6 Adventure Books You Should Read This Winter

Sometimes we can’t always be on adventure. Maybe work or family or other resposibilities call us back from where we’d like to be. In those times, you need a really good book to dip into – to take you to that other place. We’ve picked out a few of our favourite outdoor adventure books that we’ve come across this year. Time to add them to your Christmas list…

From top left clockwise: Stories In The Stars from Random House, £20; The Outsiders from Amazon UK, Alone in Antarctica from Amazon UK, £7.19; The Code from Wordery, £8.72; Extreme Sleeps from The Guardian Bookshop, £7.19; How To Climb Mont Blanc In A Skirt from Waterstones, £8.99

Stories in the Stars: An Atlas of Constellations by Susanna Hislop

Now, this isn’t a fiction book, but it is a lovely book for your coffee table or bedside table. It’s beautiful printed atlas of constellations with the story of each one opposite. A great Christmas present for someone who likes gazing at the night sky.

The Outsiders: The New Outdoor Creativity

This giant tome of a book is another ideal coffee table book. It features everything we love at She Who Adventures – beautiful photography, snippets from athletes’ stories, interviews with craftsmen who make outdoors gear – from hiking and canoeing to surfing to backcountry skiing.

Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston

“Only three people in the world have crossed Antarctica alone. The first two were men and both Norwegian. At the age of 34, British woman Felicity Aston became the third,” says the blurb to Aston’s travel book, detailing her solo journey across the continent on skis. This is a truly inspirational tale of one woman defying the impossible.

The Code by Shaun Tomson

Shaun Tomson has lived quite the life – from one of the best competitive surfers in the world to setting up two surf clothing brands to losing his 15-year-old son to a sudden accident. His book The Code is a collection of stories from Tomson’s own life that will inspire you to live the best life you can. He believes in the power of ‘I Will’ – or positive thinking. If you will something, it will be come to be. It’s a really good inspirational book to dip into time and again.

Extreme Sleeps: Adventures of a Wild Camper by Phoebe Smith

Technically, wild camping is illegal in the UK – but that doesn’t stop people sleeping in some unusual places. Extreme Sleeps was penned by Wanderlust Magazine editor and camper extraordinaire Phoebe Smith. It tells of her mission to sleep – often alone – in the strangest, more bizarre spots around the UK – from abandoned WW2 bombers to cliff tops on the Lizard Peninsula. The result is guaranteed to inspire you to grab a tent and get outside.

How To Climb Mont Blanc In A Skirt by Mick Conefrey

When people think of traditional explorers, they think of men. Men with lined faces and ice-encrusted like Ernest Shackleton or Captain Scott. In fact, there have been female explorers pushing boundaries as long as their male counterparts. Mick Conefrey’s book charts the history of these pioneering women. It’s a funny book with snippets of advice – from how to sweet-talk a cannibal to what to do when the loo paper runs out in the middle of a glacier.

Golden Hour: Autumn Surf Session at Woolacombe, Devon

Autumn is definitely here. The air is crisper. The water temperatures are dropping. The sun is setting at 6.30pm. 

I got out to take some photos of the sunset surfers and SUPers at Woolacombe this evening. It was so quiet - just a handful of people out on the water and seagulls swooping, barely skimming the surface of the water.

Adventures In North Devon: Barnstaple Food Market

How great is this guy? Dan the Fishman at the Barnstaple Real Food Market in North Devon

When I was living in North Devon, I discovered the amazing Barnstaple Real Food Market - a local food market that takes place on the second Sunday of every month in the Pannier Market.

It's a great place for lunch, particularly if the surf is flat and you are kicking your heels wondering what to do.

Guaranteed you will go in with empty hands and come back with a fresh loaf of bread, local cheese, chocolates made from goat's milk (I kid you not - pun intended - they are delicious!) and a curry making kit.

A word on the curry making kit - they are made by a company called Boom Kitchen and they are the best homemade curries my sister and I have ever made. They won gold at the Taste Of The West awards - well deserved! 

Song To Get Your Through The Week: Waves by Bahamas

I'm not even sure how I came across this song, but the video and the song are both fantastic. It's by the band Bahamas and it's called Waves.

The video features 82 year-old Carol Schuldt from San Francisco, who spends her days naked bodyboarding in the Pacific Ocean.

The video - shot using a vintage film filter - gives a glimpse into Carol's freespirited existence and lessons learned from the ocean. If you love the ocean, you will love this song.

I'm just waiting for someone to make a longboarding video with this as the soundtrack

Buy Waves by Bahamas on iTunes here

Gear Review: Bowndling Hiking Leggings

A couple of months ago, I was hiking up Snowdon and I was thinking to myself, you know what the world needs? Hiking leggings.

Often in the UK, it's too cold to hike in shorts and most outdoor trousers are khaki green, baggy and frankly not something I want to spend £50 on.

