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Philosophy Of Travel Story Of My Life Transcaucasian Trail

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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Story Of My Life

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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Story Of My Life

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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Flight Free 2020 Philosophy Of Travel Story Of My Life

#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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Story Of My Life Transcaucasian Trail

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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Armenia: The Bradt Travel Guide (2018) Story Of My Life

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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Story Of My Life Transcaucasian Trail

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 […]

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Life On The Road Philosophy Of Travel Story Of My Life

Behind The Scenes On 15 Years Of Location-Independent Digital Nomading

I first published this piece in 2016 as an evergreen article which I’ll update as, well, life goes on. The latest updates were made in March 2022. My location-independent journey as a digital nomad began before it had a name. It was 2007, I was 23, and I’d set off on a bicycle to explore the world. I sold everything I […]

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Story Of My Life

8 Adventure & Travel Projects I’d Start Right Now (Given Unlimited Time, Money & Resources)

After a challenging 2015, I’m taking a one-month break to assess my direction for the coming year. And the outlook is pleasantly clear, thanks to the trail-building project I wrote about in my last post. It’s not just the idea to build Armenia’s first long-distance hiking route that’s got me excited. A good measure of an idea’s timeliness […]

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Story Of My Life

What If You Lived In A Place Where Adventure Didn’t Exist?

It is easy to make a living from adventure in the UK. The industry is established and growing. Work opportunities are replete. Job boards are filled with placements; gear and apparel retailers are multiplying; adventure tourism has rarely been more popular. And if the idea of employment doesn’t float your boat, you can simply become […]