The Mower Boys

Adventure? One ticket please

2009-09-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

My brother got out from his seat, gave me a nudge as he passed over me and grabbed his bag from the rack above us. I stood to and grabbed mine, the silence was representative of the anxious feeling growing in both of us.

As the train started to slow and pull in to the small station, we took our place in the queue forming by the train doors.

We walked out of the station and toward the small amass of boats bobbing aimlessly by the key side. The plan was simple really – go to Mallaig, Inverness-Shire, get a boat over to the Knoydart peninsular, explore it, then go home.

In our case, it was more then one ticket to find adventure, involving more time spent on trains then actually on the trail. Still, the experience will stay with me forever, the memories, the thrill of a new place, new to me.

Its a common miss-conception that we have to go far from our homes for adventure. When commonly it is so close. Wilderness for example, can often be achieved by spending 1 hour in your car, driving in the right direction.

Still, http://www.BeOutHere.com gives you a platform for finding our next adventure, your wilderness, your adrenaline, your life affirming experiences where ever in the world you want to be.

Http://www.BeOutHere.com is the only resource for adventure travellers. Designed BY adventurers FOR adventurers.

With every country and state in the world covered and over 60 activities to choose from, Http://www.BeOutHere.com helps you to DISCOVER YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE.

Its Far from us, and Far from ideal

2009-08-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Im sure know where it is on the bottom of our blue planet.

Im sure you have watched programs on it and read reports about it.

But, just in case... here is another one for you...

One of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is thinning four times faster than it was 10 years ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8200680.stm

By David Shukman
Science and environment correspondent, BBC News

How To Uncover The Best Global Adventures

2009-08-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

How can the modern adventure traveller find the right adventure amongst ever growing volumes of tour options, trip reports, and environmental incentives?

The adventure travel market is a fast-growing niche within the tourism sector. Adventure travellers can now find almost any adventure in any country of the world. Whether it be Caving in Afghanistan, Surfing in Fiji or Ballooning over the Serengeti, there is an adventure tour operator or adventure company to take you there.

Gone are the days when an adventurer would have to spend weeks planning his or her expedition with swiss-like precision. Modern-day operators will organise every detail of the trip, right down to the level of adrenaline you will experience.

Your choices in adventure travel are literally endless. Unsurprisingly there are hundreds of companies offering Safaris, Skiing Trips, Scuba Diving and much more. They exist in such numbers because each offers a slightly different service and every adventurer wants a different experience.

So what are adventure travellers really looking for? Surly for each individual the ideal experience is different. Some will want greener trips whereas others will yearn for really 'out-there' trips were the accommodation is a tent, not a 5-star hotel and the transport is a yak rather than an air-conditioned coach.

So, to uncover global adventure travel and the right experience for you, the answer is simple. Draw out a 3-part check list:

1. Experience,
2. Out-There Factor
3. Environment. For each part work out what you want from a trip.

Then read trip reports, operator reviews and speak to the adventure companies.

Your dream adventure trip is out there. Just make sure you know what you want before you book.

Author: Seb Mower is the Managing Director of beouthere.com ( http://www.beouthere.com) , helping every traveller to discover their next adventure ( http://www.beouthere.com/activity.php?country=0 ) .

AA Gill goes to the Arctic

2009-08-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

My time in the Arctic seems to have been devalued, by a restaurant critic.

If it's any conciliation, I wore far fewer clothes, making me tougher. Yes.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6716662.ece

The Adventures of Dave: Learn How To Skydive

2009-07-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRf2RdGBVA

Dave learns a harsh lesson about skydiving without instruction!

Adventure Travel

2009-07-27T03:08:00.001-07:00

Recently Will and I have been trying to find out what 'adventure travel' means to us.

On the surface of things it could be a sub-division of tourism. The practice of visiting somewhere new or interesting for a vacation. Only in this instance there has to be an element of adventure (a typically hazardous experience or activity). By this token, adventure travel is commercial, limited to those 25 days a year that you are released from work.

