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I Am A Polar Bear

Travel, adventure & wellness with plenty of snow

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Tag: Train to York (2019)

York 2019: When it 50 metres not 50 metres? | iamapolarbear.com

When a 50m pool isn’t a 50m pool

March 26, 2020

In 2019, I did a virtual swimming challenge every month. 2.5km or 100 lengths of a standard pool every month and double that in June and October. December was going ok. I’d done 40 lengths before I went to York and I wanted to do another chunk while I was there because I like to … More When a 50m pool isn’t a 50m pool

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York 2019: selfies at the National Railway Museum | iamapolarbear.com

Selfies at the National Railway Museum

March 23, 2020

Hi from social distancing/semi-isolation and working from home! Blogging continues as normal even though I can’t travel so today’s blog is from my trip to York in December – which is what I’ve been writing about throughout March anyway. My primary objectives in York were Jorvik and the Minster. With them crossed off, I set … More Selfies at the National Railway Museum

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York 2019: Is Jorvik exciting or underwhelming | iamapolarbear.com

Jorvik Viking Centre: underwhelming or fascinating?

March 16, 2020

Is Jorvik Viking Centre underwhelming or fascinating? Or is it both? Jorvik is the main reason I wanted to go to York and the fact that it flooded a couple of years ago is why it’s taken until late 2019 to get there. The Minster only came to my attention in April, as I said … More Jorvik Viking Centre: underwhelming or fascinating?

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Inside and under York Minster | iamapolarbear.com

#BeforeItBurnsDown: York Minster

March 12, 2020

My first stop on my long weekend in York was York Minster. Well, my actual first stop, on the evening I arrived, was next door to my apartment, at the Barbican Theatre to see Rob Beckett. What kind of comedy fan, living next door to a theatre, isn’t going to pop round the corner for … More #BeforeItBurnsDown: York Minster

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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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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.

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