Freelance Copywriter and outdoor specialist
If you know how to use the OS Maps app to plan a walking route, you’ve probably already used the snap-to-path feature. It’s a useful tool that can take some of the time (and clicks) out of creating an online route by automatically aligning it with existing roads, paths and tracks.
It’s useful but not perfect…yet!
I first heard the term ‘grockles’ from my Guernsey aunty. Visiting from land-locked Malvern, I did my very best to avoid being seen as one but of course, as anyone living in a seaside town will tell you,
If you’re not a local, you must be something else.
Continue reading “‘Hordes of locals’. What is it like to live in a seaside town?”
Whilst here in the UK we do have some circular long distance walks, Derbyshire’s 97-mile White Peak Way and the Lake District’s 74-mile Lakeland Round being two impressive examples, most of our well known long distance walking routes are linear. Linear walks (that go from point A to point B) are satisfying because they give a great sense of journey.
But they can also make for tricky vehicle logistics.
If you leave your car at point A, will it be safe? Will the car park fees be expensive? And more importantly, how are you going to get it to point B? To my mind, the answer to all of these questions is obvious.
Okay. It’s a fair cop.
I don’t always travel by train.
Mr D and I also have a campervan, in which we enjoy road trips to interesting places near and far. Places which often seem include railway stations.
You can tell who plans our road trips!
Continue reading “Campsite or wild camping? Which makes the best UK campervan trip?”
Next time you set off on an adventure or day out with a group of friends or family, why not think about travelling by train? Your group public transport travel will produce far less CO2 emissions than each of you travelling individually by car, and the train is the perfect place to start enjoying your get together even before you reach your destination.
For many people however, the cost of train travel is an issue, especially if you live a long way from where you want to go. One way to keep those costs down is to travel in a group. We’ve gathered together some information on group train ticket booking.
Continue reading “Group train ticket booking can save you money”
I’ve always loved exploring.
Mum will tell you I was off out of the front door minutes after I learned to crawl. But although I’ve been lucky enough to visit some amazing locations, for me exploration isn’t just about wild lonely places or long trips I have to wait for ages to happen.
Exploring is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Continue reading “Go to ordinary places. Find extraordinary things.”
How many mountains have you climbed? If you’re anything like me, your mountain summit conquests aren’t numerous. There was Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Wales, Cairn Gorm in Scotland (although I started that one quite high up) and Te-taumata-o-Hakitekura (Ben Lomond) in New Zealand. Not a high score and I’m not sure my knees are currently up to increasing it.
But I have climbed plenty of hills.
Continue reading “Nearly mountains in England to climb from train stations”
Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day can be pretty unsustainable. Plastic wrapped unseasonal roses, chocolates with more packaging than taste, underwear that nobody in their right mind would wear more than once…
The list is endless.
So this Valentine’s Day why not do things a bit differently. Why not choose to save the planet with the one you love.
Continue reading “Five romantic ideas for a Valentine’s Day out by train”
I was going to call this my 2023 bucket list but I’ve every hope I’ll avoid kicking any buckets (messy business) and make it through to 2024. As you might have noticed, I’ve become in 2022 slightly obsessed with outdoor adventures by train. Not only that but I’ve also been writing about train adventures for a few clients too.
Which has led to plenty of research.
Really fun research as it happens.
I now know where to find England’s highest and the UK’s most remote main line train stations. I know which out of the Ribblehead and Glenfinnan Viaducts is the longest, and that neither of these wins the UK-long-viaduct prize. I know that the Heart of Wales Line starts in England, and that the Settle to Carlisle Line has 14 tunnels.
I also know that I have a lot more train adventuring to do.
The phrase ‘winter adventure break’ could mean so many things. You might be a keen skier off to fly the slopes, or a sun-seeker eager to sip cocktails by the pool. Or if, like me, your budget isn’t currently very stretchy, you might be considering a cheap winter holiday in the UK. Hopefully, whichever you choose, it will be warmer than the autumn beach sleep that was one of my more recent adventures by train.
I would have been much cosier if I had packed the right sleeping bag!
‘Affordable’ is another of those words with an elastic meaning. After all, one girl’s bargain could be another man’s luxury. And of course, train tickets are notoriously expensive. So I’ve put together this set of budget winter adventures in the UK with that in mind. Starting with the cheapest (per person), here are my suggestions for adventurous winter breaks you can do by train and might be able to afford this winter.
Continue reading “Budget UK winter adventure breaks by train”
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