An occasional blog on topics related to my work. For a behind-the-scenes look, subscribe to my Patreon page.
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When I decided last summer to build the Transcaucasian Trail, I had no idea just what kind of a political mess I was getting myself into. I don’t mean the regional geopolitics of the Caucasus, either. That’s actually pretty clear-cut. Some areas are off-limits, some borders are closed. Thankfully, none of this actually affects a trail that would follow the Lesser Caucasus mountain chain, which passes relatively unhindered (from a hiker’s perspective) among the tangle of regional conflicts. No – what I mean is the politics of hiking trail development. Continue reading at transcaucasian.com →
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Mestia to Ushguli: Is Svaneti In Danger Of Losing Its Mysticism?
Agendas – hidden or otherwise – seem to play a big part in trail development. Sometimes there is a peace-building motive, knitting together fragmented nations by means of a common travel corridor. More often an effort is framed in terms of the future financial benefits, which usually boils down to a simple equation between more trails and more tourism dollars. But it is rare to come across a trailbuilding effort in this part of the world that whose primary stated aim is to improve access to the outdoors for its own sake. Continue reading at transcaucasian.com »
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Syunik Province: Southern Armenia’s Most Overlooked Hiking Destination?
Characterised by wild moorlands, terrible roads, and an unintelligible local dialect, the province of Syunik is a large but sparsely populated region at the far end of Armenia, sufficiently far from the capital to have retained its own unique cultural identity. Much like Yorkshire, in fact. Continue reading at transcaucasian.com »
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Hitting The Dirt In Armenia: Where The Fun Begins
I’ve been trying desperately to think of a compelling angle for a blog post about the 12 days of driving from London to Yerevan. But the truth of the matter is that a really long drive on good highways does not make for particularly interesting storytelling. This is subjective, of course… Continue reading at transcaucasian.com »
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Announcing The Official Launch Of The Transcaucasian Expedition
It’s with nervous trepidation that I write to you this morning. This feeling is usually a sign that something daunting is coming. That’s very true right now: today marks the ‘official’ launch of my big project for 2016, which I’ve named the Transcaucasian Expedition. (You may see it mentioned in the UK press today, but better to get the news straight from the horse’s mouth, as they say.) Nervous trepidation, yes. But also relief! Why relief? Because months of planning and preparation have gone into this. Desk work. I even rented office space. Some people enjoy that stuff. Personally, I can’t help…
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The Transcaucasian Expedition Begins This Month! Here’s The Plan…
I write to you today from the bottom of a very large hole. I have spent the last few months digging this hole. Sometimes I pause digging and ask myself: “Tom, if no expedition you’ve ever organised has gone to plan, nor ended in the way you intended, why are you spending so much time digging yet another hole for yourself?” This is a strange fact that has come out of my introspections: No expedition I’ve ever led has turned out like it ‘should’ have. For fun, let’s revisit this catalogue of errors. First and still so very memorable was that…
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Is The Canon XC10 The Adventure Travel Filmmaker’s Ideal Camera?
People keep asking me for camera recommendations for travel videos and adventure films. Here’s one: the Canon XC10. (With a few accessories, on which more later.) Both Leon and I are shooting on this camera right now. Indeed, we’ve both worked our way through the exact same progression of cameras over the years. First came the Sony HVR-A1E, which I used for Janapar and Leon for his Cycling Reporter project. It recorded onto tapes. Tapes! Then came the Canon XF100, which was the main camera for Walking Home From Mongolia, Into The Empty Quarter, Karun, and The Last Explorers. It’s a true time-proven workhorse; still…
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Why Do Adventure Snobs Hate The Camino De Santiago?
There is a certain snobbery in the adventure travel world about the Camino de Santiago. I’ll assume you’ve heard of it, but if you haven’t, the Camino — as it’s known for short — is a network of Christian pilgrimage routes that all end in Santiago de Compostela, an ancient city in north-west Spain. Santiago (San Tiago) is the hispanic form of Saint James; hence the Camino is often translated as ‘The Way Of Saint James’. The snobbery isn’t so much stated outright as hanging above a conversation in the form of a half-smirk, though it does occasionally receive a full dose of vitriol.…
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How on Earth do you create a brand new long distance hiking trail?
More than once in recent weeks I’ve found myself lying awake at night, my mind refusing to take a break from thinking, planning, worrying. How on Earth do you create a brand new long distance hiking trail? Because I’ve committed to doing this thing. I really have. I’ve cleared my entire schedule for 2016 to create a long-distance hiking route across Armenia and Georgia – or, at least, to get the ball rolling on it. I’ve turned down talks and events, postponed all my other projects, and put making a living on hold to do something more worthwhile (again). How…
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Why I’ve Founded A Travel Grant To Get Young People Exploring The World On Two Wheels
My first long bicycle adventure – 3½ years crossing 32 countries – taught me many things. Among them: that the world was far bigger than I thought. That my body was capable of amazing feats of adaptation. That the more I learned, the less I knew. In short, that all the tropes of the motivational speaker were true. But when I cast a glance back, the first memories that come to mind are of the people who opened a door and let me, a stranger on a bicycle, into their lives, and the things those experiences taught me. For a…