Fun Archives • Page 5 of 25 • Berkeley Square Barbarian

Stand Up Paddleboarding the Cuckmere River Source to Sea (4h)

December 15, 2021 24 Comments

Stand up paddleboarding the Cuckmere River in East Sussex had been on my and my buddy Markmeister’s mind for several months. According to Wikipedia, the reliable source of half-truths, conspiracies, and myths, its length is 5km. In actual fact it is more like 30km, of which we paddled about 15km. BEST ENTRY POINT WHEN STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING THE CUCKMERE RIVER We took the train to the tiny hamlet of Berwick (1.5h from London with one interchange). From there we walked 1.8km along country roads to the river, nearly getting run over by fast cars on two occasions. GETTING OUR GEAR READY As soon as we reached the river, we got our gear ready and changed into our wetsuits. I wasted nearly half an hour trying to find a hole in my inflatable board. Then I realised that the problem was not a deflating board but a malfunctioning pressure indicator on […]

Fun

Our £20 six-mile helicopter flight with Adventure001 in Hampshire – We’d do this again.

October 17, 2021 4 Comments

In mid-May I stumbled across an offer by gift experience booking platform IntoTheBlue. The offer seemed almost too good to be true: £59 for a 6-mile helicopter flight with bubbly for two. If you subtract £10 per glass of bubbly, then that’s under £20 per person. Not for an off-peak train ride to Guildford. For a flight in an actual helicopter. INTO THE BLUE My experience with IntoTheBlue in the past had neither been brilliant nor particularly bad. Like with all gift experience booking platforms I’ve dealt with (VirginExperienceDays, BuyAGift, LastMinute), the company doesn’t go to extreme lengths to monitor and quality-check the experiences. VALUE ADDED It’s what I expect. Where those platforms provide value sometimes (not always), is, by screening and pre-selecting activity providers, by performing basic quality checks, and most importantly: by offering very competitive prices. A TRADE-OFF At a ridiculously low price like this, I […]

Fun

How I got started with outdoor rock-climbing despite my fear of heights

September 22, 2021 30 Comments

As those of you who stop by here every now and then know, I used to have a debilitating fear of heights. It kicked in in my mid-twenties. The condition only started to gradually improve about two years ago, when I pushed myself to do lots of activities that involved heights. MEETING THE RIGHT GUY ON A HIKING TRIP I did a tandem skydive, some canyoning, caving, abseiling, ziplining, a flying lesson on an ancient single-propeller airplane, plenty of hiking with serious exposure, a flight in a hot air balloon and so on. Rock-climbing, however, continued to seem too ambitious until about two months ago, when I got talking with a fellow hiker on one of the GO London hikes. Ellie & I do plenty of hiking with them, such as the Goring circular walk. All pics (c) BerkeleySqB, those pics showing me (unless selfie like this one above) […]

Fun

Thames Source to London Stand Up Paddleboarding Trip – 20 Questions and Answers

September 15, 2021 36 Comments

THIS THAMES SOURCE TO LONDON STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING BLOG POST IS BASED ON MY VERY LIMITED PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. I AM NO EXPERT. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BEFORE YOUR TRIP. Paddleboarding, like all things in life, can be dangerous. Several people died paddleboarding on rivers in the UK this year. That said, a very large multiple died in bed or crossing the street. So don’t be put off. Doing a Thames source to London stand up paddleboarding trip is a lot of fun and it can be done safely. My buddy Markmeister and I have recently completed our Thames Source to London Stand Up Paddleboarding Trip. We split it into three legs. The first leg was four days in blistering heat in July. The second leg was three rainy days in September. The last leg was one and a half days in October with both air and water temperature just […]

Fun, London

Some fun new tube station signs this summer – check out these temporary TfL Roundels

August 5, 2021 4 Comments

Last month Transport for London’s Summer Roundel Campaign kicked off with fun tube station signs, completely unnoticed by the Barbarians. 16 STATIONS, 16 FUN TUBE STATION SIGNS One single tube station sign per station has been changed for 16 central London stations. Many of these stations have more than one line, so earlier today it took me a little while to spot them. HYDE PARK CORNER – “HERE COMES SUMMER” At Hyde Park Corner I entered the tube station. On the Piccadilly Line platform for trains going to the centre (Destination Cockfoster, Eastbound) you will find a sign that reads “Here Comes Summer.” It is supposed to remind people of nearby Hyde Park and the Serpentine Pond. I then took the Piccadilly Line from that platform and got out at Piccadilly Circus. PICCADILLY CIRCUS – “GOING OUT OUT” At the Northbound Bakerloo Line platform you’ll find a sign […]

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