Whenever I talk to people about backpacking and wild camping in England their response is invariably “oh, so you like going to the Lakes?”, to which I look sheepish and admit I have never been. I have a couple of friends who have bought a house in Kendal who go on about it being lovely, a good friend at work…
I have fond memories from when I was little of going on holiday with my parents and turning up at small campsites in a field, pitching the tents and eventually meeting the campsite owner who would happily greet us, check us in and then disappear. It seems that kind of campsite is gradually dying off. Every year I try to…
Norway has been on my list to visit for quite a long time, ever since cycling through Sweden and deciding I like Scandinavian countries. A friend also wanted to go and after much debate we settled on flying to Oslo and then catching the Oslo-Bergan train up into the mountains for a short wild camping and backpacking trip in August…
One Thursday back in July 2024, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to pack my packraft and camping gear into the car and head to the Wye Valley for a weekend of packrafting down the River Wye. Spending all day in a kayak can be a bit much, so I planned manageable distances: Day 1 was Glasbury to Locksters Pool (12…
I have always wanted to regularly get away on weekend camping trips throughout the year but have never found it easy living in Warwick. There aren’t any close mountains, and it takes a bit more planning than I usually have time for to get to a wild area. Then in early September an upcoming heatwave was announced and I had…
For the August bankholiday I decided to take a friend on his first multiday wild camping trip. He was on holiday in Cornwall the week before so we agreed to meet halfway in Abergavenny and do three days of walking in the Brecon Beacons. During the previous week I planned out everything needed for a successful backpacking trip: parking locations,…
In July 2023 I posted about my adventure kayaking the river Avon from Bubbenhall to Warwick. This post continues that journey on the next stretch of the River Avon, from my current home in Warwick to Stratford-upon-Avon, roughly 16 miles of tranquil river and grumpy landowners. This time I was joined by a couple of friends on paddle boards, both…
Packrafting is my latest passion, it is an ultralight kayak that can be carried on your back or bike. I considered the options for water travel in my last post and decided on a packraft because of how transportable it is and suits my style of holiday. My first outing was a short test run on the Avon in Warwick…
I have now been to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire three separate times. And each time the spectacle of thousands of birds nesting on the 100m high cliffs amazes me. The cliffs are a guaranteed place to see at least eight species you may struggle to find elsewhere in England. I have loved Puffins ever since I was little. There was…
I completed walking the West Highland Way in Scotland, from 29th April to 7th May 2023. I had planned to use the double bank holiday for a walking trip for some time and eventually settled on Scotland, as it is before midge season and the route is about the right length for roughly 9 days of walking. I was not…