hiking
Healthy body, healthy mind
October 9, 2018
World Mental Health day reminds us all that we need to take care of our minds and souls as well as our bodies. So, here is my call to action.... get up, get out and have fun in the wonderful natural playground that was created for us.
How to be brave
April 2, 2018
Hiking in the desert mountains can be quite a challenge. I didn't set out to scare myself when I set out from Tighmert near Guelmim to walk the ridge, but I managed it nonetheless and in doing so learnt some lessons about how to be brave.
Goat’s milk and boiled butter
March 10, 2018
An adventurer needs adventures, so with that in mind, I packed up the cats, my bike and my hiking and running kit and moved to a tiny oasis in the south of Morocco called Tighmert for a couple of months. I want to see what living in an oasis is like, explore the desert area and mountains around Guelmim and get to know the Sahara people. My first adventure was a hike from the oasis, across the desert plain to the mountains.
Climbing Ben Nevis in December
December 29, 2017
Climbing Ben Nevis, the UK's highest mountain, is always an adventure, but climbing Ben Nevis in winter is definitely an epic. 1350 metres of ascent and then the same back down again. It may not sound much, but the weather conditions make it a real challenge.
Hiking under the Volcano
December 3, 2017
Misty mountain mornings and bright, hot, sunny days. I spent a week of hiking under the shadow of a dormant but rumbling volcano, Mount Teide, on the island of Tenerife.
Planting a future in the Moroccan Mountains
March 25, 2016
I had gone up to the mountains to meet friends for a couple of days of hiking. Remote and wild, we had fantastic days out across canyons, up river beds and into secret valleys. Our host and guide, Ali, not only shared his knowledge and experience with us, he also invited us to help him plant a wood of almond trees. Leaving something for the future.
A million miles from ISIS
January 21, 2016
Macro and micro - two perspectives separated by just one tiny vowel. Living in a country which is not your own is a privilege. It gives you the chance to look at things differently. Every time I go for a run or a walk in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, I get to see Islam at the micro level. The level lived by so many million muslims around the world. This story is about that community of spirit.
Atlas to Atlantic: A first
August 18, 2015
The Atlas to Atlantic trek started at the summit of Mount Toubkal (4167m), the highest point of North Africa, and finished at sea level, with our feet in the Atlantic Ocean at Agadir. Three hundred kilometres up and down across the Atlas mountains. It was sponsored by adventure travel company Epic Morocco.
I think the snake is dead
July 2, 2015
12 hours 20 mins of hiking. 1300 metres of ascent and 31 kilometres covered. A big day out in the Atlas Mountains, climbing Mount Meltzen