I went to Dartmoor last weekend. I’d expected half the country to be joining me on my drive westwards on a hot September Friday but it seemed there was more traffic heading east and definitely a lot more caravans. Had Devon and Cornwall kicked out all the holidaymakers? I’d set off reasonably early in the… More Dartmoor: a warm windy walking weekend (part 1)
A few weeks ago, I did a post on my DofE practice expedition and this is the real thing. The expedition is both the most dreaded and the best known of all the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award components. As a general rule, I think it’s the last thing to get done. The typical vision of… More Stay At Home Storytelling: My DofE Bronze expedition
If you haven’t come across the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme… well, let me explain. What is the DofE? A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers. It’s an… More Stay At Home Storytelling: My DofE practice expedition
Last year I did my first ever virtual race. You sign up and even get a downloadable bib (has anyone ever printed and worn this?) but you do the race by yourself at your own pace at your own place. You don’t even have to run. I walked it but cycling is also an option.… More Virtual running and swimming
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
Since I’m walking the Laugavegur trail in July, it’s time to talk about the time I sampled it. In the summer of 2012 I did a day trip to Landmannalaugar. Just long enough to visit the hot spring and then run across the floodplain to see what else this little oasis had to offer. I… More Walking the Grænagil-Laugavegur loop
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
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
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!
At eight o’clock in the morning, having packed up my tent and hauled it across the campsite, I was on a bus. By one o’clock, with an hour’s detour to walk up a canyon formed in Iceland’s most productive eruption in history, I was at Landmannalaugar, an oasis and campsite in the Highlands. The plan… More Landmannalaugar circular walk