Travel Diaries #1
I started writing while living in Hanoi, most often when whiling away hours in one of its endless offering of cafes Eventually I decided it’d be rude not to write down some of the things that I saw.
Why I Ran the Clew Bay Half Marathon
There are many reasons to run a long-distance race. Achievement is one of them. I’ve done that before, and it did me the world of good. But this time I decided not to ruin a sunny day.
Learning to Surf #1 – Waiting
In which I document my attempts to learn to surf over the coming winter in the west of Ireland. It seems like it will involve a lot of waiting around in the water.
The Letterkeen Loop and Nephin Beg Wilderness
The marking of the Wild Atlantic Way through Mayo and an overdue rise in interest in the great outdoors in Ireland has seen a welcome influx of visitors to a part of the country overlooked compared to Cork, Kerry and Galway. But you still don’t have to go too far to find the Loneliest Place in Ireland – and one of the best spots in the country to get lost.
Travel Is Not About Where You Go – It’s a Celebration of Life Itself
Maybe it’s a reaction to the slow continuing churn of lockdowns, travel restrictions and the imminent end of summer, but I’ve been on a Parts Unknown binge this week, the travel show hosted by the charismatic and tragically late Anthony Bourdain. Naturally I began my journey in my home away from home, and the iconic…
Memories of Clare Island
Unable to yet switch off, I busy myself making notes on my phone on the ferry over from Roonagh, giving myself minor whiplash as I glance up and down from device to sea to mainland to the Island, jabbing away at the screen to make written records of shapes and colours and every adjective I…
Learning How to Stand Around – How Practicing Yoga Has Improved My Life
Mountains beyond mountain. Photo by Yannic Läderach on Unsplash It started as a physical thing I’ve been doing yoga on and off, regularly and irregularly, for a few years now. Like a lot of lads, I started because I was interested in the physical side of it: the stretching, the flexing, the strength training that…
How Social Media Has Fueled a Healthy Running Habit During Lockdown
Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash After the scorching bank holiday weekend, I’ve realised that I might never have spent so much of my regular time outdoors as during the lockdown. In the last couple of months I’ve taken to running, walking, cycling and even just sitting outside as much as possible, often for a couple of hours…
What Running Means to Me During Lockdown
Photo by Nathalie Désirée Mottet on Unsplash That’s not me in the photo obviously, but you get the idea. Running during lockdown – running away from home, if you will – has made me realise just all the things other than training that I love about the sport: the non-competitive, non-performance-enhancement side. To me they’re just as important…
Self-Isolating from my Phone
Maybe he’s just a phone addict who likes to keep checking his cigarette? Photo by Charles Cheng on Unsplash Self-isolating at home, I should be in my element. All the time in the world to study and write, but work levels hit a bit of a slump over the week as I joined in with all the pandemic…