I had so much fun outdoors this weekend that I didn’t tell anyone about it. Imagine that! The moment was way more important to me than broadcasting about it. Yes, I know it should be, but if we are honest with ourselves, it isn’t alway, is it?

Now this is not some holier-than-thou lecture on how you too should not shout about the the things you do. That is not what I mean. After all, I posted on Instagram after I returned, I have written this blog post and made a video (see below), but at the time I was tempted to post images on Instagram then I just couldn’t be bothered. And it is this apathy which makes me most happy.

Hoarwithy to Symonds Yat

I spent Friday and Saturday canoeing down the Wye with my 7 year old daughter, from Hoarwithy to Symonds Yat. It is the first time either of us has done this kind of trip and to share this adventure together was the sort of experience that makes me go all mushy and emotional.

We hired a canoe from Canoe the Wye in Symnonds Yat and started our trip from Hoarwithy. It is the first time I have done a multi-day trip in a canoe and this felt like the perfect introduction. the Wye flows more than waters of the River Ouse on which we normally paddle, but my only concern was how Emma would respond to prolonged periods in the confines of a canoe. it turns out to be the perfect forum for a chatterbox and I was the “captive" audience.

For any novice contemplating this trip I would highly recommend it. There are no hazards that should cause great concern, beyond a few strong currents, and there are plenty of places to stop for a break. We paddled 18km on day one and another 22km on day two, neither of which was a particularly long day and both sections leave you time to linger. Having said this, if I were to do a longer trip with Emma, I would probably look to slightly shorten the days and build in some more sign-seeing activities.

We were up early on Friday and drove down to the Gloucestershire / Herefordshire border. We launched excitedly and then remarkably spent the day without encountering a single human being on the river, aside from a few slumbering anglers along the bank.

Instead our the hours were filled with birdlife. Along with the hundreds of Mute Swans (with cygnets) and Canada Goose we also had the pleasure of spotting Kingfishers, Common Sandpiper, Sand Martins, Little Egrets and perhaps a Peregrine Falcon (we are pretty sure we heard it).

Given the scarcity of other people I was hoping to catch a glimpse of an otter but I suppose we were out on the water in the fullness of day and it was a long shot.

We broke our journey by camping at the White Lion in Ross on Wye, which I can happily recommend. Located on the water it allows you to drag you canoe out and pitch between pub and river.

The weekend before Emma and I had endured a terrible night’s sleep camping on the coast so it was a pleasure for normal business to resume. Pleasantly wearied by the day’s toils we both slept like logs, briefly awoken in the middle of the night as the drunk fishermen who were camped next to us debated loudly whether they should go out in search of more drink and more fun. They did and presumably they found both as I never heard them return.

As a parent almost every day throws up a precious moment but this was truly one of the best weekends of my life. I think it is what they mean by "quality time”. In terms of the sort of adventures we go on, this was a step further. Whilst I think I did most of the physical effort, I could always rely on Emma to help when needed - it turns out it helps for her to imagine she is in a Dragon Boat race.

The moment was way more important to me than broadcasting about it.

I am not going to pretend I did not look at my phone for two days. I have, after all used it (and other devices) to make a video of the trip which in itself can be a pretty annoying and selfish thing to do in the company of others. But on the Friday evening as we sat in the pub garden, I chose to watch the river, enjoy a beer, to do some puzzles, to chat and to not to share the cool and fun thing I was doing.

I don’t use social media much so this can seem a small thing. It is also fair to say that there aren't many people who care about what I am doing. This blog is after all a small (albeit important) part of my life. It is not my livelihood so there is no burning need for me to promote myself through social media channels.

However, it is the fact that the moment was way more important to me than broadcasting about it which pleases me. Yes, I know it should be but if we are honest with ourselves, it isn’t alway is it? At least, my vanity often get’s the better of me and hijacks what I am doing. Not this time, this was very liberating and relaxing moment.

I suppose I can see a future in which I completely abandon social media and, however silly it sounds, this felt like maybe a first step in the direction.

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Cleveland Way - Scarborough to High Hawsker

In October 2020, my friend Dave and I walked a section of the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire over a couple of days. We started from Scarborough and walked to Ravenscar (18 km). The next day we walked to High Hawsker (15 km).

