If you’re a regular reader, you may know I’m on a slow meandering journey to becoming a kayak instructor. If you follow me on Instagram, you may know I’m already there, although you may not realise I’ve kind of skipped a couple of important steps. Last year, I went to a local Ranger unit to … More What is it like to be a kayaking leader?
When I left you last week, I was just getting home from my adventures on the water – and when I say “home”, I mean back to my tent near Corfe Castle. So this is what else I got up to. First, I snoozed a bit and then stuffed my face with Pringles and chocolate … More My Outdoors: on dry land
Last summer, I set off to Purbeck intent on a weekend of “adventure”, which I spent at Norden Farm Campsite, exploring Corfe village in the pouring rain, doing my first sea swim and getting to jump into the cab of a heritage steam locomotive. This year I found myself back there for the “My Outdoors” … More My Outdoors: a night on the water
It’s Sunday night and I’m fresh from the bath, with face, hair and feel all scrubbed and made soft after feeling like a disgusting camp goblin for the last few days and I’m so much more chilled and calm than the creature who loaded up a small car and set off on Friday. I have … More Can camping heal the soul?
This is so exciting that I’m writing the first paragraph half an hour after booking, more than two months before I actually did the thing I’m about to tell you about – by the time this is published, I will hold the British Canoeing Sea Kayak Award. (Well, that’s what I thought when I started … More I now hold the Sea Kayak Award! (Well, nearly…)
Entering the world of wetsuits is a wild and scary one. There’s a wetsuit for every activity and they come with quite the price tag. So, in case you’re just entering this world and have no idea where to start, I thought I’d tell you about mine, which is the Peak UK Centre Long John. It’s … More Peak UK Centre Long John wetsuit review
Is this technically a Travel Library? As far as I’m concerned, it is. It’s all about volcanoes – volcanoes around the planet and around the solar system and as there are no volcanoes in the vicinity of my house, and as I associate volcanoes with going to Iceland, this fits the bill. I’ve been looking forward to … More Travel Library: Super Volcanoes by Robin George Andrews
It’s three and a half weeks since I walked the South Downs Way and I guess it’s time to switch my brain on and do a little analysis. I knew what this post was going to say, word for word, while I was limping through the countryside but when I got home and tried to … More What I learned about myself, long-distance hiking and kit on the South Downs Way
Not all of it! I didn’t walk the entire length of the South Downs Way. I didn’t even walk the entire length of what I had planned. But I managed 28km of it, which is 17.5% and that’s not bad. My plan was days one and two as given by both the South Downs Way … More I walked the South Downs Way!
I thought for this month’s Travel Library, I’d choose an Icelandic book while I was in Iceland and read that. So off I went to Eymundsson and I stood in front of the shelf of English-language Icelandic books and dithered. I’ve read a couple by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, I’ve read Jar City (aka The Bog in the … More Travel Library: Quake by Auður Jónsdóttir
I Am A Polar Bear 