Join me as I travel the world and give regular insights into what it is really like being a solo backpacker and tips to help you plan your own adventures
It's going to be difficult to describe the experience on the Cairngorms traverse but to sum it up in a word... Brutal. I didn't make it to the end of the traverse, having decided to head to the road at Braemar in light of a couple of severe weather warnings and having the waterproofing of... Continue Reading →
Now things really get going!! I'm launching into phase 2 of my training and it's all about steps, hills and weight. I hit the stair master for a 10 minute blitz wearing a backpack to ease myself into it. Even without knowing about the backpack, the machine reckons I burned more than 100 calories -... Continue Reading →
Firstly, a huge shout out to Lauren and the team at Alpkit Bristol - I am so grateful for their help today - what a great place and great team! I thought was going to have to drive to the Lake District to visit an Alpkit store so I was chuffed to find they recently... Continue Reading →
Smooth sailing and slowly building up my fitness and endurance. I had a few days off work and completed Week 4 on the Couch to 5k (C25K) mainly during daylight hours. Walking to warm down after my final Week 4 run on C25K I also hit the climbing gym for the first time in a... Continue Reading →
First stop for my preparations for the icy Cairngorms expedition was to see my physiotherapist, Gemma, who had helped me with some ankle rehab in 2020. I hadn't mentioned, but I sprained my ankle pretty badly on a run one day without much warning, my ankle just felt tight for a minute and then.. "ping".... Continue Reading →
I've decided to use my training and trek across the Cairngorms to raise money for The Ocean Cleanup. The non-profit has demonstrated that it has a REALLY compelling solution to remove an enormous chunk of the plastic pollution in the ocean, and I'm really passionate about supporting them. Please consider donating to this great cause... Continue Reading →
So. Home safe in England, but still buzzing from my first trip out of the UK in 2 years, I started to get itchy feet. I reached out to one of the most adventurous people I know, Katie Comer, tour guide for Dragoman overland adventures all over the world, who led my journey through Uzbekistan... Continue Reading →
The journey to Hamburg went off without a hitch, though it was genuinely so strange to be in an airport again after so long. I had bought myself some kids mental maths workbooks to run through and so I spent some time in the airport and on the plane doing some simple maths problems. Upon... Continue Reading →
In late August I received an invitation to a European Space Agency Astronaut selection day in Hamburg! I was so excited to be able to take part in the next round! Due to covid restrictions, the duration for this selection stage has been hugely elongated and I was offered one of 5 test days within... Continue Reading →
I've got some exciting news! I submitted an application to become an Astronaut with the European Space Agency and I made it through the initial application sift! Back in around February, the official timeline was released for the European Space Agency to once again invite applications from across Europe for 6 people to join the... Continue Reading →
Join me on this exciting new adventure as I take you along with me in my application to become an astronaut with the European Space Agency!! In preparation, and to make sure I put some real effort into training, I also signed up to take part in a CRAZY expedition across the Cairngorms in the... Continue Reading →
