In August 2022, ignoring Foreign Office advice, we set off for a two-week holiday to northern Pakistan expecting balmy days and stunning views of snow-capped peaks. However, the extended monsoon season resulted in a different but unique and unforgettable experience. We were very lucky to be able follow our planned route with limited interruption, nothing …
Saturday 31st July 2021 was a long-anticipated date on our diaries; the beginning of our first overseas holiday together in 18 months. Most of our friends would not consider this to be a holiday, as our goal was to complete a test pilot of the Rat Race Iceland Coast to Coast challenge. We were the …
We’re very excited to have discovered a new cycling concept on our doorstep….Canal Cycling! We recently learnt that the Slough arm of the Grand Union Canal starts quite close to home. This is a clean and peaceful stretch of canal, brightened up by colourfully decorated house boats. After 8km it joins the main canal which is an …
Northumberland, the land of castles and beaches… Once one of the largest and most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Northumberland is a sparsely populated county in northernmost England filled with ancient castles, unspoilt beaches, rolling hills, rugged moorland, friendly market towns and a unique cultural heritage. We decided that it was an ideal place for a 2020 staycation and so, a …
Over the past weeks I’ve discovered that it’s possible to go beyond the bubble while in your bubble…. we don’t need to travel far away from home to learn new things, we just need to have an open mind. I resigned from the corporate world at the end of 2019. No more 60-hour weeks with …
We write this from home when we should be in the middle of the Panamanian jungle on an eight day multi-sport challenge – the toughest endurance event of our lives so far; two back to back marathons from sea level to 2,500m followed by four 20km days carrying 18kg through the depths of the jungle …
I could clearly see two sets of leopard tracks in the firm sand and paused my Garmin to consider my options for a few minutes. Do I continue in the hope that the cats are now dozing in the morning sun or do I turn back towards the village? This was my fifth early morning …
The sky was blue and the fresh snow was glistening all around us as we enjoyed a meaty Sunday lunch in an abandoned Pyrenean village. We had just skied down a deserted valley at the bottom of which were the renovated church and a small refuge (https://www.refugimontgarri.com/). The ambience was idyllic, even more so when …
Cape Verde, a country of ten diverse volcanic islands, lies off the coast of Senegal. It’s one of those places which, when telling people about your holiday plans, generates a blank stare meaning ‘I’ve no idea where that is and why you want to go there’. The co-authors of the latest Bradt guide suggest that …
1st January 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade but more importantly, our launch of the Beyond the Bubble brand and blog. Our first blog comes from Keswick, a bustling market town in the Lake District national park (North West England) where we’ve spent the last three days. We stayed at the Cottage in …
