Category: Story Of My Life
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Breaking: Self-Unemployed Explorer Finally Gets Real Job
I recently got the opportunity to do something more risky and terrifying than any of the journeys, expeditions or adventure projects I’ve ever undertaken. That’s right: aged 41, and after nearly two decades as a “self-unemployed creative explorer”, I was offered my first ever real job. And – gasp – I took it! Because in…
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Yet Another Defender Camper Conversion: DIY 2-Berth 110 In A Weekend
Quick back-story: several years ago I was the lucky recipient of the Land Rover Bursary, an expedition grant administered by the Royal Geographical Society. As well as a generous pile of cash, JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations built us a bespoke expedition Land Rover Defender 110 called Georgina. Pretty neat, right? Land Rover Owner magazine thought…
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Exactly How Do You Fund Your Adventure Travel Lifestyle?
A reader writes: I would be very interested in how you fund your adventures / lifestyle. I know this is always a bit of an awkward one, but I think there are many people in the community that would be interested in ways to make extra income, source sponsorship and budget for adventures. Thanks so…
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Breaking: Former Traveller Recreates Feeling Of Adventure At Home (Again)
The moment I decided to stop travelling, put down roots, and buy a house (on the pretext that I needed somewhere to store my bikes and camping gear), some deeply buried part of my brain started looking for ways to make it feel like I was actually still travelling. I’m certainly not the first. And…
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New Interview Now Live On The Self-Propelled Podcast
I very much enjoyed chatting with Dave Cornthwaite a couple of weeks ago while recording a new episode for his Self Propelled Podcast. We travelled a meandering path of conversation on the theme of living life on one’s own terms, from my early bicycle-mounted adventures, to finding creative expression through books and films, to sharing…
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Trail Notes From The Stunning Zagros Mountains Of Iraqi Kurdistan
In December last year, just before my #FlightFree2020 began, I took a hike across northern Iraq, where my long-time collaborator in adventure Leon McCarron has been working with the Abraham Path Initiative on a nascent trail project in the region. We’re talking about landscapes that were once part of ancient Mesopotamia, so the route traverses…
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#FlightFree2020: Can Flight-Free Living & Adventure Travel Really Coexist? Let’s Find Out
Today, on this day of New Year’s Resolutions, I pledge to join the Flight Free UK campaign. Between now and the 1st of January 2021, I will not take a single flight. I’ve joined the campaign because, as a long-time advocate of adventurous travel and exploration, I can no longer ignore my own hypocrisy. I…
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The Gegham Mountains: Exploring Armenia’s Volcanic Backcountry
The Gegham Mountains are an imposing chain of volcanic domes that bisects Armenia from north to south. For most of the year they are impenetrable due to a thick layer of snow. But come June, as snow starts to melt, the country’s tent-dwelling Yezidi nomads drive their cattle from lowland plains to graze beneath the…
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How I Added ‘Guidebook Author’ To My List Of So-Called Professions
A quick heads-up that the new Bradt Travel Guide to Armenia, whose 5th edition I’ve co-authored, has arrived in the warehouse and will be shipping from today! Click here to order direct from the publisher at a 10% discount over the cover price. But how did I suddenly manage to add ‘guidebook author’ to my…
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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…