2025 has been a unique year for travel. I was away in far-flung reaches of the world for the first three months – something I’d never had the opportunity to do before! Throughout the rest of the year, I’ve travelled quite a lot around the UK, mostly to parts of the coastline. Meanwhile, I’ve been working hard to get The Explorer Outlook off the ground and, of course, planning my trips for 2026.
January to March
January to March was undoubtedly the most exciting part of my year because I was travelling the second half of my six-month sabbatical.
We saw in the new year in Auckland and then travelled down to Wellington by bus over the next week or so. Then we took the ferry over to the South Island and road tripped for the next few weeks starting and finishing in Christchurch. We hiked along the edges of electric-blue lakes and up to viewpoints over glaciers. We kayaked on a sea sparkling in countless shades of blue and green and we took a boat trip to see wild dolphins. All in all, New Zealand left a real impact on me and now has the honour of being one of my favourite countries in the world.
From New Zealand we travelled to Sydney, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road, then to Western Australia rimmed with deserted beaches whose white sand is so fine that it squeaks under your feet.
From Australia to bustling Singapore, finding the best views of Marina Bay Sands, going for a Singapore sling at the Raffles, and being spoilt for choice of delicious meals in Lau Pa Sat Market.
Then three weeks in Vietnam, where we travelled all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi by train over three weeks.
And finally a day in Doha which surprised me with how much there is to do and how connected it is to its traditions and roots.
It was quite a shock to the system to return to the UK which was in the midst of dredging itself out of winter, where the leaves still had not grown back on the trees and dark clouds furiously erupted in downpours with little warning. Fortunately, spring arrived shortly after we returned.
April to July
And it was a lovely spring! Between April and July, I stayed in England and did several trips to the coast. The first of these was four days in Dorset for my birthday in April. The weather was unusually sunny and it was genuinely delightful to walk along the cliff paths and eat ice creams in the sun.
In June, I went to Devon for two days with a friend to hike the 24 miles along the South West Coast Path from Exmouth to Seaton. In contrast to my Dorset trip, Devon was unseasonably wet. We arrived in Sidmouth after our first day of hiking absolutely drenched!
In July, I returned to the South West Coast Path for three days of solo hiking from Falmouth to Par in Cornwall. I love this part of the UK and would happily return there again and again.
August and September
My summer holiday this year was a European train trip. The week started with a wedding in Alsace and we then spent a day in Strasbourg. I’d been to Strasbourg before when I was 18 but had forgotten what a lovely old city it is, with its timbered shops lining the river.
We then took a train to Berlin and spent three days exploring as many of its historic sights as possible, ducking into pubs for a break from the strong summer heat.
On the way home we spent a night in Cologne, and then the middle part of the next day wandering around the grand architecture of Brussels before catching a Eurostar home to London. I love travelling by train so this little Euro train trip was a delight (apart from being struck down with kidney stones in Cologne – but that’s another story).
In mid-September, we returned to France for a few days on the Côte d’Azur visiting family. We did a bit of hiking, spent a day in St Tropez, and I ate my body weight in fresh, crusty bread – delicious!
October
I always become gloomy when autumn draws in. It’s not so much the cold weather as the long nights that throws me into a despair every winter.
However, the saving grace of this autumn is that it was a bit of a novelty as I spent the whole of last winter in southern hemisphere summer. So I embraced it this year by appreciating the burnished leaves, rediscovering my array of knitwear, drinking countless cups of tea… and spending a long weekend in Whitby on England’s north Yorkshire coast.
Whitby is a ghostly place. Not only does it have an atmospheric ruined abbey high up on its cliffs overlooking the town but it also features in one of the most dramatic scenes in Dracula. However, whilst Whitby was a perfect place to anticipate Halloween, it’s also packed with cosy teashops and mouth-watering fish and chip restaurants.
November and December
I went to Guernsey on a business trip in November. It’s not the usual time of year for an island break but I always love walking through the cobbled streets of St Peter Port and looking out across the sea to the other Channel Islands.
In December, I went to Amsterdam on the Eurostar for a few days. Other than visiting the Anne Frank House, which I’ve been to before and which is absolutely excellent museum, we spent most of the time searching out delicious food, including pancakes, poffertjes and stroopwafels.
Flying less
Since returning from my sabbatical trip, I’ve been trying to avoid flights. We tried to fly as little as possible on the trip but still ended up taking 16 flights in total (including connections), which made me feel guilty about my environmental impact. (To be fair, we did travel overland wherever possible, including over 3,000 miles by bus in South America, 1,000 miles on a boat through Chilean Patagonia, and the entire length of Vietnam by train.)
Since my return, I’ve prioritised train travel where possible. I genuinely think it’s the best way to travel. I love the feeling of actually experiencing the whole journey and seeing the exact route on a map. If only train travel were cheaper!
The blog
I launched The Explorer Outlook at the end of 2024. I created it over a few stormy days in San Carlos de Bariloche, then published my first blog posts (about Uruguay) in mid-December. Since then, I’ve published just over 78,000 words covering 78 blog posts and 15 countries.
On the other hand, I haven’t had great success with the technological aspects of the blog. All I want to do is write, and I feel frustrated that I’m spending so much time trying to figure out the mechanics of a blog rather than focusing on the writing. I feel like it’s way more complicated than necessary!
What’s next for 2026?
Despite the technological challenges, I’m proud of how The Explorer Outlook has developed so far, especially as I’m juggling it with my full-time corporate job in London. My plan over 2026 is to crack the technology, keep growing it, attract more readers and catch up with writing about my past trips. I’m sure I’ve got at least another 78,000 words to say about those.
In terms of travel plans, I won’t be able to do anything as exciting as a six-month trip for a long time. Travel is super important to me, but so is having a stable income, a stimulating job and a home base. But I’ve got some travel plans in the pipeline – maybe Slovenia? Some Greek islands? A summer trip to Canada?
I’m excited to see what 2026 holds!
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