Adventure Bulletin: May 2021
Adventure Bulletin: May 2021
Test gear for us, all the adventure announcements and Following Nelly Bly
Hello hello Team Intrepid!
Welcome to another bumper edition of things to read and watch and listen to. There are LOTS of adventure announcements that I’m excited to tell you about. Plus an opportunity for a team of 10 young people to go to Antarctica for free - wow.
This month’s theme is walking, hiking and trekking. We’ll be sending you a couple of great articles and a discussion thread on that theme in the coming weeks. April’s Book of the Month also includes some walking: Following Nellie Bly by Rosemary J Brown (with a discount code).
Scroll down for all that good stuff, plus the usual gear testing, events and more.
Aaand you might have noticed we’re now happily back under intrepid-magazine.com Website switchover complete!
Adventure News
Laura Kennington has announced her Park2Park UK cycle. Starting on 15th May, Laura will be cycling through all the UK’s national parks in a continuous bike journey 1700 miles and 92000 ft of ascent. Oof. Find out more here.
Nic Hardy is currently hiking all 214 Wainwrights in 7 weekends - a full Alfred Wainwright guidebook per weekend. Follow her progress on Instagram.
Nikki Love has started her 100 marathons in 100 days challenge. Remember you can run with her (or cycle, space hopper etc!) when she’s in your local area. Sign up at nikkilove.co.uk/events
Sarah Davis and Tara Lal have reached the 4000km mark on their cycle across Australia. Follow their great progress here.
Sabrina Verjee has aborted her second attempt on the Wainwright Round supported FKT due to bad weather (it’s snowing). We’re devastated for her, since she was 11 hours up on her planned record-beating time.
Cal Major has announced she’ll be stand up paddleboarding around Scotland in a couple of weeks’ time. More about her adventure here.
Dani Blackie has set the first supported female record for running the South West Coast Path in 18 days and 15 hours. Her Facebook page has more info and journey updates.
P.S. Please do tell us if we’ve missed anyone (you?) off the list. We can only share things we’ve heard about ourselves! No matter whether you’re a “proper” adventurer or not.
To Read
Tina Page reviews the Untold Stories BANFF virtual film tour selection. Get film inspiration here.
Helen Gully reviews the Salomon Elevate Move On seamless t-shirt as part of our test team. Read it here.
Ursula Martin talks about her solo walk across Europe (two years and counting) for an Outdoors Magic interview. Her blog is excellent too.
Eliane Glaser reviews ‘Revolutions: How Women Changed the World on Two Wheels’ by Hannah Ross.
Lily Young, professional kite surfer, is interviewed by Base Magazine.
Alpkit have published the results of their Women’s Outdoor Clothing Sizing Survey. Have a look here.
Clare of Doc Gone Wild is hiking the Himalayan Trail. I’m very much enjoying reading her weekly blog posts. First one here.
Book of the Month
This month’s book is Following Nellie Bly: Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World by Rosemary J Brown.
Trailblazing journalist Nellie Bly circled the world faster than anyone ever had in 1890. She travelled alone, with just one small bag, and shattered the fictional record of Phileas Fogg arriving back after 72 days on ocean liners and steam trains. Awed by her achievement and shocked by its present-day obscurity, author Rosemary Brown set off from London to re-trace her global journey 125 years later. Through the re-creation of Nellie Bly’s epic travels, the author aims to put her ‘back on the map’ as an inspirational role model. Both journeys are captured in Following Nellie Bly.
About the Author
Rosemary J Brown is a London-based journalist. An avid traveller, she is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Churchill Fellow. In her quest to put female adventurers ‘back on the map’ she speaks at the Globetrotters Club, Women of the World festivals, Women's Institute and schools. She helped to organise The Heritage of Women in Exploration conference at the Royal Geographical Society. (Which featured in Intrepid Issue 5, if you are a member and have Library Access.)
Rosemary volunteers with people seeking asylum, people faced with homelessness and community groups. She climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, plays in a ukulele band and escapes to her beloved hilltop village in France when she can. She has lived in Washington, DC, Florida and Paris, France.
You can hear more from Rosemary on Twitter @Rosemary_Nellie and Instagram @rosemaryjbrown. The book’s website and blog is nelliebly125.wordpress.com
Read the Book
Members can read three chapters of the book here.
You can buy a copy of the book at local and chain bookshops like Foyles, Waterstones, WH Smith and online at Amazon and others. However, Rosemary has kindly arranged a discount code just for Intrepid Magazine readers. Use INM25 on the publisher’s site to get 25% off.
To Watch
The Ice Mile follows Becca Harvey in her year’s training for her endurance outdoor swim. Watch the trailer here and have a look at Becca’s blog.
TaTi CoCo is an adventurer and multi-athlete explorer, but particularly SUP. Have a look at her Vimeo channel, including her 600km solo and unsupported SUP journey around Sardinia, Mallorca and Ibiza.
Naranjo by The North Face tells the story of Fernanda Maciel’s trail running and climbing adventure in the Picos de Europa mountains. Watch the film here.
P.S. for more inspiration, don’t forget Tina Page’s Untold Stories review has several films to watch.
To Listen
Chatting to a Friend is Catie Friend’s podcast, where she interviews adventurers, athletes and interesting people. Have a listen to any of the great episodes - most recently Squash Falconer - at catiefriend.com/podcast (P.S. My episode will be on it sometime in the near future!)
The Tough Girl Podcast has 370 episodes and counting, featuring interviews with female adventurers and athletes. Start listening at toughgirlchallenges.com - the most recent episode is with Frankie Dewar.
Series 2 of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust’s podcast has just launched. Episode 1 is with Felicity Aston, talking about what endurance really means to her. Listen here.
Opportunities
Know a 16-18 year old who’d like to go to Antarctica by expedition ship in February 2022? Team We Two have opened nominations for an all expenses paid and kit provided place on the expedition. There are 10 places available, nominations open until midnight on July 11th 2021. Get nominating!
Plas y Brenin are looking for freelance photographers and filmmakers, who live in North Wales, to work with them regularly in 2021. More details here.
The Women’s Trad Festival are hiring for RCI/SPA leaders for the 2021 festival (6th-8th August). You can apply here.
P.S. If you want to go to the festival itself, the ticket ballot is open until 16th May.
Test Gear for Us!
Last and by no means least is this month’s gear testing opportunities. Lots of opportunities for readers out there and one for the swimmers/paddlers:
A selection of books from Vertebrate Publishing: Pennine Bridleway (cycling), Structured Chaos, Peak District Gritstone, Day Walks in Northumberland, Day Walks in Fort William and Glen Coe and Wild Winter. Definitely some UK adventures to be had in there.
Quick Dry Microfibre Change Robe from Red Original (RRP £47.95) - this product has just been launched. It’s a soft, quick dry, full length change robe that rolls up tiny enough to fit in the corner of a bag.
Want to be in with a chance to review one of these items for Intrepid Magazine? Here’s a friendly red button:
Members will find all the details in their extra email. All reviews will be published on intrepid-magazine.com and you get to keep what you review.
That’s all from me this month. Have a fantastic one and stay intrepid!
Emily