National Press

I was excited to see a very short, but positive, mention of my book in Saturday's Daily Express. Even tiny publicity is good publicity (blink and you'll miss it.....)

There's also a great mention of it on this blog too http://naturcymru.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/pirouetting-on-path-joyous-approach-to.html

The Book's Out!

Wow, so after months of researching, scribbling, writing and editing, and then loads of design, tidying and proof work from the fabulous team at Northern Eye Books, my very first book is finally ready and printed! The first copies came from the publisher last week, and they look great!

And, after all the hard work, it's fantastic to see such a positive review on the Amazon website...
For the full review click here and to reserve your copy now!

 

 

Jersey Jewels

The heavens opened. We stood by the sea shivering, plastic kayaks at our feet and cold rain dripping into the collars of our wet-suits. For a fleeting moment I wondered how on earth I’d come to be standing on a Jersey shore waiting for a dip in the icy ocean with a group of strangers. Was I dreaming? I slapped the chilly fabric against my arm… no I wasn’t dreaming. This was the OWPG (Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild) weekend.

Now admittedly, I don’t have a vast amount of experience of AGM weekends of any kind, but the very string of letters ayyy-geeeeee-emmm always hits a note of tedium somewhere deep inside as I imagine a soul-less meeting room and hours of droning tones about reports, statistics, statements, summaries, summons, plans, protests and presentations. However, as I was a new member to the guild over the summer I thought I should make an effort to meet everyone and pretend I wasn’t at all daunted to meet many of the industry’s champions. But when Dennis Kelsall first sent me the list of activities and adventures that had been planned for us all on Jersey, I began to realise that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary AGM meeting after all.

As it turned out, there wasn’t a note of tedium in sound, or sight. The Guild walked, cycled, kayaked, abseiled, rock climbed, coasteer-ed, blo-karted, cruised, talked, ate and drank their way around Jersey. The huge range of activities on offer and the enthusiasm for each one reminded me what a fascinating and diverse group of people I was with. Each morning, an excited buzz about the day’s adventures and itineraries were just heard over the clattering sounds of breakfast, and the evenings were packed with wind-swept faces sharing tales over delicious food and wine.

And what a friendly and welcoming group of faces they all were, not to mention wildly assorted – from all corners of the country, all walks of life and all outdoor disciplines. My first impressions of the OWPG have been great ones overall; if life with the Guild continues to be as energetic and dynamic as the weekend in Jersey, then I’m sure we’re set for a long and happy relationship, if a somewhat exhausting one!

So back to standing on the cold beach, watching fellow members shivering in wetsuits, I wondered if this is what Terry Fletcher had really meant when he asked me to write a piece on my impressions of “the Guild in the flesh”. Perhaps real in the flesh coverage will have to wait until next year, when I know everyone a little better and I can suggest a Caribbean destination for the ayyyy-geeeee-emmm weekend.

La Corbiere Lighthouse, Jersey

 

See ya Ceefax

Who among us is old enough to remember when British television was ruled by a squeaky gofer in a broom cupboard, Les Dawson chortling through the blanks and Blue Peter's random assortment of tropical pets?

If you can remember all that, then chances are you'll remember the time when a good Saturday night involved a chuppa chup lolly and a flick through the pages of the legendary BBC service Ceefax.

And if that memory's within your grasp then this week will be a sad one. For it's time to finally wave goodbye to good old Ceefax. The final sweep of analogue television signals across the UK will be complete this week when Northern Ireland go digital and their analogue television signal is turned off for good.

Ceefax was first transmitted by the BBC in 1974, and offered a whole host of useful, and useless, information from news headlines to lottery numbers to chess highlights. In 1993 ITV and Channel 4 released their rival service Teletext service, but this was closed in 2009.

These days, the big Red Button has replaced the idea of Ceefax on all digital BBC channels, but somehow it's just not the same!!
 

You can reminisce about the good old days of Ceefax with the BBC's brilliant journey back through time - click here

Bye bye Ceefax, didn't we have a ball....

Soggy Camping

Sadly, the weather was against me last week when I spent a very soggy week camping near the pretty town of Aberaeron on the Welsh Coast.

