“A road trip is a long distance journey on the road”
I wasn’t sure whether a weekend trip of driving for 4+ hours to North Wales and back would technically be classed as a ‘road trip’ and it certainly wasn’t on the same scale as the road trip Chris and I took across Europe from Calais to Prague and back in July 2016 or the road trip through Northern Argentina in November 2016.
However, on the basis I had given this challenge the title ‘Go on a UK weekend road trip’ and this was a weekend, on the road and within the UK, I decided this should therefore count!
The purpose of the weekend was to explore the gorgeous scenery on foot by means of a series of 3 separate hikes which I’ve covered separately in our travel blog.
I did a little bit of driving around Snowdonia but this was mostly driving to and from the starting point of each hike.
And on the way back, I had a night in a spa hotel in Llangollen, a small town near the English border.
Annapurna trek similar… did a 2 week remote Himalayan trek in Northern Nepal instead in Oct 2019
Travel overland from Cartagena (Colombia) to Quito (Ecuador)… really keen to explore much more of Colombia, and we didn’t get to Ecuador during our 2016 travels… UPDATE: we visited northern Colombia in Jan 2019 although didn’t go to Ecuador on this trip…
Galapagos Islands
Australia Great Ocean road trip + a week of trekking in Tasmania
Fiji and the Cook Islands; keen to visit more South Pacific islands after an amazing time in French Polynesia…
Grand Europe road trip or two, or three… Northern Europe (Scandinavia); Southern Europe (France, Spain and Portugal); Central Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Austria)…
More islands: Azores, Cape Verde, Corsica, Capri(tick)…
I’m generally going to focus on the more active trips (such as the treks) first and leave the more leisurely ones (the cruises) for later!
There are so many exciting places in the World although I don’t think some of these trips will be possible until Chris and I retire… it would be fantastic to have another career break but at the moment this doesn’t seem very likely due to a) getting agreement again from work and b) lack of money! I wonder how many 60 somethings walk the entire South West Coast Path in one go? But never say never… I’ll try and experience as many of these as possible 🙂
Book read: Kamikazi Kangaroo’s! 20,000 Miles Around Australia. One Van, Two Girls… And An Idiot. by Tony James Slater
My first book review following the challenge I set myself to read a book each month.
Even though the author is nearly half my age and (by his own admission) a weird bumbling idiot I really enjoyed reading this book. The book follows Tony’s adventures and escapades of driving around Australia in a battered old camper van, together with his sister and her friend.
They have an enviable carefree lifestyle which lacks any real responsibility or any sense of direction. They have no money and no plans but somehow seem to get by with odd jobs along the way.
The book is somewhat crude and even a bit cringy in places but still hilarious all the way through… It gave a great insight into this kind of lifestyle and a real sense of escapism as I sat reading it (via the Kindle app on my iPad) as I commuted in and out of work.
I enjoyed learning more about Australia and loved Tony’s account of the Bibbulmun Track which inspired me to consider a long distance trail in the future… and a road trip around Australia…
(I have no kangaroo pics…)
So… you might have noticed.. ahem… the heading of this post states ‘reviews’… yes… after not picking up a book for possibly 4 or 5 years I managed to get through TWO books already this month! I’ve enjoyed the sense of escapism (as mentioned above) that reading these type of adventure books brings… a good way to relax and get inspired too…
Review: This book is an account of the authors incredible adventures as he walks the entire 630 mile South West Coast Path in one go! He is an average 37 year old office worker who discovered a passion for walking.
While well written it’s not as hilariously funny as the Kamikazee Kangaroos book as mentioned above but Stephen does have a good sense of humour. He has no ego and seems a really decent chap.
I can’t believe his diet… all he seemed to eat was chips, mars bars, some kind of spicy sausage/pepperoni and Weetabix every day… I mean, every single day…. he was doing wonders for his body and his physical fitness levels yet he filled his body with junk…
Anyway, Stephen also inspired me to do this awesome long distance trail at some point! I don’t think my work will allow another career break for a while so I’ll just have to put this on hold… actually I first thought about doing the South West coast path about 12 years ago when I first heard about it… this book has only but fuelled another ambition…
Fifty at Fifty 