First evening indoor bouldering session in ages! Possibly the first since last winter!? Had a hour free to race in and get a workout. Really enjoyed it. Always good route setting at Indy Wall. All this after a windy day in a canoe… Read more

The storm has passed and The Cottage survived unscathed. With blue skies on the Island and the chance of a wave, we set out with surf boards feeling optimistic. It was quite a wild sea, but the wind was gradually dropping. We found a sheltered(ish) bay and had a great time. It was hard to… Read more

Freakishly warm temperatures hit me as I walked out of The Cottage this morning. By 9am it was overcast with strange coloured clouds an 20°C! As I was waiting down by the river for my expedition students to arrive from their campsite, the sun suddenly appeared through the clouds, in a bright red way, a… Read more

A bit of poetry nonsense from a day in the life of a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition trainer. I’m sure a few folk can relate to some of the scenarios… Checkpoint Charlie – He sits…. He Waits…. The Checkpoint – Expedition Hunting Are they lost? Got blistered feet? They’re not here; where we said we’d… Read more

After a very windy night, I was glad to wake up to still calm conditions. I had to get up in the night to put in some extra tent pegs, for fear of damage to the tent. And for a while, I kept getting woken up by gusts of wind that would flatten the flysheet… Read more

I’m camped up on the hilltops above Conwy tonight! It’s a magical spot that overlooks the estuary as well as out to sea and across to Anglesey. After leaving my group after dark, I pitched my tent on a summit and lay out in my sleeping bag watching shooting stars. I saw three really clear… Read more