“Probably the worst weather we’ve had all year”: finding space under big skies in the Orkney Islands, Scotland

A couple of years ago, I was taken with a book called The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. The author, whose parents are English but who had grown up on the Orkney Islands, returned to her hometown after a tumultuous decade in London that had culminated in alcoholism. Her beautiful book charts her recovery, and her … Continue reading “Probably the worst weather we’ve had all year”: finding space under big skies in the Orkney Islands, Scotland →

Tall ship sailing: Liberty Regatta 2019, Rouen to Scheveningen via the English Channel

The other trainees and me going off to the crew parade at Scheveningen! Read part I of my tall ships story here I am back, and this time, the ship was docked in Rouen, Normandy, for the Liberty Tall Ships Festival. It normally takes place every four years, but due to riverbank restorations it’s actually … Continue reading Tall ship sailing: Liberty Regatta 2019, Rouen to Scheveningen via the English Channel →

Learning to sail with tall ship Atyla in Brittany, France

I am on my way to Vannes, in southern Brittany, western France. It is one of my favourite regions in France since visiting 18 months ago on a wintry voyage. Now it is springtime, the pollen is wreaking havoc on my nose and eyes, and the daylight only seeps away at 22:30. Thanks to a wonderful scheme … Continue reading Learning to sail with tall ship Atyla in Brittany, France →

To build a home

Notre Dame has blown its top. It has lost its hair, that is all. I had been scared about how it might look, this friendly giant which woke me every week last year with the tolling of its Sunday bells. I am back to looking at it affectionately from a high window. I am home! … Continue reading To build a home →

L’Île-des-Pins (Isle of Pines), a paradise island in New Caledonia

New Caledonia isn't a place many people have heard of. Sitting east of Australia, about equidistant from Melbourne and Auckland by plane, it's a sizeable collection of islands with a population nearing 300,000. The majority of the population is Kanak, the name for the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants who have existed there for 3,000 years. The … Continue reading L’Île-des-Pins (Isle of Pines), a paradise island in New Caledonia →

Hiking the Hooker Valley trail and Mueller Hut in Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand

It's quite the accolade in such a land of seemingly endless aesthetic wonder as New Zealand, but today I am crowning Mount Cook National Park the most beautiful in the whole of the country. Along with two cheeky young men from the Netherlands that I met in a hostel in Queenstown, I travelled to this … Continue reading Hiking the Hooker Valley trail and Mueller Hut in Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand →

The majestic landscapes of Queenstown, Glenorchy, and Milford Sound

You're treated to a magnificent view of Queenstown if you follow the Queenstown Hill Track Queenstown, a small city in the south of the South Island of New Zealand, has come to be known as "the adventure capital of the world". Bungee-jumping was supposedly invented here, and its proximity to picturesque mountains and lakes make … Continue reading The majestic landscapes of Queenstown, Glenorchy, and Milford Sound →

Walking, kayaking, and hot pools near Franz Josef Glacier

The village of Franz Josef, on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, only has a population of 400, but up to 2,700 daily visitors can flood its main street during the high summer season. I had booked a guided hike up the valley to a viewpoint where we could see the face of … Continue reading Walking, kayaking, and hot pools near Franz Josef Glacier →