30 Days Wild: Norfolk & Snakes

June 24, 2018

If last week was action-packed then the pace didn't relent this week. Read on for news of my walking trip to Norfolk.

Emma has continued to take part in 30 Days Wild through her school - they have been learning to identify trees amongst other things this week - and outside school hours we have been exploring wild corners around our home.

Going to Godmanchester nature reserve to look for snakes is always a favourite with Emma. They are fascinating creatures and the fact that Mummy is so irrationally scared of them adds some amusement to proceedings. This serpentine theme continued into the weekend as we came across the sloughed skin of a snake whilst visiting some open gardens. It has been added to the list of things we will examine under the microscope.

Walking in Norfolk

I spent the back end of the week in North Norfolk, walking inland and then on part of the Norfolk Coast Path. I have visited this area once before, but never had the opportunity to do at this at my ideal pace - on foot.

From the wild flowers to the windswept beaches this was a perfect way to experience the natural beauty of our land. Wandering through the picture-perfect villages, along the sand dunes and through the pinewoods during the week is a real treat. Places like Wells-Next-The-Sea can be overrun during the holidays so a wild camp and then a walk along this coast when it is absolutely deserted is precious. It is of course the reward you get for going even slightly off the beaten track or at unpopular times - you see nature and the landscape in a state of purity that can be difficult on this crowded isle.

I slept beautifully, the wind whistling over my sleeping bag, hares nibbling away at the grass a few metres away and broody oystercatchers wheeling around just over the dunes, squeaking like trainers on a gym floor.

Last week I was sent some freeze-dried food from Summit to Eat to try out and review. You can find my review here and the accompanying video on the Armchair Mountaineer YouTube Channel.

30 Days Wild: An Ode To Walking [Video]

June 17, 2018

It has been an action-packed few days. I spent two days walking in the Eastern Chilterns, getting closer to nature and enjoying the therapeutic effects of travelling slowly, under my own steam.

Today's blog post is a little video I made from this beautiful 29 km round trip, from Hitchin through the Wildlife Trusts Barton Hills Nature Reserve and back.

30 Days Wild: Flower Power

June 12, 2018

Get ready to shoot me! We picked wildflowers. You see, I think the educational value of doing so outweighs the negative impact... at least if you do it with common sense.

The last few days of 30 Days Wild have seen us devote some time to wild flowers; finding, identifying, picking (judiciously), pressing and planting.

30 Days Wild: Of Birds and Bugs

June 8, 2018

We have a distinct lack of nesting birds this time around. Last year we had robins, blackbirds and wood pigeons all successfully rear their young in our garden.

Where have all the birds gone?

Since my last blog post, Emma and I have spent some time comparing this year’s garden with last year's.

It's not about "30 Days Wild"

June 4, 2018

I never thought Emma seemingly dismissing 30 Days Wild, just three days in, would please me so much, but her sentiment was both unexpected and absolutely true.

Yesterday, as we tramped the dank mosquito-infested swampland that is Raveley Wood in rural Cambridgeshire, flapping our hats around vulnerable legs like a cow might swish it’s tail at the pestering flies, my wife was hassling me in the nicest possible way..

Blogging for 30 Days Wild

June 1, 2018

30 Days Wild is here and this is what you can expect to see on my blog.

Last year for 30 Days Wild I blogged everyday for the whole month of June. Emma and I came up with the idea of "A Wild Alphabet" and dedicating each day to a new letter. It took a bit of planning and in truth it took a lot of work.

I have been asked on a few occasions what theme we would choose to follow this year and up until now I had no idea. But because of extra commitments this year I have decided to blog once or twice a week summing up our activities in The 30 Days Wild Gazette.

Bovinophobia: Is it normal for hikers to be scared of cows?

May 28, 2018

The fear was real when I said this to my husband, about halfway through the first day of our mid-March walk along the South Downs Way. We’d spent the morning slogging through mud: the path from Lewes to the Way was well trodden (by horses) and churned into a messy graveyard of chalky, gooey muck.

30 Days Wild: Random Acts of Wildness

May 21, 2018

A few weeks ago I gave an assembly at my daughter’s school. On a few occasions I have spoken to rooms full of journalists and at conferences but nothing made me as nervous as a room full of primary school children.

What if I didn’t know the answer to their questions? Fortunately I was giving an assembly about 30 Days Wild and, fortunately, I was joined by Liz Carney from The Wildlife Trusts who did have all the answers to the children’s questions

How Walking In Peru Saved My Mind - Janet Jones

May 14, 2018

My unhappiness reached such a low level, like many people, I began to feel I was ill with depression and I believed my only choice was to take antidepressant pills. Fortunately for me, I received a piece of direct mail that introduced me to the power of my mind and the importance of learning how to manage my thoughts. I was also introduced to the need for goals.

More Effective Waste Management - A Guest Post by Craig Scott

May 7, 2018

Using valuable land as a waste management dumping zone is becoming a serious environmental problem. The build up and release of greenhouse gases from land waste poses a serious environmental impact risk that could lead to a dangerous shift in ecological balances and adversely effect human health. Changing our current course in waste management toward more practical, sustainable solutions is the only logical step forward if we hope to combat the effects our waste is having. The question is, how?

Kayaking the Kwanza: the impact of a big adventure.

