Greenland Kayak Expedition Day 1 – 22nd July

I'm super excited to blog about this next adventure - it's a week-long 100km kayaking and hiking expedition in the fjords of Southern Greenland! I booked this Much Better Adventures trip after hearing some glowing reviews of the company. My first view of the enormous Greenland Ice Sheet On the flight to Greenland I caught...

ESA Astronaut update

As I sit in Inverness, taking a break from my final preparations for the expedition, which I embark upon tonight, I thought I had better post the latest update on my astronaut journey. Sadly I didn't make it through to Round 3 in Cologne. I recently received the rejection email along with all of the...

Two months and counting – kit check time

Firstly, a huge shout out to Lauren and the team at Alpkit Bristol - I am so grateful for their help today - what a great place and great team! I thought was going to have to drive to the Lake District to visit an Alpkit store so I was chuffed to find they recently...

Training update – Early November

Smooth sailing and slowly building up my fitness and endurance. I had a few days off work and completed Week 4 on the Couch to 5k (C25K) mainly during daylight hours. Walking to warm down after my final Week 4 run on C25K I also hit the climbing gym for the first time in a...

Training Update – Late October

I had an absolutely lovely day out on horseback with my friend Regan at a gorgeous stable called Cotswolds Riding at Jill Carenza Equestrian near the village of Stanton at the northern end of the Cotswolds. The scenery was spectacular, and we hacked through some lovely moorland and up to some gorgeous views across rolling...

Helen Sharman at Aerospace Bristol

When I heard that Aerospace Bristol would be holding a Family Space Day on Monday 25th October, with Helen Sharman, the UK's first astronaut, giving a talk under the wings of concorde, I immediately booked a ticket. It was clearly a day aimed at kids and was at the beginning of half term, so any...

Training update – Early October

First stop for my preparations for the icy Cairngorms expedition was to see my physiotherapist, Gemma, who had helped me with some ankle rehab in 2020. I hadn't mentioned, but I sprained my ankle pretty badly on a run one day without much warning, my ankle just felt tight for a minute and then.. "ping"....

Fundraising for a good cause – The Ocean Cleanup

I've decided to use my training and trek across the Cairngorms to raise money for The Ocean Cleanup. The non-profit has demonstrated that it has a REALLY compelling solution to remove an enormous chunk of the plastic pollution in the ocean, and I'm really passionate about supporting them. Please consider donating to this great cause...

…And the next challenge

So. Home safe in England, but still buzzing from my first trip out of the UK in 2 years, I started to get itchy feet. I reached out to one of the most adventurous people I know, Katie Comer, tour guide for Dragoman overland adventures all over the world, who led my journey through Uzbekistan...

Journey to ESA astronaut selection centre

The journey to Hamburg went off without a hitch, though it was genuinely so strange to be in an airport again after so long. I had bought myself some kids mental maths workbooks to run through and so I spent some time in the airport and on the plane doing some simple maths problems. Upon...

Preparing for ESA astronaut selection day

In late August I received an invitation to a European Space Agency Astronaut selection day in Hamburg! I was so excited to be able to take part in the next round! Due to covid restrictions, the duration for this selection stage has been hugely elongated and I was offered one of 5 test days within...

The next chapter begins!!

I've got some exciting news! I submitted an application to become an Astronaut with the European Space Agency and I made it through the initial application sift! Back in around February, the official timeline was released for the European Space Agency to once again invite applications from across Europe for 6 people to join the...

Coming soon…. the next chapter!!!

Join me on this exciting new adventure as I take you along with me in my application to become an astronaut with the European Space Agency!! In preparation, and to make sure I put some real effort into training, I also signed up to take part in a CRAZY expedition across the Cairngorms in the...

Arriving in Kyiv

I had a rubbish first couple of hours in Kyiv, bumping into some of the most unfriendly people I've ever met whilst travelling. But I'm certain that it will get better. I arrived at the central train station and struggled to find signs for the metro. When I eventually found it after asking for directions,...

Strolling through Minsk

Now this isn't the first time I have been to an ex-Soviet place, but it's the first time I've blogged about somewhere that is still as Soviet influenced. So it is interesting for me to wonder. People here don't seem to rush or dawdle, I'm usually walking much faster or slower. I wonder if I'll...

New Orleans – all the funs

I had the best time in The Big Easy! This is the most charismatic and friendly place and I would love to go back. It was a whistle-stop tour and I feel like I hit most of the major must-do things! I arrived late at the airport and James drove from his home in Florida...

Cartagena – the icing on the cake of Colombia

This is it - my last post in South America (for now)! Next, join me in Europe. For me, Cartagena was a jewel in the crown of South America. I found the place enchanting. I stayed for 4 days and didn't leave the city for any excursions, I found that it was a great place...

Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas

I had heard mixed reviews about the trip to the northernmost tip of south America, generally either five stars like at this blog or one star*, with few in between. So it was with a slight sense of defiance that our group of seven intrepid explorers set out on this journey to the end of the...

Minca – clouds, bugs and waterfalls

Minca was a cool place and worth a couple of days, it is super easy to get to from Santa Marta; you just hop on a collectivo or you can arrange for one to swing by and collect you from a hostel. We paid $10.000COP per person for the hair-raising ride along steep winding roads...