Living in Cambridge has its advantages: friendly Nobel Prize winners, a near complete absence of hills, and countryside almost everywhere. So it doesn’t take long on my bike to end up in a small village of thatched cottages surrounded by fields where it will forever remain circa 1953, only with… Continue reading
The Isle of Man may not be the most exotic place to begin an adventure, but it has its advantages. It is close by, friendly in an I’m-not-too-keen-on-strangers sort of a way, and spectacularly beautiful. It is the sort of beauty that really doesn’t come out in photographs and which… Continue reading
When everything is open to you: opening hours, displays, shelving even, where do you start? Not with a rhetorical question, according to one of my old English teachers. The name of Wigtown may not trip off the tongue in the same way as Hay-on-Wye, but since 1997 the former county… Continue reading
I had wanted to travel using only a vintage-era guidebook for some time. A truly old, and not just out of date, guide was surprisingly difficult to find, but eventually I managed to source one. I would be heading across the North Sea to travel the length of Scandinavia, to… Continue reading
After much time, and a lot more editing, I’ve finally managed to complete my first foray into video making. Based on my first foray into kayaking, Mahaweli Challenge, I hope you enjoy the result as much as I do. It brings a smile to my face every time I watch… Continue reading
In our risk averse culture, I was attempting a hugely risky venture in kayaking Sri Lanka’s longest river, the Mahaweli Ganga. Using maps dating back to just a couple of years after I was born, I was to traverse a river of which I had gleaned little knowledge, in a… Continue reading
To celebrate the launch of my next adventure (and if you’re not yet aware of Mahaweli Challenge read on here), and with the summer taking a decidedly autumnal feel recently, it’s maybe time to consider curling up with a good ebook. To make your choice easier I’m having a summer… Continue reading
In my first ever guest post, Kerim Morris explains how he became my teammate on Mahaweli Challenge, and how the nervous excitement has set in. I vividly remember the day when I heard that Ian was looking for a willing volunteer to accompany him on his Mahaweli Challenge, enticing me… Continue reading
On returning from my Encircle Africa expedition I came up with a list of the must have kit items for self-supported travel in Africa. I wrote then that out of the 20 kilos of kit I chose (and spent five hours packing for the first time in the UK) it… Continue reading
I’m looking for a team member to join me on a two-person expedition from source to sea along Sri Lanka’s longest river. On foot and by kayak we’ll follow the 208 mile length through a variety of Sri Lanka’s landscapes, from the country’s second highest peak, through tea plantations, to… Continue reading
