We awoke with the sun, to a world that had changed overnight. Pale early light streamed into the room; stained red by the thin embroidered curtains hanging at the single square window, casting scarlet prisms across my eyelids and forcing me out of the warmth of my down sleeping bag. Namche Bazaar was blanketed in white, its rooftops snow-tipped and…
Myself and my friend Sophie trekked to Everest base camp in late March 2014. We trekked solo, without any guides or porters, carrying 11kgs each. The total trek took 11 days, and we reached Base Camp on 26 March 2014. It is without doubt one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I wanted to tell the story truthfully;…
On the first of January 2015, I woke up early. The air felt soft and cold as I made my way down a narrow path to the beach, wet sand sticking to my army boots and a wild wind pulling at my hair. Below me, the North Sea rolled and heaved, grey and deep green and crested with foaming white…
I have experienced coming home in many forms, but travelling home on the train for Christmas is always special. The train weaves through undulating fields and dark, dripping branches; coldly clattering on the narrow track, and just before it heaves and strains into my little village station it passes over a viaduct and is momentarily suspended, hanging in the smoky…
My Christmas last year was one of wind blown sand and pink tinged sky framed by palm trees; of golden Goan ocean and motorbike rides down clifftop roads soaked in sunshine. We drank mojitos on the sand and ate Christmas dinner round a table of strangers; curled around a laptop screen to watch Christmas films and strung fairy lights from…
The station platform waits in 5am darkness, broken only by a single lamplight fluttering with tiny wings. The people wait with it, curved like question marks into shawls and jackets on matchstick plastic stools. A curl of cigarette smoke drifts skywards from toothless lips. A dog in a patchwork coat slinks through the puddles. Somewhere in the darkness, a train…
This is the first of a new monthly post series, in which I hope to refocus on the small moments in life that bring me happiness, to stop for a moment and breathe, and to remember that it’s the little adventures as well as the great ones that make up the journey. I’ll also be sharing a couple of my…
The sun comes up misty in Kathmandu, wreathed in swathes of pearly clouds like the breath of morning. The sky is clear and cold, pale yellow dawn fading into a deep halcyon blue so sharp that you can taste it in the back of your throat. Smoke rises in looping curls and lingers in the air, purple and perfumed with…