We don't think that this definition is fair or particularly useful. It is prohibitive and too far removed from what we perceive adventure travel to be.

We believe that it should be clear to any individual that you don't need to spend a fortune (if anything) to get the buzz and feelings of escape that adventure travel provides. It can be simple as walking the dog in a torrential downpour, biking your local trails at night or wild swimming in a nearby river.

Traditional packages have their place (if they didn't we couldn't exist). But during economic downturn or beyond vacation allowance there are ways to feed the adventuring appetite within you.

In our experience the stages to finding a local adventure include: 1. List your adventuring attributes (climber, biker, runner etc) 2. Buy a map of your area - identify where looks cool, out of the way and suitable for your chosen attribute and 3. GO. Go there in all weather conditions at all times of day.

Remember: the best things in life are free. Everything else can be found at beouthere.com

Discover Your Next Adventure

Our New Kayak, well, new to us anyway.

2009-07-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Its been said that there is something in the water in Danehill.

Something that makes most of the youth MAD with Adventure.

It seams only fair to get closer to what makes us mad. Closer to the water.

Its a thirst for Adventure that drives us, a need to find new challenges.

We love Sussex, all it has and all it is.

Ray Mears described sussex as having the best country side in the world.

We have Climbed it, We have Ridden it, now its time to Paddle it.

http://www.beouthere.com

The Adventures Of Dave

2009-07-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

Will Mower has put together beouthere.com's first promotional video.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4T6r886ew

It is the first in a series of stop motion animations that we hope will attract the deskbound adventurers out there.

All the best

Seb

Feel The Wild In A Modern World: 5 Ways To Find Wilderness

2009-07-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Pure Wilderness: areas that are still totally wild, untouched by industry or technology. Places where you feel exposed, exhilarated and, perhaps most importantly, closest to nature. No roads, no people and certainly no ipods. On a simple level it is the feeling of exploration, often with some added adventure. People seek these inaccessible areas for many reasons: the challenge, the yearnings of their soul or even just to reach the polar opposite of their desk job.

Wikipedia article gives a scale to what I refer to as Wilderness.

1. Get Up Earlier

How many of us have stopped going to a wilderness because it has got too busy? What should be an adventure, giving you that sensation of exploration, actually leaves you feeling as though you may as well have just watched it on TV. A great example would be Mt. Snowdon in Wales. A stunning hike, often challenging in places and ultimately an adventurous ascent amongst a truly staggering landscape. However, on almost any day of the week it is crammed with would-be, trainer-clad, 'adventurers'. Any feeling of adventure is removed as you pass other trail users, often poorly equipped and occasionally ill-mannered.

Ipods in. Cell phones on. Out There Factor? None.

So how do we regain the wildness of this wilderness? The answer is simple: rise early.

Families, school groups, hiking clubs - none of them will do what you can do. Buy a head-torch. Learn your route. Leave before sunrise. Enjoy those spots of perfection just when they are at their most perfect.

2. Leave Your Cell Phone At Home

The cell phone is a marvellous invention, there is no argument. It has saved lives time and time again. Adventurers feel safer and the adventurer's loved ones feel reassured. There is NO debating their safety advantages or importance.

HOWEVER for all of the certainty, reassurance and ultimately comfort that your cell brings to a trip into the wilds, comes a serious compromise to the wilderness experience. That feeling of total freedom, total risk and total solitude can be sliced in half by a few electronic beeps. On another level, even if you have the phone switched off in your bag, the knowledge of it's proximity detracts from the whole wilderness experience. It may, in some cases, even make an adventurer take risks that he otherwise wouldn't - safe in the knowledge that they are a text message away from rescue. In this case individuals must consider the cost and risk associated with sending out rescue teams.

Bottom line: less human contact = more wilderness.

nb. should you be accident prone, or inexperienced in wilderness travel please consider the merits of a mobile very carefully!

