Living in the centre of London I thought of no better way to spend the Christmas period than in beautiful Scotland.

Scotland for me is the most beautiful country in the world, and I have picked out one of my short hikes in the Galloway Forest Park to share with you.

​The striking Murray’s Monument was erected in 1835 in memory of Alexander Murray, a local shepherd boy who later became Professor of Oriental Languages at Edinburgh University.

Around Murray's Monument is a fantastic 90-minute hike that is perfect way to dust off the cobwebs, stretch your legs and take in the stunning views. 

The Queens Garden Trail in Bryce Canyon Utah is the most stunning short hike in the world!.... End of post

​In all seriousness, this was the second time I had been to Utah, and I could not believe that I did not explore Bryce Canyon on my first visit. Whilst Zion National Park seems to grab all the limelight, Bryce Canyon has a uniqueness to it that simply leaves you breathless!

Niżnie Rysy, The highest peak of Poland is a hike you can actually do from the Slovakian High Tatras and is a climb I would highly recommend when in the High Tatra region.

​For reference, we hiked Rysy from the Slovakian side.

This hike takes a while to get interesting but when it does you will be rewarded with great views and the mental reward of knowing you have climbed to the highest peak in Poland and one of the highest in Slovakia.

The Green Lake (Zelene Pleso) in the High Tatras of Slovakia is a challenging summer hike that will test your endurance, but reward you with some stunning views of the Polish/ Slovakian mountain ranges! 

This was one of two hikes I did in the High Tatras and just about takes the trophy home as my personal favourite.

Part 2
4 seasons in one day is a term used a lot when I was researching Patagonia and it could not be truer when we experienced El Chalten, clear blue skies greeted us in the evening and stormy wind and rain greeted us in the morning. Although this does potentially harm the views you can expect from hiking I actually thoroughly enjoyed hiking in full waterproofs and fully experiencing what Patagonia has on offer.

Part 1

All of my previous hiking trips have been booked and planned by myself as I love the independent way of travelling and following my own agenda so needless to say I needed a lot of convincing to take a leap into the unknown and use a tour operator for a trip of a lifetime to Patagonia! Here is my experience of the Intrepid tour Patagonia Wilderness

In Ella and looking for a short but rewarding morning hike? Then look no further than Little Adams Peak.

This hike from the small town of Ella could easily be combined with 9 Arch Bridge and my suggestion is to hike Little Adams Peak for sunrise and see 9 Arch Bridge on your hike back down into the town, which will take no longer than a morning to do both.

Live railway lines, rivers, farms, views and a steep incline. The two-hour hike to Ella Rock has it all and is an extremely rewarding hike when in Sri Lanka.

​Sri Lanka is blessed with some fantastic medium difficulty hikes and there is no more unique hike than the one to Ella Rock!.... To get to Ella you would have most likely taken the scenic train route leaning out of the carriages to get that perfect picture for the gram, believe me when I say that I was really looking forward to this journey from Hapitale however the experience was a little lost on me due to the number of selfie sticks and tourist poses throughout the journey. It was not a journey that I could sit back and enjoy the fantastic views. That being said Ella was a perfect stop for a couple of nights and no more so than experiencing the Ella Rock Hike

You know those days when you are really bogged down at work and just want to get away from it all?

Well that happened to me in late September when I took a spontaneous decision to have a weekend away in Sardinia... Google told me Calgary was one of the cheapest places to fly to that weekend and Airbnb told me that I could get a secluded little apartment with sea views away from all the crowds. The only thing missing was a little hiking route to clear my head from all the life stress back home. 

Monte Cresia is a scenic 1 hour drive from Calgary and is a great break away from the beach when in south Sardinia 

When the boys and the dog decide to go for a stroll.

Jacobs Ladder

Wow this is a leg burner! I guess there is no better way to start a hike that to be 15 minutes in before a dramatic incline up Jabobs Ladder (we learnt the hard way why they call it a ladder!) .. Jacobs ladder really is the best way to start Pennine Way.

If you are driving through Page in Arizona then Horseshoe Bend is somewhere that you have to take an hour out of your day to view... Here are my top 6 tips for visiting Horseshoe Bend. 

1. Horseshoe bend is a huge tourist attraction and when I visited there were at least 3 coaches full of people on top of the regular day trippers and passers by... My tip is to make sure you avoid midday when the bend seems busiest and when its most hot 
2. There is no shade on the path and it gets very hot so make sure you are prepared.
3. There is a small car park, however it is not essential that you use this! If there is a queue to get in or if it looks a little tight on space park on the road just before or after the entrance.
4. There is a small 1.25 mile round trip hike from the car park to the viewing point which is up a small sandy hill so comfortable footwear my personal tip
5. Be careful!! There is no barriers and pure sheer drops so make sure you are paying extra attention to your feet if you are trying a daring selfie or mastering the perfect Facebook profile picture. 
6. Horseshoe bend is exactly as you see it. 90 minutes of your day is probably more than enough to walk, take pictures, enjoy the view and hike back..... ​

When I got back to my car I was looking for something to do to fill the time until my tour around Antelope Canyon and en-route to the Glen Canyon Dam I stumbled across this little gem of a hike 'The Hanging Garden Trail' 

Kew Gardens opens at 10 AM and I would advise arriving around this time to beat the queues that will no doubt be there a little later in the day. 

