An exciting trip to Central Asia with Olivia to buy and ride horses for a month and sell them afterwards. Starting in Bishkek, we had 2 days to collect supplies and take out lots of cash before heading to Kochkor for the Saturday livestock market. With the help of the CBT we purchased 2 horses and headed off the next day. Our first stop was Song Kol, followed by a route change towards Tossor pass. Having ridden a horse 4 times before this trip, it was a bit of a learning curve. After a week and a half, our stallion got colic from some bad hay. This meant, armed with my how to horse travel hand book and some questionable local advice we had to save the horse's life. This involved an enema and 2 litres of sunflower oil, but I can happily say he was saved. Afterwards we decided to swap him for another horse to allow him to recover. Lots of bargaining was involved in this trip, but a fair price was settled when we sold the horses and we spent the next couple weeks watching the Nomad Games and heading up to Kazakhstan to explore the desert.

My second 2 weeks in the summer alps was just as enjoyable as the first with many good routes done. Went up Mont Blanc with Toby.

A 10 day canoe trip in Northern Ontario. For this trip my dad flew over making the group me, Olivia(girlfriend), Misha(friendly Canadian) and Paul(dad). After setting out we didn't see anyone for the 10 days, the days were filled with paddling, fishing and campfire cooking. A makeshift sail(tarpaulin) was erected when the wind was favourable.

Driving down from Waterloo into Kentucky to go climbing with Olivia and a Canadian crew. The 10 day trip showcased the beauty of US nature and bourbon whiskey. Watch out for Lyme disease though.

Christmas on Vancouver Island, hosted by very nice Canadian Cailey. Dirt biking, surfing and skiing/snowboarding - awesome.

A trip with my girlfriend to Jasper National Park in the Rockies. 3 nights camping down to -15C with icy river crossings and fresh bear tracks. Pretty chilly.

A trip to the Alps to learn alpinism. Taking part in the Conville course allowed me 3 days with a guide to learn as much as I can before setting out with university friends. Some good routes done.

Headed up to the Isle of Skye to do the Skye trail with Olivia. Crazy luck with the weather, blue bird days all week in April! Ate some good food and saw a submarine.

A trip to the alps to go splitboarding with a good crew of university friends. Sleeping in a van was cold but french bakery breakfasts warm the soul. First bits of touring and glacial travel, learning lots about snow from the more experienced people.

A 2 month trip to South America soon followed my Iceland trip, starting with 2 weeks around Colombia - exploring the cities and coffee region, then down to Leticia to see the Amazon. This was done with a friend from college who then left for me to carry on up the Amazon river alone. The rest of the trip included surfing on the west coast then doing a workaway at a small Peruvian farm. A 10 day trek crossing east to west then back through the Andes was undertaken as well, staying above 4000m for large sections. Exploring new foods on this trip was a highlight and I am grateful for the opportunity to see new culture and wildlife. Some Spanish was also learnt.

My biggest solo expedition came about from reading exploration books by authors such as Benedict Allen, who gave very romantic notions of crossing deserts. This inspired me to plan and undertake a walk from the north to the south of Iceland right through the desert'ish' highlands. The trek took two weeks, where in the middle I didn't see anyone for 4 days, and took me through a large variety of rugged and empty - but quite spectacular - lands to the north/mid and the south was lush green and still spectacular. As part of a 5 week trip to Iceland, I had 3 weeks to hitchhike around and meet lovely people and explore the rest of Iceland. I got gifted a very nice Icelandic wool jumper and even manage to talk my way into a week working on a horse trekking farm.

2 week hike with 2 school friends, Ned and Dougie, from Fort William to Cape Wrath. Long days hiking - until 2am one of the days to get in range for a full English breakfast at a cafe the next morning. Weather was surprisingly good for April and no midges about. Ideal.

Sport climbing trip with university friends. After only starting to properly get into climbing a few months before, this was a good chance to learn a good deal.

My first solo trip - travelling around Greece - hiking the Pelion peninsula in very hot weather and climbing Mount Olympus. Then going across to the island of Samothraki for a workaway on an eco-project. After 2 weeks there I travelled up to Sofia in Bulgaria where I met up with 2 college friends and continued on around Bulgaria, heading across to the Black Sea and back, hiking and swimming.

First international trip without the parents, 2 weeks going to Amsterdam, Munich, Genoa and Nice. At 17, setting out with a college friend, this felt like a big adventure and proved to be very enjoyable - despite having some of our stuff stolen. Surfing the river in Munich, swimming in the Mediterranean and trying new foods, good times.

A 3 night backpacking trip along the Pembrokeshire coast path blessed with glorious weather. Going with a friend from secondary school, Lewis, starting in Fishguard - finishing at Newgale.