Mark Delstanche, 47, has become the first person to solo row from New York to London. He set off from Battery Park, New York on June 14, and after 97 days he crossed the finish line at Tower Bridge, London. Since the beginning, Delstanche has faced complications. His boat Square Peg was custom-made with a flywheel-powered propeller, which broke early in his journey. He then rowed through some of the worst weather in years. Over the three months, he endured eight major storms and seven capsizes. The storms damaged most of his electronic equipment. During one capsize, he twisted his knee.
On his around-the-world voyage, he left Plymouth August 27, 1966, sailing the 14,100 miles to Sydney in 107 days. Embarking again on Jan. 29, 1967, he returned to Plymouth around Cape Horn in 119 days, the 15,517 miles being the longest passage made by a small sailing vessel without a port of call. He was knighted in May 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II. His last solo voyage in JanuaryโFebruary 1971, from Portuguese Guinea to Nicaragua, covered 4,000 miles in 22 days. He died shortly after illness in 1972 prevented him from making the solo transatlantic race. His books include the autobiography The Lonely Sea and the Sky (1964) and The Gipsy Moth Circles the World (1967).
For the 40th time, Jane Dotchin has set out on a seven-week pilgrimage along rural byways from her home in Hexham, England to Inverness, Scotland.
How many 80-year-olds do you know who travel 1,000km overland each year? Age is just a number for Jane Dotchin from Hexham, England, who has done such a trek annually since 1972. This year, her 13-year-old pack pony, her disabled Jack Russell terrier, and a few personal items were all she needed for the trip.
Dotchin puts on her eyepatch and an orange safety vest, packs her kit and Jack Russell terrier Dinky onto her horse, and sends it. From her home in Northumberland, near the Scottish border, sheโll ride all the way north to Inverness. Itโs a tradition that started decades ago for Dotchin, with a deferred animal care request and an inkling of freedom.
When folding bike manufacturer Brompton developed their Explore Edition, they contacted Alastair Humphreys about working together.
In short order, Humphreys teamed up with his good friend and filmmaker Temujin Doran to go on this folding-bike-rafting expedition to Suilven together.
The Noor is a short aerial film by Vadim Sherbakov, of the beautiful winter landscapes of frozen Baikal Lake in the Eastern Siberia region of Russia.
Noor (ะััั) is a Buryat word for lake, and Buryat is ethos people who have populated this area for many years, so it was appropriate to use their beautiful word for this short film.
Nowadays, the region the world’s largest pure water lake is popular with tourists.
Millican Dalton, Jean Brown and Mabel Barker having a brew-up in 1935. Photo Mabel Barker Collection
Milican Dalton (Apr 20, 1867 โ Feb 5, 1947) the British self-styled “Professor of Adventure”, was never motivated by adrenaline fuelled adventure, by speed, or by winning races. He lived in a cave in Englandโs Lake District and led camping and climbing trips up the local mountains.
He outfitted himself and his clients in lightweight gear he designed and sewed himself, specializing in tents made of tightly woven Egyptian cotton. In the rain the fibers would swell, tightening the weave and rendering the shelter water resistant, if not exactly dry. He sold handmade rucksacks, advertising them as โhalf the weight and one-third the costโ of the Norwegian packs in vogue at the time.
Millican did most of his sewing in the winter, when not climbing trees or, weather permitting, skimming across icy ponds on handmade wooden skates or sliding through the forest on skisโa skill he acquired in the Alps before the First World War. His handmade clothes were habitually left un-finished as frayed testimony that in Millicanโs eyes, hemmed shorts should never stand in the way of a good ramble.
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Millican didnโt see any reason why Barker or other women shouldnโt climb hard rock, or otherwise do as they pleased. That was only one of his unorthodox beliefs, all of which he espoused freely. He relished a good argument, and though he was sometimes called him the โBorrowdale Hermitโ he was as sociable as he was opinionated. He welcomed visitors, occasionally leaving handwritten invitations to take tea with him at โSinbadโs Cave.โ Those who obliged would often be goaded into political discussions, which Millican pursued with gusto. He was a socialist and an outspoken pacifist who once wrote Winston Churchill during the height of the Blitz, demanding the Prime Minister make peace with the Germans. It seems the local air raid warden had climbed up to the cave to demand Millican douse his fire, infringing the Cavemanโs liberty and provoking his ire.
Joni Sweet, at Forbes, ranked the top ten states for hiking in the US ยป
1. Alaska 2. Arkansas 3. Hawaii 4. Washington, D.C. 5. Iowa (tied for 5th place) 5. Arizona (tied for 5th place) 7. Utah (tied for 7th place) 7. West Virginia (tied for 7th place) 7. Nevada (tied for 7th place) 10. North Carolina
The article ranked Kentucky, followed by New Hampshire at the bottom of the list.
“You donโt have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things โ to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.”
