These Vagabond Shoes.

How to care for your hiking boots

My guide for keeping your hiking boots at their very best.

As a ranger, I practically live in outdoor gear, and everything I own gets pretty heavily used and abused through my usual working day. Like my hiking boots, which I wear most days (if it’s not hiking boots, I must be in either wellies or sandals. Roll on summertime!). But I do like to get the best out of my stuff, so that means I also take a bit of time to care for and maintain my gear to make sure it lasts well and keeps performing at the standard I expect it to.

Muddy conditions underfoot on a regularly patrolled route on the Isle of Wight.

These are my top tips for caring for you hiking boots, ensuring that they don’t end up stinky and awful, and keeping you with happy feet when you head out hiking:

What I’ve loved this season | Winter 2017-18

Well hey, fellow vagabonds. I hope that you’ve managed to make it through our recent cold snap with a smile on your face.

The unexpected sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow over the past week (even here on the Isle of Wight, where THE SEA ACTUALLY FROZE), have been very much in-keeping with what I’ve been up to over the rest of the winter.

Keeping Time in Maritime Greenwich: Exploring Seafaring London

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-29,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve It used to be said that the sun never set on the British Empire, the consequence of colonisations and land claims that spanned the globe, connected by the ships of the Royal Navy and merchant fleet. And this sprawling seafaring set-up was controlled from the grand halls of Greenwich.

Influences gathered from the corners of the earth have been woven through the history of Greenwich, London, and the rest of the UK, through discovery and exploration, science and research, shipping and trade. Visiting Maritime Greenwich, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an insight into the factors that shaped the idea of Great Britain, both nationally and internationally.

To navigate around the part of London at the heart of global time and travel, I’ve compiled a rough guide to discovering what makes Maritime Greenwich tick.

Continue reading “Keeping Time in Maritime Greenwich: Exploring Seafaring London”

Where I’m going in 2018

I know its getting a bit late in the month now, but Happy New Year to one and all!

Now the celebrations are past, first footing is long over, and resolutions may be wobbling, it seems to be a good time to reveal the new look for These Vagabond Shoes, and to share some of my plans and goals for the year.

I known it’s fairly standard fare for bloggers to create a post like this in early January, but I’ve found it’s been really helpful in laying out my thoughts and identifying my priorities for the year ahead. A kind of roadmap for the year ahead, albeit a vague one sketched in pencil. Whether or not I’ll stick to these plans remains to be seen, but hopefully there’s a few of the goals I’ll be able to say I’ve achieved by the end of the year.