These Vagabond Shoes.

What I’ve been reading this season | Autumn 2021

Another little collection of interesting, thought-provoking, and beautiful essays, articles and blog posts from around the internet I’ve found over the past few months that I want to share with you. This autumn, I’ve been inspired by thoughts of island escapes, the meaning of remoteness, and the real isolation of a disaster.

Islands

The Irresistible Lure of Island Life

Island explorer Gavin Francis examines the ideas of isolation and insulation, community and connection, and the contrast between city and island life, in an introduction to his latest book, Island Dreams.

Of Pirates, Volcanoes and Irishmen: The Westmann Islands

Tracing the old transatlantic links between Ireland and Iceland, Marcel Krueger winds through the events that have shaped the history of Vestmannaejar, also known as the Westmann Islands, off the south coast of Iceland.

Land of the Faroes

The Faroe Islands achieved notoriety in 2021 once again for a traditional whale hunt, this time at a scale exceeding any previous grindadráp. This article by Jamie Lafferty looks into island life beyond the whales and the wild weather.

From the Frayed Atlantic Edge

Historian and paddler David Gange connects coastal communities around the British and Irish Isles, using his kayak as a means to explore and form an understanding of maritime histories along the Atlantic littoral.

In Search of the Golden Eagle

An expedition to photograph the majestic golden eagle is David Dinsley‘s key to unlocking the incredible wildlife of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides.

Shipwrecks, Sailing, and Icy Silence

Arctic Horror is Having a Comeback

In a year giving us the hottest July on record, a summer of extreme heat and wildfires across the Arctic, we were transfixed to our televisions by historical horror from an icy realm. This essay by Bathsheba Demuth explores the nostalgia for a north of our darkest imaginations.

New discoveries from the lost Franklin Expedition

This blog post by Claire Warrior of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is a fine diving off point for deeper reading around the fate of the Franklin expedition, and the archaeological work on the wrecks of the Erebus and the Terror.

‘A dead whale or a stove boat’: whaling in the 19th century

Historian Kate Jamison reveals an insight into the challenges and faced by sailors in the Arctic whaling industry, which provides the backdrop for the psychological horror of the television drama series The North Water.

Sailing Antarctica: Vendée Globe veteran’s memorable return to the frozen south

Ocean racing veteran Nick Moloney shares an account of a sailing voyage south to the Antarctic Peninsula on sailing ketch Ocean Tramp, including a visit to Bransfield House at Port Lockroy, and meeting the UKAHT team.

How to start Mountain Leader Training when you can’t get to the mountains

Have you been thinking about the Summer Mountain Leader qualification, and not really sure how to start down the road towards it? Or just a bit curious about what the qualification actually involves?

In June 2021, I completed the six-day Mountain Leader training course at Glenmore Lodge, in the Cairngorms, but the journey to becoming a Mountain Leader didn’t start (or end) there. I’d been thinking about doing the qualification for years beforehand, and started filling in a log book when I was 18, but it wasn’t until very recently that the stars aligned*, and I finally had the free time, a bit of spare cash in my account, and easy access to a suitable training environment. And then… Covid-19… National lockdowns… Stay-at-home orders… You know the rest.

*and I got over being a master procrastinator, easily distracted by shiny things, penguins, and old wooden boats.

Looking down into the Loch Avon basin in the heart of the Cairngorms plateau.

But you don’t actually need to be in the mountains to prepare for being in the mountains. There are plenty of things that you’ll need to get set up before doing the training course, and with a little initiative and adaptability there are ways of building up your skills and practising parts of the syllabus.

So here are a few steps that you can take on the journey to undertaking the Mountain Leader training course, or to consolidate your experience before the assessment, without actually setting foot on a mountain.

An Architecture Tour of Ålesund, Norway

The port town of Ålesund is often considered to be the most beautiful in Norway, largely down to the distinctive Art Nouveau style of architecture of the buildings, set on a canvas of several small islands, against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains dropping sheer to the fjords below.

*The famous view of Ålesund from the Aksla Fjellstua viewpoint. (Blue Clipper is tied up alongside in the mouth of the harbour, on the right hand side of the picture).*

Wandering through the streets of the centre is an ideal way to explore the Art Nouveau influences throughout the town. Now I must admit, I have never studied architecture or design, or anything creative beyond high school art, so this is a guide produced by an appreciative amateur, not an in-depth lesson in architecture.

What is Art Nouveau?

Saying that, let’s start off with a little introduction into the style known internationally as Art Nouveau. It defined the look around the turn of the 20th century; Europe of La Belle Époque, the gilded age that led into the darkness of WWI. Crossing architecture, art, graphic design, furniture making, and crafting, the style was heavily inspired by dynamic forms found in nature, making use of asymmetry, whiplash lines, and ornamental motifs like flowers, trees, and insects.

In Scandinavia, Germany, and the Baltic nations, Art Nouveau was known as Jugenstil (Youth Style), in Spain as Modernisme, especially Modernisme català in Catalonia, and in the UK as Glasgow Style. You’ll recognise the Art Nouveau style immediately in the entrances to the stations of the Paris Métropolitain, on the façades of Sagrada Família and the other works of Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, in the Willow Tearooms of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow, in the stained glass work of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, and in the jewellery of René Lalique.