From Clapham Junction we went to station number 5 and got on the train to Kew Bridge. Once at Kew Bridge, cross the road and then the bridge and then turn right walking alongside the cricket pitch which will lead you to the entrance of Kew Gardens. 

This is hands-down one of the prettiest London day hikes I’ve organised. Quaint Tudor villages, historic churches, forests and castles combine with a gentle ambling pace that offers a slice of quintessential English countryside.

​Direct trains from London Victoria will take you to the village of Chilham. Exit the station and head east, following signs for Chilham Castle.

The Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world and somewhere I just had to visit especially considering before visiting the Grand Canyon I had only been to Victoria Falls!! So it's now two down and five to go!

I arrived at the Grand Canyon on day 4 of my most recent American road trip after a doing a big night in Las Vegas and a 2 day hike across Havasu Falls so needless to say my energy levels were not at their highest by the time I reached the park. That being said its the Grand Canyon and the excitement levels were sky high!

Here is my experience of my day viewing the Grand Canyon 

My last Vlog/Blog was about hiking into Havasu Falls  and the beauty that awaits when you get there. 

Well guess what? It gets even better!!! Beaver Falls, Mooney Falls & Havasu Creek take you away from earth as you know it and take you to a place of beauty you can only dream of..

Now Unfortunately when booking my camping in Havasupai I only booked one night and by the time I realised my mistake the following night had sold out! This meant I had to try and do all my exploring in one day which by all means was very tough but was so worth it as the sights that great you between Havasu Falls and Beaver Falls are truly out of this world! 

In March 2018 I was one of the lucky 150 people that get to experience Havasu Falls. 

The Hike is challenging, the cost of camping is high but the reward is something special that will live with me for the rest of my life! Check out the Vlog & my top tips for hiking one of the most unique locations in the world, Havasu Falls. 

The 8 Minute Video Log below (VLOG) will hopefully give you some inspiration to venture outside of Prague and explore the beautiful Czech countryside 

So when people say they are travelling to Prague do they even know what country they are going to? I would hope the answer is yes however with its big pull of stag and hens going for the cheap beer sometimes I would guess this is not the answer. I would also second guess that the majority of tourists to the country do not leave the capital. 

The Czech Republic is an absolutely stunning country and don't get me wrong Prague with its medievil buildings and stunning architecture is well worth a visit but on my recent weekend to the Czech Republic I wanted to see a little more than a city so I stumbled little a little hiking route from Karlstejn Castle to a little village called Bubovice which is around 30 minutes drive south of Prague.

Date February 2018 
Location Richmond Park, UK
Who Me, Myself & I

Waking up Sunday to a day of glorious sunshine in early February gave me a perfect opportunity to test out my new camera and explore Richmond Park just on the outskirts of London.

Date November 2017
Location Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia 
Who Leigh Clayton (my best buddy, Left) and Myself (right) 

​I am always a big fan of travelling to places and exploring parts of the world that no one I know has been to. This is getting harder and harder every year but I was lucky enough to find this absolutely beautiful mountain in Borneo, Malaysia.
Mount Kinabalu gave me two of the best hiking days ever...

Now first of all this Hike seemed expensive as you had to pay for an official guide through Amazing Borneo to even gain access to the mountain. The booking process was also very slow and time consuming consisting of constant emails asking for availability of the hikes, chasing up the sales staff and using old technology to make the booking. I really wished Amazing Borneo had an online booking engine as it would have made a much easier and quicker booking process (bare in mind I am a millennial used to purchasing things online within a matter of seconds and a 3 week email exchange to book is not my cup of tea)... All of this being said do not let it put you off booking this amazing hike which I feel is perfect for people of a relative fitness looking to conquer one of their first 'BIG' mountains

Date May 2016 
Location Las Vegas to Vancouver via Mammoth Lakes, Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, Portland & Seattle 
Who  Matthew Coleman, Martin Spencer, Myself & Carl McCloskey (In order of appearance on the video), all old colleague mates.

After 3 nights in Vegas a road trip up to Vancouver seemed like the best thing to do 

Over the course of 2 and a half weeks we were lucky enough to hike around Mammoth Lakes, Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Tahoe, Mount Tallac and Crater Lake 

This was the first time I ever used a GoPro which is fairly obvious when you see the shaky camera, constant footage of my knuckles and random transfers from my wrist to hand.... I also produced this with a free version of Animoto hence the horrible banners on the side....

That all being said the hiking was beautiful with literally no one to be seen for miles

Check out the video below for our trip highlights