We arrived in Cornwall and was greeted with an amazing sunset and a nice private parking spot! The next day we headed straight to Bosigran. Unfortunately you are not allowed to stay over night in the car park, and there are signs stating so. This is a common occurrence across the country atm. We set... Continue Reading →
It’s been a while since I’ve done a post, in fact it’s been a while since I’ve done anything... like most of the country/world, we’ve been locked down! To be honest I’ve worked throughout, but social activities and sports have been limited to say the least. It’s not like Sussex is a renowned location for... Continue Reading →
We've had another week off, and it's another staycation in the van. This time we went to sunny Portland! We planned on a trip to North Wales and continue our search for a place to live in the UK, but the weather looked pants, so we decided to stay more local. A mere 3 hours... Continue Reading →
After our weekends climbing at Three Cliffs Bay, we decided to climb at the next place up the coast. We found a space that was free and realised we could have parked there for both Three Cliffs and Tor Bay. This is where we spent the next two nights and in-between climbed at Tor Bay. ... Continue Reading →
Our next big plan is pretty down to earth compared to living in the van, and climbing around in Europe for a year. This next plan still involves climbing, but is also a house hunting trip. Were not literally looking at houses yet, but we are looking at each area with a wider perspective. Hoping... Continue Reading →
So we managed to get away for the week, even with this ongoing Covid situation. We booked a trip a while ago, but was unsure if we could go? We called ahead and checked it was all ok, so we decided to go… We took a long drive up, via my folks in Birmingham. We... Continue Reading →
We parked next to Coniston Lake and had the most amazing view out of the van. Literally three steps out of the door and you'd be soaked! We couldn't climb the next day and decided to head up to Old Man Coniston via a couple of scrambles. The first problem was parking. We tried to... Continue Reading →
Our next big plan is pretty down to earth compared to living in the van, and climbing around in Europe for a year. This next plan still involves climbing, but is also a house hunting trip. Were not literally looking at houses yet, but we are looking at each area with a wider perspective. Hoping... Continue Reading →
So it's fair to say it's been a long time since I last put up a post. It's not that I've not been doing nothing, it's that I've done less and then not documented it. My bad! Maybe on the downtime afforded by the social lockdown, I will have time to post a few updates.... Continue Reading →
Jess and me have been climbing together for nearly ten years and although there has been ample opportunity to climb at the Wye Valley, we have avoided it. I know the main reason is that everyone we talk to about it is quite negative about things, a common phrase I've heard is that people 'don't... Continue Reading →
It has taken me so long to write about this weekend caving that I've already posted about our first day in Dan-yr-Ogaf, whilst I catch up with writing. To be honest I've had a couple of lazy week/weekends and therefore should have had these posted weeks ago, but for some reason I've not got round... Continue Reading →
It's fair to say that working a five day week leaves you living for the weekend. More often than not I'm overly tired by the time I reach a day off, but I have to force myself to get out at the weekends, otherwise I would be tirelessly working to work, rather than working to... Continue Reading →
This was another caving weekend set up by our friend Tim at the SWCC. These caves are bigger than those found in the Mendips, and oftenl house some beautiful features that are separated by some really sporting caving. The first cave was Dan-yr-Ogaf, a showcave with dinosaurs and who knows what else, but it also... Continue Reading →
So after an amazing adventure in Egypt we were back in the UK and planned a climbing adventure in Snowdonia for the second week of our holidays. Unfortunately, a trip to Egypt is often followed by what's politely called an upset tummy (AKA the runs…). So we set off in the van, with the risk... Continue Reading →
This post follows on from the previous scuba round up, there has been plenty going on, although as ever there had been a few trips missed due to adverse conditions. Chesil Cove I have been trying to dive Chesil all year, but being based in Brighton makes this a pretty long haul trip. I finally... Continue Reading →
I've been diving for just short of ten years, and this was the first trip where I have seen a coral reef, and I have to say I thought if was amazing. There is just so much life in one area that you can struggle to take it all in, the colours, shapes, formations, all... Continue Reading →
Diving this year has so far been a mixed bag! From zero visibility to 10 metres or more, from perfectly long slacks to a non stop current throughout. You get the picture, it's been a bit unknown, and this is why I'm posting this post now as once again the shuttle boats have been cancelled... Continue Reading →