 

It was a week of rain, wind, snotty noses and soggy wellies, not to mention lots of walks along the coast path as I had lots of research to do for an upcoming publication. I don't like to think of myself as a fair-weather camper, but I came close to throwing in the soggy towel once or twice!

 

But, one thing the stormy, and unpredictable, skies were good for was beautiful sunsets, like this one by the campsite.

 

 

 

 

I absolutely love this part of Wales, and even in the rainy, soggy weather, I think it still looked fabulous. More photos of the adventure to follow soon!

 

 

OWPG

Earlier this summer I was thrilled to be accepted as a member of the Outdoor Writers & Photograhpers Guild. Formed over 30 years ago, it's a fine collection of photographers, writers, journalists, artists, designers, copy-writers and more who all have the great outdoors in common.

 

It's a great organisation that helps to promote the work of its members, the importance of sustainability in the outdoors and a social and networking community. I'm very much looking forward to the annual meeting in Jersey this month. There's a great line up of events planned, so here's hoping for some sunshine!

 

You can read more about the work of the guild on their website here http://www.owpg.org.uk/

First Book!

To celebrate the opening of the Wales Coast Path (I am a very proud Cymro!) I'm really excited to announce the publication of my very first book!!

Top 10 Walks: Cardigan Bay North will be published soon by Northern Eye Books. It's a pocket-sized guide to the best pick of circular walks on Cardigan Bay that utilise the best parts of the new Wales Coast Path.

From famous harbours to tiny hamlets and hidden churches to popular attractions, there's loads to see and do on all of these lovely walks. I had great fun researching them and I found out loads of things I didn't know before, so it was a fascinating experience. I absolutely loved rediscovering the stunning views of the Cardigan Bay coastline - they are unbeatable (even if I am a little biased!).

Look out for this lovely little guide at a bookshop near you soon! I'll update with the publication date as soon as I know, but it won't be tooooooooooooo long!!

(more) Camping Celebs!

Julia Bradbury is the latest celeb to be put under the Camping headtorch!

You can read her interview here:

6 Word Story

The organisers of a new festival in Snowdonia (Festival Number 6- set in the amazing location of Portmeirion village) have launched a fab competition - the winners will get their hands on a pair of tickets for what promises to be an awesome weekend of music and culture.

The theme of the competition is of course, the number 6..... Ernest Hemingway's friends once bet him that he could not write a story in six little words.... The genius writer responded with:

"For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn"

To enter the competition, all you need to do is write your own 6 word story. So far, they've had almost 700 entries... so if you're feeling inspired, hop over to Festival Number 6's facebook page (link here) and have a go.

Of course, the competition got me thinking about writing my own 6 word story. The whole process is pretty addictive once you start thinking about it, and I came up with quite a few ideas; some certainly better than others....

My favourites in the end were:

There was blood again. She cried

and...

Said I do; meant I don't

I've entered both into the competition, so wish them luck!

And if you fancy finding out more about this extraordinary festival in a very special place there is loads more information on the website; click here.

Portmeirion is the beautiful setting for Festival Number 6

Wales Coast Path

On May 5th, the Wales Coast Path was officially opened, making Wales the first country in the world to have a walking route that follows every inch of its coastline. It'll be possible to meander, wander, walk and explore an incredible 870 miles of some of the most beautiful coast in the world.

From the outskirts of Chester in the north, the path follows the coast all the way to Chepstow in the South. The project has been co-ordinated by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), along with sixteen local councils and two National Park Authorities, as well as the Ramblers and the Welsh Government, so it has been a huge collaboration and a long-running project.

Some parts of the Wales Coast Path are already well promoted walking routes. The Pembrokeshire Coast path has been officially opened since the 1970s and is one of the most popular Long Distance Trails in Britain.

However, there are some parts of the Wales Coast Path that are not yet open to walkers and the opening of the Wales Coast Path will mean that entirely new sections of coastline will open up to walkers and visitors. The sections between Porthmadog and Machynlleth and most sections between Swansea and the end of the route at Chepstow will all be new sections of path.


And last year, travel guide publishers LonelyPlanet selected the coastline of Wales as one of the “must-see” regions of 2012", alongside world locations such as Croatia, India, Kenya and Central America.


What more of a recommendation do you need? With 870 miles to explore where will you start?

See you on the coast!!