In a couple of posts last year, mainly my weekly roundups (which I’m not doing anymore, but more on that another time) I referenced some tragic accidents that happened to individuals seemingly experienced and well-equipped to do what they were doing (mainly hiking or scuba diving). Accidents like this are always informative because, as someone who hikes and scuba dives, …
Read More »Destinations
Making time
When I was young, I was too busy, now I am old, I am too tired. I had that quote written down in my notebook for ages. It’s from the film The Way, which I wrote a little about here, and it obviously had enough of an impact that I wrote it down when I was watching the film. It’s …
Read More »A real throwback – a trip to the Western Desert
As those of you who follow me on twitter may be aware, I have recently moved house and, while unpacking, have been going through a load of boxes that had largely not been touched since I left school ten years ago. One of the more interesting items I found was something I had forgotten even existed. You see, some time in, …
Read More »Ice climbing
Last week I finally had a go at something I’ve been interested in for a while – Ice Climbing. If ice climbing seems relatively inaccessible, particularly in the UK, that’s generally true but surprisingly few people seem to know that there is in fact an indoor ice climbing wall at the Ellis Brigham store in Covent Garden, and apparently another …
Read More »Gallery: the Kumbh Mela – visiting the largest gathering ofpeople on the planet
In 2013 I was lucky enough to spend two days with some Indian friends at the Allahabad Kumbh Mela, a mass Hundu pilgrimage to bathe in the meeting point of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Sarasvati rivers. It takes place only every twelve years and the event is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, gatherings of people …
Read More »Six things I learnt wild camping in the Brecon Beacons
Last summer I decided to hike over Pen y Fan with my brother and a friend, starting from the nearby train station in Merthyr Tydfil and ending in Brecon, where there is a bus back to Merthyr Tydfil. Although this is actually a perfectly achievable one-day hike, we wanted to extend it with some other walks and camp for a …
Read More »Three long-distance trail movies that’ll make you dig out your backpack and hiking boots
Here are three films about people hiking three of the world’s great long distance trails. While some of the films are better than others, you’d have to be made of stone for them not to make your heart beat a little faster at the thought of packing your backpack and hitting the open road for a few months… The Way …
Read More »Sussex Border Path trail run: 15 miles of bliss
Yesterday, as it was beautiful and sunny and it’s a while since I’ve done a big run, I did a 15 mile trail run in the South Downs. A big part of planning a trail run is figuring out a route that runs between two train stations, but is still attractive and interesting to run along. I’ve been a fan …
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