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Packrafting the River Tamiš

In July 2020, in a brief respite from the worries of the covid pandemic, I had the good fortune to be able to escape for a little adventure, spending 3 days paddling down the Tamiš river in northern Serbia, in my packraft.

Interview with Emily Woodhouse - Founder of Intrepid Magazine

I recently had the pleasure to interview Emily Woodhouse, someone who is well known and someone who has been somewhat of a pioneer in giving a voice to many women in the adventure / outdoor sports world.

In this interview Emily gives me some insight into her whirlwind entrepreneurial journey and how much there is to learn from diving into a (business) adventure.

Not only has Intrepid Magazine provided something that was missing in the outdoor space but it is doubly satisfying to know it was the vision of someone who cares passionately about the subject matter, saw the importance of it and had the courage to go through with it… although I am not sure Emily herself see it as “courage”. As she says in the interview: “I looked at the hole in the magazine world and thought: I can do that”.

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Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the wallaby)

The loch was like a mirror as we set off from Luss on Friday to explore. Having walked to the high point on Inchtavannach to admire the views, and paddled around Inchmoan, watching the deer come down to the water’s edge, we agreed to spend the night on Inchconnachan for no other reason than it appeared absolutely idyllic as the sun began to sink and the evening light bathed the lake in a silvery light.

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Weekend Adventure - From lying in the sun to crying on a plane

I have mentioned a few times that my daughter is neither naturally sporty, particularly active or indeed fearless. She is perhaps the opposite. So I was especially proud that she decided on the Saturday morning, as we dithered whether to have an hour in the water at Buzz Active Cuckmere, that this was indeed the ideal opportunity for her to go solo in a kayak for the first time.

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Canoeing the Wye: Happiness V Social Media [Video]

I had so much fun this weekend that I didn’t tell anyone about it. Imagine that! The moment was way more important to me than broadcasting about it. Yes, I know it should be, but if we are honest with ourselves, it isn’t alway, is it?

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Wild Night Out 2019: The Whining

Travelling in ultra lightweight style (we only carried four cricket stumps instead of the full compliment of six) Emma and I marched along the coast path, over the dunes and onto the vast sands of our beautiful coast for a perfect Wild Night Out 2019, until the high-pitched whining started…

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30 Days Wild: Suburban Springwatch

One thing I decided to do this year was leave one corner of the garden wild. I don’t know how long it will last as pressure builds from within the family to “do something” with that corner but while it does last it has had a positive effect in terms of wildlife.

Perhaps the best aspect of this experiment is the fact that every night around 9pm we have a fat hedgehog who comes through our front gate, wanders through the garden to this unkempt patch of land and roots around for a couple of hours before waddling off to check out what the neighbours have to offer.

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30 Days Wild: Freshwalks: Networking in the Outdoors

This filthy-wet month, I am trying to spend time outside in nature during my working day as part of the Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild. I cannot pretend it has been as easy as last year’s sun-drenched June when gently swaying flower meadows and deserted Norfolk beaches called out to me.

However, recently a client of mine drew my attention to an innovative and inspiring initiative getting business people into the outdoors, for Freshwalks. The benefits of which might surprise a few…

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30 days Wild: Welcome to my office

“Can you repeat that please sir?” I could hear a slightly exasperated tone on the other end of the line.

This morning, a few days into June and woefully short of what I hope to achieve during 30 Days Wild, I ventured out into the meadow to make a few phone calls. I took my office outdoors! The helpful assistant from Barclays Business Banking went off for a few minutes to find out some information, and probably to curse me as my microphone was buffeted by the breeze, that bent the tall flowers surrounding me and repeatedly flicked my hood over my head.

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30 Days Wild: Switch off with Nature

We are just a few days away from June and the start of 30 Days Wild; the Wildlife Trusts amazing initiative to get people outside, enjoying and appreciating nature.

This year, as part of 30 Days Wild I will be focussing on how nature can help alleviate the stresses and strains of work and how to get more of it into the working day.

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Do you want to live more adventurously?

The decision to change my life and live more adventurously was utterly instinctive, borne of exasperation, a last resort. I was burnt out, suffering from anxiety, depressed.

How I got to the point of changing the direction of my life was a couple of years of mental wrangling and torture, until I stumbled across some inspiration.