Category: Living Adventurously
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So, Ben Fogle is Swimming the Atlantic
So, Ben Fogle is to swim the Atlantic. An almighty feat, no matter how you look at it. Mr Fogle’s activities often pique my interest (no doubt he is similarly fascinated by my life). This announcement, however, was not at all the kind of thing I would have expected from the Accidental Adventurer. I’ve written…
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The Difference between Climbing and Scrambling
There are lots of different types of climbing – like rock, ice and mixed – and then there are other fuzzier areas like scrambling and walking on snow. Below I have tried to give a very brief explanation of each and how they compare to one another. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial” fontsize=”13″ border=”#a6a6a6″…
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A Mountain of Experts
One of the added joys of writing my book last year was that I had an excuse to contact many legendary names, people whose books I’d read and names I’d heard countless times but never met. Here are the mountaineers that kindly contributed a piece of advice for the How To Climb An Unclimbed Mountain…
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Subtle Contradictions of Expedition Life
Below are Laura’s and my own diary entries, respectively, after our first day of walking in Patagonia: We wake around 7am and pack up the tent with few words. We walk, enjoying the morning peace and our rested legs. Before an hour is up, I feel a flash of irritation – at the incessant flies,…
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NOW ON SALE – How to Get to the North Pole: and Other Adventures
My new book – How to Get to the North Pole: and Other Iconic Adventures – is now on sale. You can buy it from me, on Amazon or in your local book shop. If you are so desperate to get your hands on a copy that you can’t read any more then just click…
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No Plans for a While
Just a quick note to let you know that, due to “health reasons”, I won’t be planning any more projects for a while. That includes finishing our cycle from the Scilly to Shetland Isles and swimming the Thames. Hopefully I’ll be back soon. The blog will continue as normal. In other more exciting news: The…
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Sharks, Hearts and Death-Bed Regrets
Below are six of the adventure and philosophical blogging highlights from April 2012. Featured this month is advice on protecting yourself from sharks when swimming across oceans (useful stuff), running with a broken heart (in the more literal rather than romantic sense) and a strangely compelling motivational video (#3). I make a similar list each…
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Where Do You Sleep on an Ocean Rowing Boat?
Whenever I told people that a recent client of mine, Sarah Outen, had rowed a boat from Australia to Mauritius, the most common source of beffudlement was where you sleep on an ocean rowing boat. This was usually followed by some curiosity about how such a tiny boat would survive out at sea. Below are…
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The Contents of My Lid Pocket
Some reflections about the trusty rucksack I lugged half away across South America: My rucksack has a particularly large pocket in its lid. Big enough for an A4 folder or a pair of shoes. It always contains those items which I will need most often. For the first week this was money for buying food…
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The Youngest Person to Sail Solo Round the World
Recent years have seen a spate of young sailors taking to the waves in an attempt to become the youngest person to complete a solo and unsupported circumnavigation. There are debates about which journeys were made entirely unsupported and those which were non-stop but below are some of the sailors included in the lists: [divide]…
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Science and Expeditions
A key motivation for expeditions over the ages, and into the present day, has been scientific research. I never write about it on this website though because I’ve never really got into it. I think it’s a great reason to go travelling on an adventure – probably more worthy than just for fun and self-fulfilment…
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The Man Who Lived On His Bike
I honestly think this might be the best video I’ve ever seen… THE MAN WHO LIVED ON HIS BIKE from Guillaume Blanchet on Vimeo.