Tag: Guest Blogs
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The Frog Whitton Challenge
Cycling and dipping in the 16 biggest water bodies in the Lake District Last summer, Laura cycled around the Lake District, dipping into the 16 largest water bodies, in what she’s christened the Frog Whitton Challenge. She tells us more in this blog post. Many years ago, together with a group of mates, I decided…
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Microplastic Microexpedition on the River Severn
A-level student Alex was originally awarded a Next Challenge Grant in 2020 to walk the Cornish coastline, to raise awareness of the need to reduce our dependency on single-use plastics. The Covid pandemic intervened and the plan changed: instead of the Plastic Plod, Alex proposed a Plastic Paddle. With three friends, he paddled 120 miles…
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Walking the Lycian Way
Jes and Pete won a Next Challenge Grant in 2022 to walk the Lycian Way in southern Turkey. This is the report from their adventure (caution: may provoke severe wanderlust). The Next Challenge Grant is a crowd-funded adventure grant which has supported over 70 adventures since it was founded in 2015. Applications for 2023 are…
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Walking Orkney’s Trails
Rhonda Muir won a Next Challenge Grant in 2020 with her proposal to walk all 300+ miles of Orkney’s trails. Together with her husband, she’s building a website dedicated to preserving Orkney’s folk tales and history, as well as showing both locals and visitors the best off-the-beaten-path places to explore. By embracing what she calls…
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Walking the Staffordshire Way with a toddler
Marjorie Armijos won a Next Challenge Grant back in 2019. Originally from Ecuador, she moved to the UK a couple of years ago and applied for the grant as an excuse to explore her new local area of Staffordshire, planning to walk all 99 miles of the Staffordshire Way with her two year old daughter,…
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Traversing Mount Tantalus
Athlyn Cathcart-Keays won a Next Challenge Grant in 2022 to traverse Mount Tantalus, near her home in Canada. Starting from her home at sea level, she crossed the range over two days, encountering everything from sunshine, snow and storms. This is her trip report. The Next Challenge Grant is a crowd-funded adventure grant which has supported over…
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Running across every UK national park
Mike Creighton won a Next Challenge Grant in 2019 to run across all the national parks in the UK. Health issues means he still has one park left to go, but in the meantime here is his story. The Next Challenge Grant is a crowd-funded adventure grant which has supported over 70 adventures since it was founded…
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Bikepacking Scotland coast to coast (and back again)
Kay Emmerson won a Next Challenge Grant in 2022 to bike across Scotland and back. It was exactly the sort of low key, low cost adventure we love to support. This is her trip report. The Next Challenge Grant is a crowd-funded adventure grant which has supported over 70 adventures since it was founded in 2015. Applications…
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Walking the Bob Graham Round
Colin Foord won a Next Challenge Grant in 2022 to walk the iconic Bob Graham Round. Aged 17, he completed the route over 3 days, covering over 100km with 8,200 metres of climbing. The Next Challenge Grant is a crowd-funded adventure grant which has supported over 70 adventures since it was founded in 2015. Applications for 2023…
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Slow fast-packing the Hajar Mountains of Oman
Chloe Boxall won a Next Challenge grant in 2022, to support her plan to fast-pack across the Western Hajar mountains in Oman. Having lived in Oman and explored these mountains, we were instantly captivated by this idea (not to mention hugely envious). Chloe was joined in this adventure by Alice Hudson and reports back on…
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Walking the Kids to School… and keeping on going
Ali Makoutz won a Next Challenge Grant in 2022 to walk her kids to school, and then keep on going through the foothills of the Sierras. As a nurse and mother of four girls she doesn’t have a lot of time to nurture her own adventurous spirit, but has been dreaming about microadventures you can…
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Teenager Walking from the Lakes to the Dales
The Next Challenge Grant is open to applicants of all ages but I especially like receiving applications from young people. I never stop being impressed by the ambition and boldness of youth, and today’s grant winner is no exception. At first glance, a few days of walking in the UK may not immediately seem like…