3. Learn To Read Maps

It has always amazed me how I can pick up almost any map, see a point that I have never been to and be captivated to the point of grabbing my pack and heading there immediately. After years of searching for the ultimate places to wild camp, picnic with a loved one or feel the full force of nature I have learnt how to read maps - even enjoy them as a wilderness in their own right. When I look at maps now they are not flat with unidentified symbols and colours. They are three dimensional landscapes with hills, forests, rivers and beaches. They are a clear way to find those areas with the right view, the right aspect and the right level of wild.

How to spot wilderness: rivers, forest, close contours, moors, mountains, no roads, no paths, no buildings, no power cables, no nearby airports and NO MCDONALDS.

4. Learn To Sail

We all know how much of the Earth's surface is covered by water and we all know that the last true bastions of exploration are our oceans. So, quite simply, learn to sail, scuba dive, kayak or even wild swim.

Sailing can take you around the world. To areas where you may not see or hear a plane for weeks. It will take you through all types of weather in all types of climate. Quite simply, sailing will quench your thirst for wilderness and, without trying very hard, will provide you with a lifetime of experiences.

Scuba diving, snorkelling, skin diving and many others will open this sub-surface vista up to any explorer. When it comes to aquatic exploration there are niches within niches. Cave diving is surely one of them: the beauty of the ocean, the unique feeling of scuba diving and the challenge of caving.

Whatever you decide to do, you will most definitely re-discover the wild.

5. Higher, Further, Slower

I have come up with a simple, 3-part, rule where you can take any part and find a wilderness, wherever you are:

Higher: Go high enough on any mountain and with every metre climbed another percent of the world's adventurers will be unable to follow. Whilst this will not exclude everyone it will certainly mean that the people you do encounter are of a similar mindset.

Further: Take a famous trekking route with hundreds of miles of trail, car parks strategically located at different points along it, feeding the trails with people and you will notice something. There is often a limit to the extent of an average hiker's excursion. This limit exists for each car park along the trail. Look closer and you will see that there are 'hiking dead spots' everywhere - places that the average receationalist won't get to on their Saturday morning family outing. So, either hike further along a trail than everyone else or start your hike away from a car park.

Slower: Because not all of us can get to Alaska, the Gobi or the Scottish Glens particularly easily, or cheaply, we must make the most of the wildernesses on our doorstep. Other than being cheaper it is also more socially acceptable in our modern, environmentally conscious, world. So, to make the most of our local wilderness we must quite simply, Go Slower. Every stride, every breath and every observation must be more relaxed. Try moving without making a noise - this will reduce your pace and increase your chances of seeing any fearful wildlife. Notice the smells and the noises around you. Allow this environment to engulf you: what you seek from wilderness will be found.

beouthere.com can help you find that wilderness you have always yearned for. I know it helped me.

The Knoydart Peninsular

2009-06-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

BeOutHere.com

Adventure Article of the Week

Last summer my brother and I took a trip up to Scotland, specifically the Knoydart peninsular - dubbed the most isolated community in the British Isles. Access can only be achieved by boat or a two day hike. It was a five day, long-weekend situation. Our goal: to walk around half of the peninsular. We jumped on a sleeper train from London up to Fort William, from there we took a long but picturesque rail journey through to Mallaig. The whole trip would have been worth it if we only did that part of the trek. Loch after Glen after Loch, truly stunning.

When we arrived at Mallaig we jumped on the Knoydart Ferry (AP) and arrived at Inverie Harbour some 30 minutes later, having seen some incredible landscape and wildlife. Because of the time of year we were travelling we arrived at the small settlement during the Highland Games. Confronted by local ales, burgers and jovial Scots, it took us sometime to get down to the task in hand.

