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
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
Back in June 2004, my caving club went on an “expedition” to Ireland. That’s caving-speak for a holiday. I don’t write a lot of caving stuff but I used to spend half my life underground. We chose Ireland mostly because that’s where they’d been the previous year and because there were plenty of caves. In … More A student caving expedition in Ireland
You may already know that when I was a student, I was a very keen caver. That all ended twelve years ago with graduation and I’ve been back twice since then, the last time being four and a half years ago. I just don’t get to go anymore because you need someone to go with … More Cavers do it in rubber socks: a half day in Goatchurch
In 2014, Iceland quietly had a massive volcanic eruption that lasted for six months. Hardly anyone outside Iceland heard of it because unlike when Eyjafjallajökull erupted, it didn’t affect anyone else. It was a fissure eruption up in the Highlands that poured lava and poisonous gases and fire fountains for six months and resulted in the … More The Volcano Adventures – Leirhnjúkur
Back in the summer of 2014, I rented a car and based myself in and around Borgarnes, on Iceland’s west coast and spent one of the days driving around Snæfellsnes. You can do it in a day but I find it’s such a long way and there are so many things to stop for that by … More The Volcano Adventures: Climbing Saxhóll
I’ve climbed a few mountains in my time. Small ones, easy ones, sometimes only halfway up and always slowly. Sir Edmund Hillary I am not. Climbing Laki was entirely unlike any mountain I’ve ever climbed before. Laki is a volcano. That’s not what makes it unusual. Actually, it’s not “a volcano” in the traditional sense. … More The day I climbed Iceland’s deadliest volcano
In a week’s time I’ll be halfway through my 2017 trip to Edinburgh and Tom wants to go up Arthur’s Seat so let’s go back to my 2015 climb. Right in the heart of Edinburgh is a volcano. It’s an extinct volcano and it manifests itself in two places – Castle Rock and Arthur’s Seat. Castle Rock … More The Volcano Adventures: Arthur’s Seat
I Am A Polar Bear 