Those who regularly visit this blog will know that Ellie and I go hiking with GO London at least once a month. We’ve been doing so for many years now, and never regretted it. DISCLAIMER This post is not so much about hiking in Snowdonia, but about another variation of ‘Fun Things To Do Outdoors,’ about GO London, and about group hiking trips in general. I got a bit carried away, so feel encouraged to go by the headings and skip those sections that don’t look interesting to you. Hopefully, even if you’re based somewhere else in the world, and the vast majority of you are, then this post might give you some general ideas about what you might (or might not) want to do when you’re not grinding away on the job. GO LONDON IS A GREAT PLACE TO MAKE FRIENDS… Half of our friends are people we […]
Packrafting in Wales with Tirio – Mountains to Sea
Last August, Jason and Marianne from Tirio invited me to join one of their tour groups for a weekend of packrafting in Wales. The two-day tour I took part in is called “Mountains to Sea”, because, as you guessed, you start in the mountains of Snowdonia and you finish at the shore of the Irish Sea. What is packrafting? I will be frank: I had not heard about packrafting before. Apparently, this new sport developed in the 1980s in Alaska. Packrafting refers to a combination of rafting and hiking, often combined with camping. Each member of the group carries their own light-weight inflatable rubber boat (strictly speaking TPU or “Thermopolyurethene”), paddle and any other hiking gear. This includes camping gear, when staying out in the wilderness for more than one day. Sounds like a hassle? Well, I should mention that the raft, inflatable seat, pump, life jacket, and foldable paddle […]