Caving, Climbing, Fun

How to get started outdoor climbing independently

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There are all kinds of different climbers. Indoor boulderers are often amongst the best technical climbers. However, they might have no intention to put on a harness and use a rope. Some top indoor lead climbers have no interest to get started outdoor climbing. On the other end of the scale, many trad climbers are doing relatively easy routes. Only long-lasting, heavy rain will push them into an indoor gym, if that. (Trad climbing or traditional climbing is where you set your own protection, without any pre-existing bolts or anchors.)   NO ONE SAYS YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO GET STARTED OUTDOOR CLIMBING It is perfectly fine to stay indoors for all your climbing activities. However, if, like me, you are planning on using your indoor gym experience as a stepping stone and training practice for the great outdoors, then you’ll probably ask yourself at some stage: How to […]

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England, Fun, Water sports

Paddleboarding with Somerset Adventures in Creech St Michael

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During a recent trip, Somerset Adventures very kindly invited me to go paddleboarding in Somerset with them. As usual, whenever Ms B and I go on a trip these days, the weather forecast was horrific. Then the forecast was gradually amended when it came closer to the day. It turned even more abominable. YOU CAN’T CHOOSE THE WEATHER WHEN PADDLEBOARDING IN SOMERSET Obviously this is not Somerset Adventures’ fault. To the contrary, I very much appreciated them acting responsibly and not taking any risks. That said, the weather forced us to reschedule the trip twice. Initially I had been looking to do some paddleboarding in Somerset in the sea along the cliffs. Then we had set our minds on a canyon-like fast-flowing river inland with some of the county’s best beauty spots.     LET IT RAIN During the day when my paddleboarding in Somerset experience was scheduled, one month’s […]

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England, Fun, Water sports

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

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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 […]

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Activities, Fun

Motocross Taster Course 2h from London

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I’ve done a motocross taster course last weekend in Mildenhall, near Bury St Edmund’s, in Suffolk, about 2h drive from London. Take the B out of BMX anytime, if you like Ever since I was a little boy racing through the woodlands behind my parents’ backyard on my BMX I was fascinated by the MX part more than the B part. I enjoy the physical exercise of pedalling, don’t get me wrong, and I try to be green. But if faced with the option of (Bi)cycling at 30km/h or shooting up near-vertical ramps at 90km/h and jumping 15m through thin air on a two-wheeled MotoCross (MX) rocket, I need very little time to make up my mind. A bit of a hike by public transport As rental cars seem to be extremely overpriced these days, I travelled by public transport. I took the train to Ely (£15 for Super Off-Peak […]

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England, Fun, Water sports

Kitesurfing (well, for now: kiting) near London with The Kitesurf Centre

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I had been wanting to learn how to kitesurf for quite a while. So as soon as the last lockdown was over and it was possible to book training sessions again, I booked one of the first sessions available near London, a two-hour personal training session. The Kitesurf Centre There are quite a few options of learning how to kitesurf within a doable distance from the Big Smoke. I picked The Kitesurf Centre in Camber Sands near Rye, about 95km to the southeast of London (135km by car or train), roughly two thirds of the way from Brighton to Dover on a beautiful beach. A Family Business The kitesurfing school has been founded by two brothers, Thomas and Tristan, in 2007. Both of them had run a number of watersports companies around the world until then. They were joined by brother #3, Rupert, a few years later. All three men […]

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