I live in leggings. Leggings are great for running and yoga - someone should make a pair for hiking.

Then I came across Bowndling. They had already answered my prayers with their strapline 'hiking needs beautiful clothing'. I couldn't agree more.

Designed in the UK and made in Italy, these sweat-wicking leggings were not only perfect for hiking but they were made ethically in the EU. One per cent of every item bought goes towards environmental and wildlife protection.

My sister & I hiked up Hangman's Hill in North Devon, the highest sea cliff in England, to put them to the test - and they were perfect. Very comfortable and breathable. The elasticity of the lycra means you stretch over stiles and clamber over rocks without worrying the material is going to split.

The matching merino vest works well because it's long enough to cover your bottom and again is made from sweat wicking material. The only thing I would say is you need to think about which bra you wear with it - if you don't want your straps to show, go for a racer back.

They are definitely pricey - but when you feel the quality of the material, you'll see why.

I've since worn them to beach BBQs, on windy cliff top walks, even just down to the shops. I think it's pretty clear I've fallen in love. 

You can buy the Bowndling Quest Leggings in black (£79) and the Four Season Merino Tank Top in cream (£49) from the Bowndling website.

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Ice cream, Snorkelling & Sunshine: Exploring Puglia, Italy

"Where is Puglia?" is the question everyone asked me before we went this summer. "It's the heel of the boot," I'd reply. People would give you a nod of recognition and move on.

That's because Puglia isn't like other places in Italy. Sicily and Tuscany as filled with British holidaymakers looking for an escape from the wet British Isles in July - but they don't tend to go to. Puglia is where Italians go on holiday. 

We were staying in a villa just outside Ostuni in the middle of the Italian countryside, just twenty minutes drive to the coast. And it was hot, like REALLY hot. Most days the average temperature was 34°C, which was a heat wave even by Italian standards. 

When the mercury is hitting these heights, the temptation is to spend the day between the pool and the shade - but there's plenty to explore in Puglia. 

What to do

Head to Torre Guaceto if you're looking for a nice beach. All the beaches in this area of Italy are small and crowded. Your best bet is to walk a little further down 

Go snorkelling. The water is beautifully clear and warm in Puglia. While marine life isn't abundant, you will definitely catch sight of fish, jellyfish and maybe the odd octopus. 

Hire a boat from Marina di Ostuni. If you want to explore the coastline and find a swimming spot away from the crowds, this is your best bet. However, make sure you check if fuel is including in the rental price before you set off - and always challenge them at the end if they charge you an extortionate amount.

Go wakeboarding. The Aegean sea in the height of summer is generally super flat, which makes it perfect for wakeboarding and waterskiing. We gave it a go at the beaches around Capitolo near Monopoli. It was €20 for fifteen minutes (guaranteed you'll be knackered after that).

Make a trip to the Trulli of Alberobello. Trulli are little white limestone huts that are dotted all over southern Puglia. The trulli village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and we can vouch for the fact that it's really worth visit. Go early before the crowds and the heat make it unbearable.

Take an Italian cooking lesson

We learnt to make pasta from scratch with pasta pomodoro and polpette di melazane (aubergine balls in tomato sauce) with the Artisans of Taste near Brindisi. Our host Cinzia was an olive oil expert. She travels all over the world to take part on olive oil tasting panels. What did we learn?

Never buy olive oil in a bottle - it should always be kept away from the light in a tin can. Good olive oil will smell grassy and leave you with a spicy aftertaste. Make sure you buy high quality olive oil as it's better for you - cold-pressed extra virgin is the way forward.

Eat

Orecchiette is the local pasta. It's made from durum wheat and resembles a small ear in shape. The rough texture and domed shape helps keep the pasta sauce sticking to the pasta as you eat it.

Deep fried courgette flowers stuffed with cheese are everywhere - don't leave without trying them. Oh and the flat peaches, we couldn't get enough of these.

Ice cream. Obviously. Although I would steer clear of ice cream which looked like chocolate, but was actually pure Nutella on a cone. Sounds delicious, but one sickly treat in reality.

If you're looking for a really special meal, you've got to go to the Cielo Restaurant at the Hotel La Sommita in Ostuni and pick the Creativeness menu. Think Heston Blumenthal's creativity but less sheep trotters.

Every course has a sense of humour - for example, one dessert looked like an egg, cracked into a pile of flour. The shell was made of white chocolate and inside was creme brulee. It wasn't out-of-this-world price outrageously price either, around €60 a head. The same meal would be double the price in London.

My parents said it was the best meal they've ever had (trust me, they don't make statements like that very often).

Remember...

Bring insect repellent. Mosquitos plagued us all in the evenings, particularly in the middle of the countryside. I would recommend bringing some of this 100 per cet natural repellent from Incognito with you.