April 30, 2018

In June 2016, I set out with my friend Alfy Weston to do something that nobody had ever done before: kayak the length of Angola's Kwanza River, from source to mouth. Over the next 33 days we kayaked, hiked and waded through some of last truly wilderness areas in Sub Saharan Africa. Starting high up on the Bié Plateau, which provides water to the Okavango Delta, we made our way down the river to the mouth at the Atlantic Ocean coast, just south of the capital Luanda. We transported over 100kg of expedition gear along 984km of kayaking and 300km of hiking. During our expedition we were attacked by hippos, sank in rapids and were even arrested and threatened with deportation by Angolan security forces.

Getting started with trail running for the first time_ Here's a primer..png

Getting started with trail running for the first time? - A Guest Post by Jane Grates

April 23, 2018

Lots of folks think that trail running is only for the badass, hardcore runners of the world, and that’s simply not true. Trail running - like running, in general - is open to everyone. You don’t have to be a pro mountain or trail runner; you could even consider yourself a “roads runner” but still run trails each week or month and benefit from it.

If you’re new to trail running and are stumped on where to get started, consider my recommendations below, a primer, if you will, for trail running. Taken together, I think my recommendations will help get you on the right foot, right away.

Leave Your Worries Behind - A Guest Post by John D. Burns

April 16, 2018

Sweat is anxiety leaving the body. I don’t remember much about the drive along Loch Ness to the hills above the isolated white cottage that is the Cluanie Inn nestling in the depths of Glen Sheil the steep sided Highland glen. In the hour or so it took me to drive from my home in the Highland capital I took little notice of great expanse of water I drove beside, my mind spinning in turmoil.

Everyone is beset by some sort of struggle. It can be a myriad of things like family conflict, addiction, health or workplace stress. For me, on this spring day, it was the sense of being let down that persecuted me. I had applied to take my workplace pension two years early. At first, I’d been led to believe that it was a mere formality; that I’d simply have to apply to get my pension released.

Iceland is a salted pretzel dipped in Nutella [Video]

April 9, 2018

I spent four nights over the Easter weekend in Iceland with my family - a wonderful early birthday present from my impeccably brilliant genius of a wife. I have long wanted to go there.

But four days in Iceland is like dipping one crispy salted pretzel in Nutella and eating it. You can’t stop there. You need more...

Mind Over Mountains with Alex Staniforth

March 29, 2018

For me time spent in the hills, mountains and generally in the honest embrace of nature is an unquantifiable tonic. It has helped me to re-balance my life and to look after my mental health in the last couple if years.

Brought to you by Adventure Uncovered and led by the remarkable Alex Staniforth, Mind Over Mountains is an event which focuses on the connection between mental wellbeing and hillwalking...

A Moment Of Surrender - A Guest Post by Matt Allen

March 26, 2018

A storm had brewed through the night and was still releasing it’s menacing self on one memorable winter morning, it was 5am and dark outside. a comfortable pillow and a warm blanket tempted me to stay all snuggled up but a calling from the sea is a calling to which I can not say no.

I saddled up on my bike and made my way to the sea, the wind slowed me to almost a walking pace. I should have known at this point that danger was on the horizon, however a part of me knew I was going to dance with the thundering waves.

How I deal with Fear (not Alex Honnold levels).

March 19, 2018

Reluctant and scared has often been my default position. I am sure I have this in common with most of humanity as I stick to my "comfort zones”. It has prevented me doing things I want to do, developing business ideas and telling people what I really think.

It shaped my educational and early career path (I say “path" but it was more like a circular track caused by an adventurous sheep that has never left a field) and it definitely prevented me from having a much richer and more interesting social life when I was young (yes I also mean with girls).

Wilderness and Wellbeing - A Guest Post by Robert Nicholas

March 12, 2018

At 42 years old I find myself stuck in corporate life, chained to my desk for long hours in major cities around the UK. This makes my excursions into the great outdoors even more important, my medicine for the trappings of modern life and the frustrations of big business. I love nothing more than getting out running on the trails and Fells of Northern England, just me, my dog and nature. This is not the story of one individual event but more the repeated restorative powers my adventures exert on both my physical and mental health.

Plunging into the Present - A Guest Post by Camilla Barnard

March 5, 2018

It was mid-July, and my first experience of the French Alps bare of snow. Based in Morzine in the Haute Savoie for a spot of climbing, via ferrata and a substantial hike, it was a trip that I had been looking forward to with childlike enthusiasm.

Difficult Tea: A Walk in Sri Lankan Hill Country [Video]

February 25, 2018

Every morning at 06:30 I stumble downstairs, sleepily flick the switch on the kettle and make myself a pot of tea. It might be green tea, it might be black. I quite often spill a bit on the sideboard. A few minutes after I have drunk it and perked up. At no time have I given a thought to how these dry fragrant leaves made their way to my pot.

This time last week I was deep in Sri Lankan hill country, hiking up steep mountainsides, rocky paths, stone staircases, through mahogany forests and the ubiquitous, far reaching tea estates that cover the mountains and provide this island nation’s major export.

Wilderness & Wellbeing BLOG

If last week was action-packed then the pace didn't relent this week. Read on for news of my walking trip to Norfolk.

Walking in Norfolk

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