Tag: travel

Cheddar Gorge

Adventures (and Cheese) in Cheddar

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In my quest to see more of my own country and to prove that there are all sorts of adventures to be had right on your own doorstep, our recent visit to Bath gave me a valid excuse to convince Mr Ayla into visiting somewhere else close by, and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at that.

Not far from Bath, the small town of Cheddar is home to one of the greatest natural wonders in Britain; the 450ft Cheddar Gorge towered over us as we drove our way through its winding roads.  Around every bend there was another stunning view with plenty of opportunities for me to shout at Alex to pull the car over for photos and to explore.

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Rainbow at Victoria Falls Zambia

Weekly Photo Challenge: Refraction

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I could hear the roar of the water before I saw it; all 500 million litres that pour over the edge of Victoria Falls every minute. The wet mist that sprays off the falls can be seen more than 20km away and we were all soaked through before we had even caught a glimpse of ‘The Smoke that Thunders’.

It might not be the tallest or widest waterfall in the world, but with it’s thundering noise, wild setting in the middle of Africa, its awesome power and magnitude, and when a refraction of the light causes a colourful rainbow to arch across the gorge, Victoria Falls is without doubt one of the most jaw-dropping.

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Sunrise at River Ganes Varanasi India

Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreamy

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Varanasi, with all its colour, noise and chaos, isn’t usually the sort of place that springs to mind when you think of the word “dreamy”.  But on the dark misty morning that we set out in our little boat to watch the sunrise over one of the world’s holiest rivers, it was just that.

In the pitch black of early morning, our friendly guide told us all about the River Ganges and how thousands of people come to take a dip in its sacred waters every day.  We then received a lit candle in a bed of flowers which we sent down the river with our wishes.

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48 hours in Bath

48 Hours in Bath

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Bath was the first stop on our little road trip; somewhere we had heard so many good things about but had never had the chance to visit despite only living a couple of hours away.

From the moment we arrived both of us loved the city, its streets lined with Georgian buildings, with pretty courtyards and squares where people sat outside pavement cafes listening to buskers playing music and watching the sun set over the city. Bath is only small so walking around was easy and gave us a chance to stumble across little side streets full of cute tea houses (which there are lots of) and quirky independent shops.

We arrived in the evening and, after checking into our gorgeous hotel, headed straight out to explore the city.

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Dead Woman's Pass Inca Trail

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

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Hiking Peru’s famous Inca Trail is without a doubt the toughest adventure I’ve ever been on.  Four tiring days of waking up before sunrise, climbing mountain peaks in the blaring sunshine and at high altitude, all the while having my lovely new “friend” Altitude Sickness along for the ride, made for an exhausting but incredible journey.

For me, someone who very rarely (okay pretty much never) exercises and has never done more than a day’s hiking in her life, the trail was a huge accomplishment.  The only way I got through it was with sheer determination and endurance, and the encouragement of my husband.

And I’m so glad I did, as what an adventure it was!

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5 Places I Dream of Returning To

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There isn’t a single place in the world I’ve been to that I haven’t loved in one way or another, and every time I leave a place I almost always tell myself that I’ll make it back there one day.  But with so many incredible places to see in the world, I usually try go somewhere new, as I love to explore other countries, learn about different cultures and try new things.  I get caught up in new places and ticking things off my bucket list but, while the places that I’ve already visited and loved so dearly turn into a distant memory, they are never forgotten.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Adventure

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As soon as I saw that the theme of this week’s photo challenge was adventure, my head started spinning. I love going on adventures, so much so that I had to put the word ‘adventure’ in the title of my blog…so how on earth was I supposed to pick just the one?!

Instead, I decided to share a few of my favourites with you, from setting off on the start of an incredible adventure around the world, adrenaline packed activities like skydiving over the Namibian sand dunes or climbing mountains; trying new things, meeting new people, and everything in between 🙂

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Adventure is on your doorstep

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I’ve never really been one to explore much of my own country; I tend to prefer jetting off to exotic locations with different cultures and cuisines, with people to meet who live completely different lives to us, and far away from all the responsibilities at home. But after big trips to India and South America over the last year, we decided to spend the bank holiday weekend exploring some of England for a change.

We made a little road trip of it, the beautiful city of Bath being our first stop, where we splashed out on a fancy meal and hotel to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary (yes, that makes me feel old!).

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

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Christmas Day last year we found ourselves in the desert city of Jaisalmer, a beautiful place to spend the day but somewhere that doesn’t celebrate the festive season like we’re used to.  With not much to do in the way of Christmas evening festivities, we decided to climb up a hill to watch the sunset over the city and the Fort.

Along the way we walked past small homes, cows in the garden briefly paused their grass munching to watch us, old people sat in the doorways and waved hello to us as we passed, and children ran out to climb the steps with us.  When we reached the top, they sat with us, smiling and grinning that they’d made new friends, even if we couldn’t speak the same language.

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