Take out euros before you arrive. There are ATMs in the major towns, but these are few and far betweeen.

5 Things You Should Know About Climbing Mt. Snowdon For The First Time

I’d never considered climbing Mount Snowdon, until one day my boyfriend suggested we give it the go. It’s the second highest peak in the UK and the highest in Wales at 1,085m above sea level. We decided to climb the first half of the horseshoe, known as the Crib Goch route. As a first timer, here’s what I learnt…

Crib Goch is not an easy hike

It’s a scramble. For those who haven’t been introduced to the world of scrambling, it is literally what it sounds like: scrambling on your hands and knees across rocky ridges with 300m drops on either side. Crib Goch is the hardest route up Snowdon. It was terrifying at times – particularly when passing people running (yes, running) the other direction – but the views were spectacular. You can see all the way across to the sandy bays of Anglesey. I really felt like I deserved my sandwich at the end of it.

Stoke up on breakfast at Pete’s Eats before your go

You need a big breakfast before you climb Snowdon. Head to Pete’s Eats in Llanberis for a proper Full English and a cup of tea. It’s a Snowdon institution. If you’re coming through Capel Curig instead, stop at The Pinnacle Cafe. I can vouch for their top vegetarian Full English – plus it’s got good outdoor shop where I pondered over a new pair of hiking socks. Lesson learned: wear good hiking socks.

Snowdon is busy. Really busy.

The Snowdon Mountain Rescue Team once described it as the “busiest mountain in Britain”. They weren’t wrong. As we pulled into the packed car park at 9am, there was already a snaking line of eager hikers making their way up Snowdon.

You can get a train to the top

After a sweaty three-hour scramble to the top, we made it. As I glugged down my last dregs of water, I could see something mechanical crawling up the mountainside in the distance. “What’s that?” I asked my boyfriend “Oh it’s the train up from Llanberis.” Yep, people actually get the train up here.

It’s really worth it

Arrive early – some people start hiking at 6.30am on busy days. Pick a day with bright blue skies for the best views. Wear thick socks with your hiking boots. Bring snacks for the route/to help coax nervous friends over sheer drops. You won’t regret it.

It took us around three and a half hours to hike from the Pen Y Pass car park to the summit of Snowdon via Crib Goch and an hour and a half down via. the Pyg Track.

Weekend in North Cornwall, UK: What To See & Do

I think I would go as far to say that North Cornwall is one of my favourite places in the UK - if not the world. When you come to Cornwall, you leave the rest of the civilised world behind. 

Place names change from soft, chocolate box-sounding places (like Clovelly and Appledore) and become other-worldly, like something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Trebetherick, Zennor, Nanjizal.

There's a reason why the residents of Cornwall are constantly campaigning for independence from the rest of the UK. Because it's not like anywhere else.

In the summer, it's crowded. Hoards of British tourists gather on Cornwall's beaches to eat ice cream for six weeks in July and August. But once they have gone, Cornwall returns to its beautiful quiet rural state - the turbulent Atlantic, imposing craggy cliffs, empty beaches.

The best months to visit are June and September - when the waves are good, the weather is warm, but you can avoid the queues.

VISIT

CYCLE THE CAMEL TRAIL

It’s a well-known route, but such a great thing to do if you’ve never been to Cornwall before. It’s a very easy traffic-free cycle path on an old railway line that traces the River Camel from its mouth at Padstow through Wadebridge all the way to Bodmin. I’d recommend parking in Wadebridge, hiring a bike from the start of the trail and cycling to Padstow with a stop at Rick Stein’s Fish and Chips (by far the best chippy in town).

WALK FROM DAYMER BAY TO ROCK

If you’re looking for a beach walk with great views, park up at Daymer Bay and walk along the beach to Rock. It takes about 45 minutes one way and the beach is also dog-friendly. If you haven’t visited Padstow yet, you can board the foot ferry over for a stroll around town and Rick Stein’s fish and chips (as mentioned above). You can also stop at The Mariners in Rock for a drink if you’re short on time. If it’s high tide, follow the coastal path through the dunes.

HEAD DOWN TO PORT ISAAC

Port Isaac is famous for home to the ITV drama Doc Martin, which is set in this very village. Heaving during the summer months, it’s best to visit off season when the cobbled streets are less crowded. You won’t need more than half a day here, but it’s worth a look in the shops and a pint overlooking the harbour at The Golden Lion. Just around the corner, you can go for a swim at Port Gaverne.

SURF AT CRANTOCK

Just around the corner from Newquay, Crantock is one of the best places to surf in the area. The waves are rarely crowded and it has a great peeling longboarder friendly wave near the mouth of the river. Sheltered when the wind is blowing a hooley elsewhere. Works best at mid to high tide. Even if you don’t surf, Crantock is gorgeous on a sunny day. Bring your National Trust sticker if you have one for the car park.