It's fair to say that everytime we meet UK climbers, one of the first questions is have we climbed in the peaks? After seven years of owning the guidebook and ten years of climbing we have finally climbed in the Peak District! The first stop was the Roaches, simply because I read the name in... Continue Reading →
I've missed out on multiple sea dives this year, simply due to the unpredictable British weather. However, last weekend the sun was shining and the sea was calm, so diving was definitely on the cards, the Aeolian Sky was our wreck of choice. We made our way out of the harbour, and an hour's shuttle... Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago I was diving at the National Diving Activity Centre (NDAC), when a friend mentioned this new diving lake in Kent. On getting home, I did a bit of research and found what he was on about, and set out on my first free weekend to scout it out. The website... Continue Reading →
Our second day in Brecon started comfortably, having a slow breakfast and getting ready in our own time. Today's cave was Pant Mawr which meant on leaving the hut, we had to walk for over an hour, over the hills being the hut to each the cave opening. Tim's navigating brought us directly to the... Continue Reading →
We left Brighton on Friday night with our bearings set for the mendips. On arrival we hunkered down as forty mile an hour winds literally rocked us to sleep. In the morning we met Tim and as a three set off for South Wales. It's been years since I was in the Brecons, and as... Continue Reading →
It is fair to say that it was going to be a busy weekend; a bank holiday in Snowdonia was always going to be busy! Even though we would not be able to take advantage of the whole bank holiday weekend, we would have to squeeze in as much into the two days we had!... Continue Reading →
Its been a while since we have got away in the van, its also been a while since I've been climbing! But it was a good change of pace to get away from the mundane! It was a break from the mundane work life, that just seems to roll through month after month. We drove... Continue Reading →
This year's winter diving has been course orientated in preparation for the upcoming dive season. The last part of this was to complete the accelerated decompression procedures course, and brush up on twin set shut down drills. I actually did this course a few years ago, but never put in for the tickets, however this... Continue Reading →
So a few years ago we went caving with our friend Tim and last weekend we picked up where we left off! Quite a gap between the trips, but we have been somewhat busy!! When we stopped caving a few years ago, we had done quite a few trips to Swildons and Fairy Cave that... Continue Reading →
So it has been a long time, since i have had anything worthwhile to post about on here. All said and done, I have not been up to much, just the normal things that normal people do, like work and rest at weekends. however the last couple of weekends I have actually got off my... Continue Reading →
It has taken me a long while, to get around to writing this article. Partly due to the motivation to write about past life experiences, when my current experiences are less than interesting! It’s fair to say that my time as a scuba diving guide was for the most part fantastic. The opportunity to get... Continue Reading →
So you've already seen my Nudies, now it's time for my crabs! Or more precisely a collection of photographs of all the Crustaceans and a couple of molluscs that I have come across on numerous dives! Hermit crab Prideauxs hermit crab Sea hare Cleaner shrimp Anemone hermit crab Locust lobster Unfortunately, at the moment, we... Continue Reading →
As the title clearly states, I have a whole bunch of nudibranch pictures to share with you! I love these little guys, they come in all shapes and sizes. I'm forever searching them out on dives and after two months of continuous diving I have spotted quite a few! I love these little guys, they... Continue Reading →
Since I've been working in the bay of Port 9 in Korcula, I have amassed a ton of dives in the bay, whilst conducting try dives. An opportunity for the non diver to get in the water and have the experience of diving under the waves! Most of the time we see something worthwhile, an... Continue Reading →
It's safe to say I'm way behind on any posts I was intending to write, however I will hopefully be catching up at some point! I'm still working as a Dive guide, and working hard! To put it in perspective I have been working for the past twelve days straight and have completed 38 dives... Continue Reading →
After posting about my experiences as a dive guide after a month I thought it would be good to share some of the amazing photos that I have managed to take when not guiding dives. Although it's not an everyday occurance I do have the chance to get in the water and have a dive... Continue Reading →
