I love travel, I always have.  Packing up a rucksack or bike and setting off – usually on my own - to find somewhere remote, have a physical challenge, experience different cultures and people, make new friends, get weather-beaten, wrap myself in the sights, sounds and smells of unfamiliar places, and collect stories. 

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Over the last decade I’ve been able to travel more.  I’m fortunate in working from home which has meant that I’ve spent plenty of great time with the children, which made me feel less bad about leaving them.  I can also work remotely which means that all I need is a smartphone and a signal every few days.  And I also have a very understanding wife!  Now, as an ‘empty-nester’ time is no longer the major constraint and longer journeys beckon.

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Usually, after a cursory telling when I get back from a trip, the stories are trapped in my dog-eared notebooks, indecipherable to anyone but me – and sometimes not even me.   So, I’ve decided to dig out the notebooks, write up the best bits and turn them into blogs and podcasts.  Firstly, to provide a fuller answer to the question by family and friends of what I do on my trips.  Secondly, by writing up these extracts I’ll be able to embed the memories in my notoriously porous mind.  Thirdly, to provide a format for recording future trips.  Fourthly, and most importantly, to leave a record of the highlights of the trips for my daughters. 

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If in the process it can provide a little entertaining distraction for others, so much the better.