Nearly two weeks ago, Iceland’s new eruption started (I wrote a blog about it last week) and half the country flocked to see it. I don’t blame them, I’d be among them if not for the plague. But a similar eruption happened in 1973, the birth of the volcano Eldfell, and things worked out very … More Eldfell: the people who fought a volcano
With a summer approaching that’s likely to feature more UK breaks than summer beach holidays in Spain, now seems a good time to talk about my night at Loch Spiggie. I was in Orkney for a few days and figured I’d pop over to Shetland because it’s right there and because it’s quite a trek … More A night at Loch Spiggie
Back in 2014, I finally did something I’d been wanting to do for a while. Given the lack of English-language information, putting it all together and figuring out how to do it was a bit tricky and so let me save you all that. This is how to climb Esja. Esja is Reykjavik’s mountain. If … More How to climb Esja
Of all the stuff I did on my year abroad in Switzerland all those years ago, the Pilatus Golden Round Trip was probably my favourite. It’s Switzerland in microcosm, the best of the entire country all in one beautiful day. You start out in Luzern, which I’m obstinately spelling the German way, even though in … More The Pilatus Golden Round Trip
Deleting old posts that have never been read and are not doing their job has a definite upside: I get to write them again but better! And so to my adventure snowmobiling on a volcano! This must have been about 2013 and I’d finally given in to the allure of driving a scary tough machine … More Snowmobiling on a volcano
Your average tourist to Iceland will be completely oblivious to Borgarnes, even the ones who pass through it – and maybe stop at its roadhouse – on their long day trip to Snæfellsnes. But Borgarnes is a strong contender for my favourite place in Iceland. It’s a small town on the west coast, the service … More Borgarnes: my favourite town in Iceland
After Monday’s post about enjoying caving, let’s have a lava caving story. In the UK, if you’re going to crawl around in a hole in the ground, it’ll be a limestone one formed by water action. It’ll have a certain smell, similar to petrichor, you might find fossils and it’ll probably have a mixture of … More Lava caving: crawling under an eruption
How has it taken me this long to realise I should do a Russia packing post? Everyone loves a “how did I manage on hand luggage only?!” post. My not-quite-three weeks is at the very bottom end of the long trip-minimum luggage ladder. However, I was visiting three distinct climate zones – Moscow & St … More Three weeks in Russia on hand luggage
And so to the conclusion! Having left Odense in the last post, I was now on my way to Aalborg, one of, if not the, northernmost cities in Denmark. I’ll spare you the woes of engineering works and rail replacement buses and unexpected extra changes. I won’t spare you spending the last hour watching Mission … More Backpacking Denmark: 48 hours in Aalborg
When I left this story, I was just getting on a train bound for Odense, my second Danish backpacking destination. It runs anywhere between 1 hour 11 minutes and 1 hour, depending on whether it’s the express or a stopping service. Eight years on, I have no idea which one I jumped on. What I … More Backpacking Denmark: 24 hours in Odense
I Am A Polar Bear 