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I Am A Polar Bear

Travel, adventure & wellness with plenty of snow

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Category: Adventures

What it's like working at a festival | iamapolarbear.com

What it’s like working at a festival

September 15, 2022

You might have seen my post from Monday about going to Camp Wildfire and what it’s like, my first weekend festival experience. And if you’ve been to Camp Wildfire yourself, you might have noticed that actually, I didn’t do that much, not when you really understand how much is on offer. And there’s a reason … More What it’s like working at a festival

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I went to Camp Wildfire! | iamapolarbear.com

I went to Camp Wildfire!

September 12, 2022

I know, any travel or lifestyle blogger worth their salt has at least a little archive of festival content but this was my first time. Technically it’s not my first ever festival – I went to the Larmer Tree Festival for the evening in 2015 and for the whole day in 2019 but I’ve never … More I went to Camp Wildfire!

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The tides get very high at Weston Marine Lake | iamapolarbear.com

The tides get very high at Weston Marine Lake

August 22, 2022

Since it was so hot and since I’m getting into sea swimming, while I was away camping I went to Weston-super-Mare every evening and went for a swim in their Marine Lake. It’s a nice wild compromise – it’s still a wild swim but it’s one where there are other people around and very strict … More The tides get very high at Weston Marine Lake

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I may never go camping again | iamapolarbear.com

I may not ever go camping again

August 18, 2022

*sighs* Look. I like camping. But the last two trips have been so offputting that right now, I feel like binning my tents and never setting foot on a campsite again. I freely admit that I use Twitter as a steam valve but I do try to keep this blog reasonably positive. If I don’t … More I may not ever go camping again

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A Twilight Spa at Aqua Sana Longleat | iamapolarbear.com

A Twilight Spa at Aqua Sana Longleat Forest

August 8, 2022

If you’ve been reading the blog or following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been trying to get in touch with my inner waterbaby this summer – I’m building up my kayaking skills and confidence, in part through wild swimming, and I swim a mile twice a week in my local outdoor pool. But … More A Twilight Spa at Aqua Sana Longleat Forest

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Swimming in Bude Sea Pool | iamapolarbear.com

Swimming in Bude Sea Pool

August 1, 2022

I spent the weekend (my birthday weekend!) camping in Devon. On Friday, having finally arrived at my campsite two and a half hours later than planned thanks to everything going wrong with the traffic, I decided to drive over to Bude for the evening. I fancied getting a wild swim in while I was in … More Swimming in Bude Sea Pool

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Ten people you'll meet in the pool | iamapolarbear.com

Ten people you’ll meet in the pool

July 28, 2022

If you saw my first wild swimming experience the other day or you follow me on Instagram, you might see me swimming in the sea quite a lot at the moment. But the fact is that I’m pushing my comfort zone – I’m still not a huge fan of the sea and also the actual … More Ten people you’ll meet in the pool

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The Big Wild Sleepout | iamapolarbear.com

Camping at RSPB Arne: the Big Wild Sleepout

July 25, 2022

RSPB Arne is a nature reserve, a peninsula covered mostly in rare lowland heath sticking out into the west side of Poole Harbour. You may remember it from my Christmas Adventure with Tom & Catherine this year. It welcomes day visitors but you don’t normally get to camp there so when the opportunity came up … More Camping at RSPB Arne: the Big Wild Sleepout

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Caroma stand up paddleboard review | iamapolarbear.com

Caroma stand up paddleboard review

July 21, 2022

I’ve had half an eye on getting myself a stand up paddleboard for a while – well, let’s go for plain paddleboard here; I can’t stand up on the things. They’re not my first love – that would be the kayak. I like the double-bladed paddle that lets me just charge through the water, fight the … More Caroma stand up paddleboard review

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I faced my kayaking demons! | iamapolarbear.com

I faced my kayaking demons!

July 18, 2022

Today was another big step on my journey to kayaking instructor, a journey I never thought I’d even be on a year ago. I faced my biggest demon and somehow I don’t yet feel as proud of it as I should. Let’s run through the backstory. I took  up kayaking semi-regularly back in 2018 or … More I faced my kayaking demons!

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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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