Grangers Brand Ambassador
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
Ordnance Survey
Heal the Pain…
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…The Kendal Mountain Festival 2018 – Stories, Ghosts and Peace…
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…
The Ability to Adapt
Adaption after injury is a long and hard battle, but with perseverance, good friends and the right suppliers, you can do the things you love.… Read More »The Ability to Adapt
Racing for the Bottom…
Thousands of years of schooling, learning and education should have provided society with the most intellectual humans ever seen. The philosophy of ancient Greece, the mathematics of Babylonia and the nuclear science of CERN should make us superbly intelligent. So why do we choose to ignore them..? It’s because we race for the simplest way or the lowest common denominator…
Learning to Fly
I fished as a youngster and have re-discovered the sport as a way to relax and learn. Stubby fingers and bland nerve responses don’t make… Read More »Learning to Fly
Inspiring Primary Pupils
I believe strongly in inspiring youngsters and much of my work in schools teaches learning, life and leadership skills. Earlier this year I held two… Read More »Inspiring Primary Pupils
Tread Lightly
As human beings, we have a great effect in the countryside we love and thats why I ‘Leave No Trace’. Here a few thoughts in… Read More »Tread Lightly
Sploz Blogz – The GetOutside Interview
I first met Zoe through the Ordnance Survey and feature in her series ‘The GetOutside Interviews’. “I set an example by writing about my battles… Read More »Sploz Blogz – The GetOutside Interview
Jordan 2018 – Searching for a Desert Rose…
I’m a mountaineer. I climb mountains, love mountains and speak about mountains. People drive me as wild as I do them, because of my adventures, cock ups and rescues, but I travel to other places too. I’ve bashed through dense jungles, crossed open plains and sailed oceans across the globe. During late 2017 I decided that I needed a change. The year had been a tough one and I was tired. Tired physically, tired mentally and tired emotionally. I needed a break, but wasn’t sure what to do.
Breathe in the Air…
I’m regularly asked ‘Nigel, Why do you like the cold..?’ I’m no expert or scientist, but I know what feels right to me. Cold may have tried to kill me, but it’s where my heart is happiest. After recent trips to Scotland, Norway and Italy this year, I decided to look into my childhood for some answers…
Hold Me Now…
Ice Climbing is a sport which many thing crazy, wrong or downright dangerous. I disagree. It’s a pure athletic sport, with routes that change year on year, challenging even the most skilled climber. Variations in the weather can make or break a route, or a season. It can be made as safe as you wish, but also as challenging as you like. Physically it’s incredibly demanding, but the mental aspects come harder. Youre climbing up water, which for much of the year is heading downhill. Ive recently returned from a weeks climbing in Rjukan, Norway, where icefalls galore await…
High Winds and Helping Hands – The Ninth Frostbite Report…
Every winter in Scotland is a lottery when it come to the weather. I’ve experienced everything from snowdrifts to sunburn and blue sky to thick fog. Driving north to the Cairngorms, my friend Ian and I were buffeted and bashed even at lower levels. We drove to the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Centre for a quick look at the conditions before checking into our accommodation. We opened the car doors and almost took off. The next days foray into the hills saw us beat a hasty retreat when the wind speed picked up to hair-raising and visibility dropped to nil. For some, this would be scary to say the least. In my world – welcome to the mountains.
Read More »High Winds and Helping Hands – The Ninth Frostbite Report…
2017 – Quality not Quantity…
The end of 2017 is upon us, and it’s easy to look back and think that not much exciting happened. It was just another year, like the one before and like the one to come. Thankfully I write diaries and looking back, 2017 has certainly been packed with life experiences.
Finding Your Way…
On this National Map Reading Week, I though I’d share a few thoughts on why I love maps and the effect they’ve had on my life…
The Long Sobs of the Violins of Autumn…
The modern world is stressful, well that’s what everyone will tell you. Report after report states that our mental health is suffering, our ability to make (and take) decisions is disappearing and that risk is something that we can’t accept. I think you find that life has been stressful since the dawn of time. If you didn’t hunt successfully, you and your family starved, harsh winters killed the weak, and tribes fought hand-to-hand combat over land, property and resources. That sounds a heck of a lot more stressful than a late train, flat phone battery or failing central heating…
On Plastic Patrol..!
The world is filling with litter. You only have to walk down a street, look in a lay by or attend a sporting event to see it. The aftermath of any music festival is a disgrace, and people attending seem to think that whatever they dump doesn’t matter. Dog owners pick up dog poo and the leave the bag on the floor. A few miles from my house is Junction 28 on the M1, which is legendary for its waste. I’m sure there is an invisible road sign which reads ‘Please chuck your litter out of the window before joining the Motorway’. That’s the bad news, but there is some good…
Crossing the Cuillin…
I’m not a man for Bucket Lists, but the traverse of the Cuillin Ridge has been on my mind for a long time. The legends it has created are long seated in the history of British Mountaineering and an opportunity appeared for me to give the ‘Royal Route’ a go. I had recently been climbing at altitude in Uganda and felt strong for the challenge. Guided by Martin Moran, I crossed the 12 Monroe’s faster than I could have imagined, but wore my skin grafts almost to the bone.
Wild Night Out…
We should all spend more time outdoors. Its simple to say and easy to do, but still as a nation we struggle to get people outside. Because of this, Belinda Kirk created ‘Wild Night Out’, to enthuse people to enjoy the wonderful world around us. The Ordnance Survey teamed up with Belinda for 2017. Some people choose to wild camp, others sleep in their garden. Some camp with youngsters, others with their pets. Whatever and wherever, example is better than talk, and I lead by example. I decided to do more of a marathon than a wild night, and joined by fellow outdoor enthusiast Jo Elson, the adventure began…
Let’s Explore..!
People these days spend much of their lives indoors. Whether it’s working, watching television or hiding from the rain, survey after survey tells us to get outside more and get some exercise. Many surveys spill doom and gloom across the media, telling horror stories of overweight, unfit people suffering in their lives. As an Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion for 2017, I’m showing people how to enjoy the outdoors, even when you have a full-time job, work shifts and have serious injuries. Society fails when we sit on our ever-widening backsides, eating processed food and assaulting our eyes with the world of digital media, but it’s not all bad news…
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