Adventures covers a lot, from a spa at home to glamping to making masks to big adventures like paragliding, kayaking and dogsledding.
Broadly, my adventures fall under the headings of On the Water, On the Ground, On the Rocks and In the Snow so do take a scroll or look at my top menu to find your favourite adventurous activity. Other than bungee jumping, if you can think of it I’ve probably tried it.
I used to walk a lot. Well, a bit. But it’s been a while since I’ve been out, or at least, out of my own volition. I go on Girlguiding region walking weekends when I can because it means I have to but other than that, I can always find more appealing things to do… More New Year, New Unicorn
A little under a year and a half ago, I became a qualified archery instructor. It’s still the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me and the qualification I’m most proud of. I did it through Girlguiding, who ran an adults-only camp at Foxlease, their Training and Activity Centre in the New Forest.… More I’m a qualified archery instructor!
Last weekend I went on a Level 3 walking weekend in South Wales with my Girlguiding region. Level 3, in our terms, is a bit above Mountain Training’s Hill & Moorland Leader but a little below full Mountain Leader. I am not a Level 3 walker. When I walk – which hasn’t been recently –… More Bog-squelching in Wales
It’s been a really busy few weeks and all my posts are in the wrong order because I haven’t had time to write them! But now things are quieter (Ranger finances tidied up, book published, home for a few weeks etc), I have time to blog again. Today I’m going to have a think about… More The best campsites in Iceland
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!
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
There we are in the blistering heat, a marquee up behind us. It’s taken us three or four attempts to figure out what shape the frame should be but it’s up. There’s me, most experienced camper of the lot and severely emetophobic First Aider. There’s Pixie, inexperienced camper doing her assessed camp for her camp… More Alice in Wonderland camp
You pick up a lot of skills as a Guide leader. Team work, leadership skills, First Aid, various outdoors abilities, admin, improvisation, children skills, public singing – and event planning. I was involved in my biggest event yet last weekend. I’ve planned multiple district events for 50-100 people, some of them all on my own… More Behind the scenes at a national Brownie event
I will start this post by pointing out that sea kayaking today involves a lot of things that frighten me and as I wrote this, I felt more and more like one of these people who’s scared of too many things to ever leave the house. Things I was scared of today, in no particular… More The problem with sea kayaking is the sea
Something very exciting happened two weeks ago. My Bronze DofE badge and certificate arrived in the post! For anyone who hasn’t encountered DofE, it’s the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, done in three levels (Bronze, Silver & Gold) and stereotypically involves two to five days of walking in the rain over inhospitable territory like Dartmoor. The… More DofE – as an adult!