Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
My Next Long-Distance Thru-Hike: The Hebridean Way My next long-distance thru-hike is going to be the Hebridean Way, from Vatersay in the south of the Outer Hebrides to Stornoway in the north. As usual, I’ll be doing it a little differently—and despite it only being in Scotland, the logistics seem to be more complicated than they should be....
I had a lovely swim in the silky smooth waters of Ynyslas the other day. However, as I was getting out, I slipped on the muddy submerged forest and lost my goggles in the process. Not the most exciting story, I know—but it does get better. There was someone taking photos from the beach who...
Well, that was a fun long weekend. After scrambling up Moel Siabod on Friday, the weather did indeed change. The sun disappeared on Saturday, but it was replaced by a significant amount of wind—so it was off to the beach for me with my windsurf kit. Saturday saw me windsurfing in a decent south-westerly breeze...
I’ve orchestrated my working life around a four-day week — the idea being that day five is for freelance work, leaving the weekend free. It used to be a 3:2 balance between contracted and freelance work, but since Covid and my heart attack, I’ve been gradually scaling back the freelance side of things. This year...
Having climbed Crib Goch and summited Yr Wyddfa last Sunday, I couldn’t resist doing it again on Friday. The weather was still glorious, and Morgan wanted to do it, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to head back to Eryri for another mountain adventure. There was a big ultra-trail marathon over the weekend, though....
And so the amazing weather continues — sunshine, more sunshine, and then yet more sunshine. I heard on the news the other day that we’ve had more sunshine this spring than we had throughout the entire summer last year. That’s been reflected (well, absorbed actually) in our solar panel stats, too, with record-breaking months throughout...
With my sights set on summiting all of the Nuttalls in Wales, there were a few that I knew I’d definitely climbed in the past—but quite a long time ago. That meant that although I’d done them, I hadn’t used a GPS device at the time, so I had no ‘digital evidence’ to confirm it....
Following a busy start to the weekend, we enjoyed a more relaxed Sunday and Monday. We’d been invited to Sophie’s 50th birthday party (she’s the wife of Alan’s friend Dennis—and has therefore been a friend of ours for a while too!). The party was being held at Mwnt, just over an hour down the coast...
With another bank holiday weekend on offer and the weather looking good, it was time to head to the hills again to bag some more Nuttalls. I wasn’t working on Friday, so it was a long weekend for me and there was no rush to get started. I headed out for a little mountain bike...
Running around the Isle of Man Coast Path has become a slow but steady project. Each trip adds a few more miles, and although I’m moving more slowly these days, the scenery — and the small adventures along the way — make it worth every step. This weekend, with a tweaked back and patchy weather, I managed to tick off another stretch between Niarbyl and Peel.
Fitness / Technology / Triathlon
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Monday, March 17th, 2014
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Surf Ski, Kayaking and Canoeing
Bringing Two Surf Skis Back from the Dead (Maybe)
Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
