Well, as we turn the corner into 2013 I always find that it’s a good time to look back over the previous year and have a retrospect look at the places visited and the adventures experienced along the way and throughout the year in general.
Initially I felt that the year had been a bit of a washout as a combination of illness and ill weather seemed to conspire at every corner to thwart all my best laid plans. But with hindsight it seems that the sheer staggering quantity of the destinations visited and the experiences squeezed in over the year seem to have all but overwhelmed any bad memories and vanquished them firmly to the recesses of my mind.
Below are some of the my favourite photographs taken along the way capturing this years journeys and adventures once again. I hope you enjoy browsing through them again at leisure and possibly may yet find some inspiration and ideas in there somewhere for your own little adventure or planned trip to some foreign land next year. Thanks as ever for reading, please enjoy the pics and all the best for 2013……James.
Travelling across Vietnam aboard ‘The Reunification Express’
Exploring the Buddhist caves of Huyen Khong in the Marble Mountains of Vietnam
Catching a Sampan along the hot and sweltering Mekong Delta
Discovering the even hotter temples of Cambodia
Hiking in the Welsh Mountains during the Easter break
Sea Kayaking & Coasteering off the Cornish Coastline
Wild camping on a secluded beach along The South West Coast Path
Later in the year hiking on the very wet and windy Isle of Arran, Scottish Western Isles
Microadventureing on a four-day canoeing & camping trip along the gorgeous River Wye
Travelling to beautiful Seville and Cordoba in Andalusia for a few days of exploring
In autumn catching a few days away for a bit of MTB & hiking around in The Forest of Dean
Rounding the year off with a 79th out of 427 in my first freezing & extreme off-road race!
Where will your adventures take you this year?
Wherever they may lead make sure it is your best year yet!
JAMES HANDLON 
Hey James!
I just came across your blog browsing some of the comments on Al Humphrey’s microadventure posts. (I just did a 12 hour, 30 mile skate trek from Boulder to Denver, CO microadventure!)
You have done some awesome travel this year! One of the things I have in the works is to do a series of international microadventures, so I’m starting to log ideas. Just from your post I’m thinking Canoe the River Wye, kayaking the islands of Scotland, and I love the idea of The South West Coast Path.
Would love to hear some of your ideas for me!!!
So much I could say here, but I’m now following you on twitter so I look forward to following your awesome journeys and microadventures more!!!
Cheers,
– Lauren Rains
(@LaurRAINS, TheMadtoLive.com – Stay in touch! 😀 )
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The River Wye is a quintessential English river with all that you would expect from a gentle yet scenic river through undulating English countryside. For something a little more extreme try the River Spey in Scotland.
Scottish Isles are ideal for kayaking so long as you are confident in the sea which can be rough up there.
South West Coast Path is beautiful especially along the north Cornish Coast section which has some of the best coastal scenery in the UK.
Other LDP’s in the UK to consider are The West Highland Way for wilderness or The South Downs Way for traditional gentle English countryside, both offer a challenge.
I wish you every success with this years adventures and thanks so much for following and reading my blog and Twitter feed do stay tuned for some hopefully pretty epic stuff this year.
Cheers
James
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I’m jealous. Hope that in a few years I’ll get to travel the way you did in 2012. I plan a trip to China in the next 5 years.
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China is a really cool country I am lucky enough to have been there twice, but get there as quick as you can because it is changing very, very fast!
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Great point! Thanks, James!
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