Armchair Travel: 10 books telling the stories of cities

A selection of some of the best books that dive deeply into the daily lives of cities and the hidden worlds that lie within.

This instalment of Armchair Travel dives deeply into cities around the globe through rich and engaging histories, compelling travelogues, and works of fiction where the city setting is as much a character as the protagonists. These books really are the essence of armchair travel, capturing the character of a place and time yet unvisited.

Here are 10 of the best books that explore cities around the world, plus a bonus that looks into what makes an urban environment so alluring.

Five Reasons Why You Should Explore Cities on Foot

There’s something about walking. Studies continually show us that walking can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, in addition to the benefits to physical health from moving our bodies just to get around.

Cities, generally, are designed to be walked. Walking means we can dictate our own tour schedules, with no peak time travel charge, and possibilities open up beyond bus stops, tram routes, and metro stations. choosing to skip out on places or stop and linger longer. It means a journey from A to B can be just that, or run through the entire alphabet of diversions en route as we invent our own routes and build new connections.

The distinctive structure of V&A Dundee, a world-class design museum that was part of the revitalisation of the Scottish city.

I think there’s so much to be gained from setting out to stretch our legs and test our bearings whenever we visit new places, or become reacquainted with the old familiar streets. Here are my five top reasons why exploring cities on foot is the way to go.

What I’ve been reading this season | Summer 2021

Climate Crisis

Our climate change turning point is right here, right now.

An article by Rebecca Solnit that examines our inability to recognise the impending climate crisis without a tangible catastrophe as we make our transition into the anthropocene era.

Just how historic was Western Canada’s heat wave? Nothing can compare.

An article from The Tyee outlining the devastating impact of the “heat dome” conditions experienced in North America in June and July 2021.

A heatwave thawed Siberia’s tundra. Now, it’s on fire.

A National Geographic article examining the devastating impact of fire in the boreal forests and tundra peatland regions of northern Siberia, ecosystems that lie over frozen permafrost soils.

What I’ve loved this season | Summer 2021

Where I’ve been and what I’ve done

In early June, I was part of a team from the Cairngorms Connect project partners that carried 3,000 tiny trees up onto the Cairngorm plateau, to their new home in the Loch Avon basin. The downy willow (Salix lapponum) saplings are rare trees, which can survive in the low temperatures and high winds, and an important species in the montane scrub habitat of the upper slopes of the mountains.

Laden down with willow saplings on the plateau.

Grazing pressure from deer and other animals mean only a few scattered plants remain, often in the most inaccessible locations, and too isolated from each other to guarantee successful reproduction. The idea behind planting the new saplings is to give the species a fighting chance, and attempt to safeguard the future of the montane scrub zone as part of a larger-scale habitat regeneration project. Read more about our day here.

The crags of Hell’s Lum and the Allt Coire Domhain in spate with snowmelt.

Looking back down into the Loch Avon basin at the tiny patch of green of the willows cached for planting the following day.

Round the World Recipes: Greek Spanakopita

While international travel isn’t possible, I’ve been playing around in my home kitchen and recreating some of my favourite foods from around the world. I thought my take on Spanakopita, a Greek spinach and feta pie, would make a great second summery serving of my Round the World Recipes.

What is spanakopita?

A real Greek classic, spanakopita is a delicious savoury pie found in every bakery in Greece and features on the menu in most tavernas. Made with earthy-tasting spinach leaves, sweet sautéed onion, and salty-sharp feta cheese sandwiched in crispy-crunchy filo pastry, it’s actually really simple to cook but looks like you’ve made a great deal of effort in the kitchen.

Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, there’s plenty of opportunity to get creative, and play around with different flavours and techniques. Try other green leafy vegetables, using leeks rather than onions, or adding other cheeses like ricotta or halloumi. Or try using different herbs depending on your taste.

Gear Review | Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat

Whether or not you get a good night of sleep (or even just a series of small naps during the darker hours) on a backpacking trip has a real impact on how much you enjoy the experience. A comfortable sleeping mat helps with rest and recovery at the end of a long day of walking or biking, turning your multi-day expedition into an enjoyable undertaking, letting you push yourself on a personal challenge, rather than make an arduous slog back to civilisation.

So what am I looking for in an inflatable sleeping mat? Mostly I want to be able to have a comfortable night of sleep*, without my hips sinking through to touch the ground. I want to be able to move in my sleep without it rustling like I’m sleeping in an empty crisp packet. And I want it to be lightweight and packable for backpacking and bikepacking trips.

*I’m not expecting it to silence the cuckoo that starts to call from around 3am anywhere in Scotland where you can see a tree during May and June.

Armchair Travel: 10 of the best books about cycling adventures

A selection of some of the best books about cycling adventures and exploring the world by bike.

This instalment of Armchair Travel sets out on a two-wheeled adventure, looking at some of the best books about exploring the world by bicycle. These books capture the beauty and simplicity of a self-propelled adventure, whether you’re planning to take inspiration for your own trip or just travel vicariously and avoid being saddle-sore at the end of the day.