big for a walking group. … More A shorter walk up tors and across downs

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A tor-bagging walk around Haytor | iamapolarbear.com

A tor-bagging walk around Haytor

October 3, 2022

Last weekend I went to Dartmoor and this is the first of two posts on the walks I did. It was a joint Girlguiding Region walking weekend, the aim of which is to run a level 2 walking training but there’s room at the centre for a few extra so it’s open to leisure walkers … More A tor-bagging walk around Haytor

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Meet my one-man tent! | iamapolarbear.com

Meet my little yellow tent

September 29, 2022

It’s occurred to me that I’ve taken a one-man tent to Iceland five times now and I’ve never introduced you! Meet my one-man tent! It’s a Blacks Octane 1 and while it wasn’t the budgetiest of budget one-man tents, it’s probably the second or third budgetiest. If I’d realised I’d still be carting it around … More Meet my little yellow tent

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What were the campsites in Iceland like? | iamapolarbear.com

What were the campsites in Iceland like?

September 26, 2022

I stayed on four campsites in Iceland this summer and I thought I’d do you a little review of each of them. I spent two nights at Hveragerði because I wanted to see the volcano but also have options beyond Reykjanes when the weather was bad, moved up to Laugarvatn, stayed in the hobbit house … More What were the campsites in Iceland like?

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I didn't qualify at Try Inspire Qualify! | iamapolarbear.com

I didn’t qualify at Try Inspire Qualify!

September 19, 2022

That’s a total clickbait title – for the first time, I deliberately didn’t book a qualification at Try Inspire Qualify because there were none I wanted to do that I haven’t already done. Try Inspire Qualify has a lot in common with Camp Wildfire, actually: a lot of adults taking the weekend off being responsible … More I didn’t qualify at Try Inspire Qualify!

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Who am I?
I'm Julie, a travel, adventure and wellness blogger. I love Iceland, I love jumping into hot water and I do love a bit of snow.

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Most popular posts

  • The Guide Camp Kit List part three: the bedding roll
  • Which is the best public swimming pool in Reykjavik?
  • Tent review: Eurohike Sendero 4 vs Cairns 5 DLX
  • Which is the best geothermal lagoon to visit in Iceland while the Blue Lagoon is closed?
  • The Guide Camp Kit List part two: the camp blanket
The reason I was in Scarborough was for the Trefoil Guild annual meeting. The Trefoil Guild is Guiding for adults and in some ways it’s better than Girlguiding: no responsibility for children, because it’s adults only, and open to everyone, regardless of gender or Guiding experience. In practice, it’s almost entirely female, heavily leans towards retired leaders and is having a membership crisis because the average age is somewhere in the 60s or 70s and new members aren’t joining at quite the pace that older members are leaving. Having been a member for ten years now, I don’t stand out among them quite as much as I did when I was a mere child of 30. I really liked Scarborough! It’s got a spectacular beach with cliffs at all ends, it’s got the oldest cliff lift in the country, I had an ice cream, I walked in the shallows until I had my feet scratched to bits by sand and salt under my sandal straps and the water was an incredible colour. Not pictured: a cheese toastie from a beach kiosk, four sticks of traditional Scarborough rock and 27km walked mostly back & forth across the beach in under 48 hours. I’ve done a few train adventures in my time but this was one I was… dubious about. Southampton to Scarborough by CrossCountry (well, Southampton to York, then a quick hop by TransPennine Express to Scarborough), so basically the entire length of England. So much potential for it to all go wrong, to the point that I’d taken to saying I was “hopefully” going to Scarborough this weekend. The UK rail network doesn’t have much of a reputation for reliability and CrossCountry tends to send shorter trains than the route requires, so half the passengers end up standing, packed in shoulder to shoulder. After a slightly intimidating UK train adventure this weekend, I’m off to Iceland for some geothermal and volcanic adventures next week, so I thought I’d go back to this volcano where I inadvertently became part of a Channel 4 documentary three years ago (see link in bio and skip to 32:27!) I often casually mention the boathouse and boat club, so let’s talk about it! I have a niece. She's three months old and I have very little interest in or enthusiasm for the baby stage - there was no, "Oh, I've suddenly realised I need one of these!" moments when I first met her, just a "yeah, I was right, I'm not a baby person". I just don't get the appeal of babies. Maybe there's a gene I'm lacking. This week has been #volunteersweek Week and as a long-term Girlguiding volunteer (adult leader for nearly 19 years but I started as Brownie helper when I was 13), I’m seeing a lot of “Thank you for volunteering!” and “we love our volunteers!” posts from every level and I have mixed feelings about it. I’m supposed to be promoting my book, A Polar Night’s Tale, this week but that moment of bravery has passed - I can see that I’ve sold one copy but I’m pretty sure Lulu is hiding another two or three from me. Thank you everyone who’s been positive about it! MY BOOK IS OUT!!!

About Julie

I'm a blogger, adventurer, lover of hot water, amateur paddler and polar bear who wilts in hot weather. Time (by day, I'm a researcher) and funds keep me within Europe and I make regular trips up to the north, especially to Iceland. I like the occasional adventure across Europe by train and I'm starting to make use of my weekends for 48-hour adventures. This isn't my only creative outlet - I've written two travelogues (one on a winter adventure across the Arctic Circle and one on exploring volcanoes during a warm summer road trip around Iceland) plus a little book of Icelandic pools and I have a fourth book in progress right now.

Blog at WordPress.com.
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