We managed to tear ourselves away by 3pm and wobbled off in the general direction of Loch an Dubn-Lochain via Inverie River. Either adventure or ale soon got the better of us and we decided to take a jaunt up the peak next to us. From sea level the 800m Sgurr Coire Choinnichean feels like a big, big hill. The ascent took about an hour (with very heavy packs) and upon reaching the top we were presented with a spectacular view over most of the peninsular. After a quick drink and rest we got on with the task of descending via the steeper northerly slope. Because we were trekking in summer the day length was on our side. Even in late-August we had until after 9pm before the light would fail. However, the weather was not on our side. It rained harder during our descent than at any time we were out in the wilderness over the next three days.

Finally, after an exhausting trip down, we reached the head of Gleann na Guiserein. This glen is vast and beautiful. As most them are. Flowing in a north-westerly direction, it has everything: peaks either side, exposed rocky outcrops, scotch pine forests, herds of deer and a peaty fast-flowing river at it's centre.

We made camp on a (fairly exposed!!) grassy mound and got on with the business of eating, taking pictures and absorbing the immaculate wilderness around us. It has been mentioned many times in many pieces of literature that Scotland is home to some of the most magnificent landscapes in the world. This small part, on this secluded peninsular, does not disappoint.

After a short post-supper walk, we sat on the banks of the river and talked about the next day's 18 mile hike. Note: sitting on the banks of a Scottish river in late summer without a very strong breeze is not advised due to the clouds of mosquitoes!

The next morning, after a “healthy” breakfast bap, we packed up and left our grassy hump in the same state that we had found it. This should be a rule whenever wild camping, but it seems especially justified in the pristine back country that is Knoydart.

We set off in a north westerly direction, towards the toe of the glen. Our path largely followed unbroken double track, surrounded on either side by the forested banks of the glen. After a few miles the forest broke, leaving an expanse of lush flood plain and the sea off in the distance. After our strenuous endeavours on the first day we were happy to admire the seductive peaks around us from a distance. It seemed enough to know that they were there, undamaged, infrequently visited.

We eventually reached the end of the glen track, arriving at a farm and the mouth of the river. The river was shallow and we managed to cross with the water not passing our knees. We stopped on the shore and had lunch. Soup, bread and chocolate. Why is it that almost any combination of food is acceptable when out on the trail?

Our post-lunch route took us along the coast in a south westerly direction, passing the remains of an old chapel, a small collection of houses and an old wind turbine (seems the Scots here had thought of wind as an alternative energy source a long time ago...). Eventually we hit the only 'road' on the peninsular. Starting out at either end as a rocky, washed out cattle trail it's middle merges into smooth, 21^st century tarmac. Heading south we follow this striking coastal route back to the tiny community of Inverie.

Following a lengthy hike down the coastal road we finally see the small collection of buildings that is Inverie, tucked away in the bay. Finally we arrive just in time for a mosquito filled dusk in which to pitch the tent. On the way in to the village we had spied a pub called The Old Forge, serving pub-grub and a selection of ales. We decided that we had earnt a good meal and a pint, so we popped in and refuelled. An then some.

The next morning we packed up, headed for the quay and waited for the ferry back to Mallaig. Following an equally striking journey back to Fort William. We jumped on the train back to London and back to place that couldn't be further from Knoydart, geographically or emotionally.

Banana Beans

2009-06-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

Unsure to the accurate science behind the nutritional advantage of Bananas, Seb Mower understands that it helps his climbing.

After a day watching the sunshine from the BeOutHere.com office, Seb and I, decide to chill out, take an early afternoon and get off to some Sandstone for a climb.

The evening had really cooled off from the heat of the day, and the shaded rocks at Stone Farm, East Sussex, England, made it ideal climbing conditions. After squeezing the car next to a large bus, we headed up a leafy path to the start of a 200m run of stunning mini Sandstone climbs.

It wasn’t busy as we dumped the kit and strolled off to find a nice traverse to get warmed up. It was a very still evening, quiet, but you can never escape young climbers shouting to their friends for recognition of their climbing achievements.

Once we got on to a few routes, the stresses and strains of the day seam to be left at the foot of a climb. We talked business for the most part; never keen to leave BeOutHere.com to far from the front of our minds.

Will Mower