VISIT BEDRUTHAN STEPS

Bedruthan Steps is a famously gorgeous with dark craggy cliffs and a pristine beach, dotted with towerin sea stacks. Victorian legend says that at high tide, a giant would use these sea stacks as stepping stones to walk along the coastline.

You can access the beach at low tide, but it’s the views from the coastal path that are most stunning. It’s a half an hour walk to Mawgan Porth (make sure you take a look inside Roo’s Beach, my favourite shop in the area) or admire the views by heading the other direction towards the headland.

TRY A BEACH YOGA CLASS

The lovely Aimee from Synergy Yoga holds outdoor yoga classes early on a Saturday morning. Park up on the Esplanade at the south end of Fistral Beach and you’ll find everyone lying on their mats on the flat grassy bit overlooking the beach. Classes run during the summer months, depending on the weather. Find out more info on the Synergy Yoga Facebook Page.

EAT

Little Plates, Wadebridge

This modern tapas bar is one of my favourite places for dinner in the whole of Cornwall. The menu changes seasonally. Make sure you order the fish tacos.

It’s very reasonably priced – I usually spend around £15-20 per person (not including drinks). Thursdays is Mexican night complete with tacos and tequila. Booking ahead is a must.

Gilmores Golf, Newquay

If you want excellent Cali-Mexican style food with a side of mini golf, then this is the place to come. Founded by Cornish entrepreneur Elsie Pinninger, Gilmores is great for a quick coffee or a full blown meal, complete with Mexican cocktails and a fine burrito (or two).

The Jam Jar, Newquay

If you are into the chia seed/cacao healthy eating trend right now, then you need to head to The Jam Jar. It’s a cosy little bolt hole stacked with surf magazines, serving coffee, smoothies, gluten-free cakes and toasted bagels.

I had the Bounty Bliss smoothie – made with coconut milk, banana, agave syrup, and cacao, topped with an edible flower – plus an avocado, cream cheese and smoked salmon bagel. Delicious.

Strong AdolfOs, Wadebridge

Just off the A39, you'll spot a huge retro American CAFE sign suspended above a wooden Scandinavian looking building. 

This is Strong Adolfos, a hipster-style cafe with delicious food (including plenty of vegetarian options, smoothies and plenty of gluten-free options.

We recommend trying their slow cooked dahl. It’s not cheap, but it is tasty. Poke your head around the deli and interiors shop next door before you leave.

St Tudy Inn, St Tudy

We first came here for Sunday lunch and my boyfriend said it was the best Sunday lunch he has ever had. Tucked away in the tiny village of St Tudy, chef Emily Scott set up this pub restaurant earlier this year with roaring success.

Think cosy modern country interior with Farrow & Ball painted walls and very polite staff. There are great choices for vegetarians – I particularly liked their aubergine and summer vegetable lasagna. Lunch is amazing value for money, while the evening meals are delicious but a little more pricey.

DRINK

Bedruthan Hotel Cocktail Bar, Mawgan Porth

The Bedruthan Hotel might be known primarily as a family hotel, but the cocktail bar really is something special. There is no menu – resident mixologist Ian will simply ask what flavours you like and concoct a drink from his homemade bitters and liqueurs. With amazing views over Mawgan Porth beach, it is well worth a visit. 

The Ship Inn, Wadebridge

The Ship Inn is owned by the same people as Little Plates. It’s a great place for an evening drink if you want a traditional pub, filled with a nice mix of locals and tourists. The food is also very good, if you’re looking for a decent pub meal.

SHOP

Roos' Beach, Porth

This shop is can only be summed up in one word: fun. It's a surf shop but without any of your usual big brands in sight. Think pineapple bracelets, beeswax candles, colourful kaftans and pink suede boots. 

MMW By Revolver, Newquay

MMW is one of those shops you will step into and immediately want to buy everything. From the Pendleton rugs to the glossy surf magazines and candles to the unusual array of women's clothing, it's a surf shop with a modern twist. Warning: this place is seriously dangerous for your bank balance.

Want To Try Yoga At Home? This Is The Best Online Yoga Class....

I’ve been looking for an online yoga class for a long time – for those times when you’re living in a new place and haven’t found a class yet or you’re travelling and need some guidance on the move.

I was reading this article on keeping fit for winter on Cooler and came across Yoga With Adriene. She runs a YouTube channel with free yoga classes for you to practice at home. They range from beginner tutorials to forty minute vinyasa sessions.

I particularly like the fact that she does classes suited to your moods, yoga for when you are sick, for the mornings, for when you’re feeling the winter blues, for hangovers, for runners. Adriene doesn’t take the whole practice too seriously and gets that maybe you’re not that into the hippy dippy spiritual side of yoga (but also embraces it if you do!) That’s my idea of a good yoga tutor.