As the title says, I have recently been given a couple of days off scuba diving and as Jess was off climbing I thought I would join her! We headed to Hvar on the ferry, I managed to sleep throughout the whole journey, and on arrival we managed to find Olivia, who Jess had met... Continue Reading →
I managed to cover my first day as a guide in my previous post. It was a busy day, and in itself set the tone for the rest of the week. Not that the week has been off my feet busy, however it has been full on and super enjoyable! I have dived many of... Continue Reading →
As the title suggests, I've just started working as a dive guide and so far it's been pretty full on! On day one I completed three dives, the first of which I led, a thirty metre wall, with an anchor at the base! We traversed this seeing, spinney lobster, confirm eels, a couple of small... Continue Reading →
We have just arrived in Korcula, Croatia! We had an early start, with the usual rigmarole of travelling to and from the airport. Weirdly the last month we have spent in the UK has been fantastic weather wise, even so it was hotter on arrival! We were picked up at the airport by my new... Continue Reading →
We were lucky enough to finally get Climbing again after a month off! We headed down to Weymouth to celebrate the wedding of George and Nicky, and lucky enough for both them and us, the weather gods were shining upon us! After the wedding we decided to stay in the area and climb as the... Continue Reading →
At our six month point in the trip I wrote a short review of that time to sum up what we had been up to. So I thought I’d do the same for the second! Each of the things on here have more in depth individual posts, that go into more detail, however this will... Continue Reading →
Every adventure has to end at some point, it’s usually a mixed bag of emotions and ours was no different. We finished our last week city hopping and visiting friends in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, each of which has their own post. By the time we were at the ferry port I was looking... Continue Reading →
As a finale to outer trip, we headed back to Belgium from Amsterdam with a plan to visit some of the battlefield sites and cemeteries of World War One. I have done a battlefield tour sixteen years ago when I first joined the Army, and have ever since, especially in recent years wanted to... Continue Reading →
Purchased From: Decathlon Price: £19.99 Period of time used: 13 months (Climbing outdoors 3-5 times a week) Another Simond review? Well truth be told I use a lot of kit and equipment brought in Decathlon for the simple reason that much of the equipment there is good quality for a cheaper price, as well as... Continue Reading →
Purchased from: Decathlon Price: £29.99 Period of time used: 11 months (on a nearly daily basis) This is the first review for the blog, simply because they are the thing I use the most! These have become my go to trousers for everything from lounging around, walking into town and of course Climbing, walking, mountaineering... Continue Reading →
We arrived in Amsterdam and managed to get a spot at the Vliegenbos caravan park, our first official night on a campsite in over 11 months on the road, not bad! We were keen to take advantage of the facilities, however we were keener still to get out into Amsterdam and tick off a few... Continue Reading →
After finishing with our climbing in Fontainebleau we headed north to Belgium where we were to meet with a couple of friends met many years ago, and have ever since planned time and again to meet up, however this has never happened. We arrived in Aalst after a looong drive, and had a few drinks... Continue Reading →
This is where we started the Climbing trip nearly a year ago, so it only seems fair that this would be where it ended. As ever when I arrive in Font I am immediately fond of the place, pulling down rugged roads, avoiding potholes and ending up at a car park surrounded by nothing but... Continue Reading →
The day after our ski touring adventure in Chamonix, we set off in the direction of home, and decided that we would pop into the Bourgogne region, as there was a bit of climbing there that we could get done before dropping Colin off at Paris Airport. We pulled into Saffres that has a basic... Continue Reading →
For the first time on this trip we have a visitor!out friend Colin flew over and met us in Cham, we put him up in the five star spare room in the van, also known as the front seats, and decided on a few places to visit. We first took a trip to Les Gaillands,... Continue Reading →
For years I have come to Chamonix in the summer for rock climbing and mountaineering adventures. I’ve always looked up at these beautiful mountains and wondered what they would look like with their winter coat on and now I have had the chance! We arrived in Chamonix at the start of the month after three... Continue Reading →
In my last post I described our trip to Montserrat, where we walked and climbed in the mountains above the Monastery. The views in this place were out of this world, towers of rock stood atop of a huge mound, and from a distance it looks like a hedgehog. We enjoyed our time there, although... Continue Reading →
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