Due to the present COVID-19 outbreak, we’re all under Central Government Control. Control is a subject I’ve been discussing with my close friend Helen Davies for a while, so by the power of the internet, we’ve maintained #socialdistancing and brought our ideas together. Before we get started, here’s an introduction from Helen…
Read More »Control…I’m delighted to announce that I’m a Ordnance Survey #GetOutside Champion for 2020, but these are different times for us all. Getting outside isn’t… Read More »2020 Ordnance Survey #GetOutside Champion…
It seems surreal that only three weeks after returning from the Highlands, we sit under lockdown for a virus that no-one can see, taste or feel, until it has its hold upon you. At first I didn’t feel much like writing, but as a long time diarist, I feel that records must be kept.
Read More »Windswept and Wet, with a Virus on the Way – The Tenth Frostbite Report…
Here we are in lockdown 3.0 and once again COVID-19 sees many children being schooled at home. Here’s a few links which you may find useful to keep their creative minds going. They’re all engineering, creative, travel or outdoors based and I hope will be of use to you. If you have any suggestions, please drop me a line and I’ll add them to the list…Read More »Homeschooling Resources…
In these difficult times, it’s important that we keep physically and mentally fit, but also work within the rules. Here’s some important information about… Read More »COVID-19 and the Outdoors…
“Sticks and Stones Will Break my Bones, but Words will Never Hurt Me’ is a phrase which many of us grew up with as children, but is it true? I wonder if anyone reading this has never been hurt by words? I believe that words have the ability to convey beauty and love, but also horror and hate. I’d advise you say what you mean and mean what you say…
Read More »The Power of Words…I’ll be speaking at this years Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC next week along with a list of TV Celebrities, Travellers, Campers… Read More »Live at the NEC…
January is over and 2020 brings a New Year and fresh new decade. At this time of year, the media is filled with adverts for… Read More »Still Got the January Blues..?
What a year 2019 was, or wasn’t. The first time I missed a Scottish winter for 20 years, a trip to Africa cancelled at the last minute, a climb in India scrapped because of lack of interest and a cycling trip to SE Asia cancelled because of injury. For some just that would be disastrous enough, but all those setbacks paled into insignificance on March 20th as, out of the blue, I lost my Dad. The literary world is strewn with poetry, prose and paragraph about death, but no words can describe the feelings of loss I had and still have. I’m happy that he left us peacefully, with his loving family around him. He felt no pain or suffering and I thank God for that. Only the night before, he’d been on top form, laughing and joking with me at a Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Presentation. It was a striking lesson in living every day of your life to the fullest of your abilities.
Read More »2019 – Exemplo DucemusHaving lost my Father, I concentrate much of my life caring for my Mother. She still enjoys getting out walking and enjoys the fresh air,… Read More »Walking at 80 Years Young…
On Friday 6th December I officially opened the ‘Big Screen’ In the Vicar Lane Shopping Centre in Chesterfield. The screen aims to promote Chesterfield and… Read More »Opening the “Big Screen”
The run up to Kendal is always busy, so this year I decided to spend as much time as possible in Hospital to shield me from the chaos. Actually, I’d been knocked off my bike by a car and was nursing some rather stiff joints. Serious care, rest and drinking would be required over the festival weekend if I was to make it through…
Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2019 – Friends will be FriendsI was recently interviewed by Christian Stahl about how my experiences on the mountains had changed my life. Taking decisions in critical moments is vital… Read More »Beyond Blindness Podcast
For almost 30 years I’ve led a New Year’s Walk to get family and friends together. For many, it has become a must in their… Read More »Planning Group Walks
There will be no party for my 50th birthday, no barbecue or Easter celebration, but I will be racing across South Africa in honour of… Read More »The JoBerg2C Race – In Memory of my Father
Spring should be a time for celebration as new life bursts forth and drives the grey skies of winter away. As a child I spent… Read More »Spring – An Ode to the Old and New
I’m delighted to have been accepted as a Brand Ambassador for Grangers, based in my beautiful Derbyshire… https://grangers.co.uk/blogs/brand-ambassadors/nigel-vardy
For over a year, I’ve been struggling with the nerves in my right arm. After many appointments, tests and opinions, I recently underwent surgery on my Ulna Nerve in an attempt to heal the pain. It’s too early to know whether it was worth getting my 26th scar, but time will tell…
Read More »Heal the Pain…I recently recorded a StoryHinge Podcast with Jason Vidaurri about my life in Mountaineering and what life lessons it has taught me. http://storyhinge.com/index.php/2018/11/08/89-nigel-vardy/
Ok, ok, so it’s over a week since the Kendal Mountain Festival finished for another year and the web is already full of blogs..! Time hasn’t been on my side over this last week as I’ve been enthusing school pupils to get into the outdoors and do, rather than surf, however here we go…Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2018 – Stories, Ghosts and Peace…