Magazine

Whether you’re a local Londoner or a seasonal visitor, you likely spend your free time in London, exploring all that the bustling city has to offer. It's easy to forget about green spaces when surrounded by concrete ones, but don’t discount opportunities to explore the natural wonders that lie right outside of this vibrant metropolis. The outskirts of the city offer both tourists and locals the opportunity to seek a refreshing escape without venturing far beyond London’s doorstep. Either by train or by car, there are a variety of beautiful outdoors destinations to explore. Here are 10 micro-adventures to inspire some escapism away from the city, all within an hour journey from England's capital.

Get ready to swap city hustle for the quiet hum of the great outdoors. From treehouse retreats to eco-lodges off the beaten path, we're diving into accommodations that make nature your roommate. From Pine Martens and Basking Sharks in Scotland, to Bears in Romania and an underwater bedroom in Tanzania, where you can literally sleep with the fishes, there really is something for everyone.

We love to stock fellow Scottish brands within our Meander stores and one of those brands, TBCo., has flourished in popularity over recent years. We were luck enough to speak with co-founder and CEO of TBCo., Emma MacDonald who, in this article, delves into the behind-the-scenes of building her successful brand, the company's commitment to organisations like 1% for the Planet & 1% for the People, and advises budding entrepreneurs on how to ensure their business has a positive societal impact.

The Old Post Office Café and Gallery, situated in Kincraig (and a ten minute drive from the heart of Aviemore), has transcended its former role and has become an integral and well-known hub at the heart of the Cairngorms. Speaking with Toni Vastano, the owner, himself, provides a deeper insight to the heart and soul of the region, the unique role his café plays in bringing together the lives of residents and visitors alike.

We are delighted to announce our newest Meander Ambassador, John Barclay, former Scotland Rugby captain and now television commentator. Beyond his rugby career, John loves being able to travel as a product of his recent involvement in the world of whiskey, talks of his love for dog walking and sea-dipping, and maintains his continual involvement with theMy Name’5 Doddiefoundation. 

We are very excited to have him on our team!

Wild camping is one of the best ways to connect with and experience the outdoors in Scotland. We’ve put together a guide for those looking to help those who may be starting out their wild camping hobby or those just looking for the next spot. Click below to find your next Scottish Adventure.

I first met Rebecca in our new London store at 7 Dials and was immediately taken with her enthusiasm, passion for the outdoors and general zest for life. Rebecca very casually mentioned that she’d recently completed the Cape Wrath challenge. She would have happily left it at that, but her husband Nick gave us the complete picture, that the Cape Wrath trail is gruelling 250 miles that most people take weeks to finish, and Rebecca had not just completed it, but ran in just over 5 days and set the Fastest Known Time for a woman while doing so!

When I think of Scottish adventures, the first things that spring to mind is all of the wonderful landscapes we are renowned for, the snow-capped Cairngorms, the Cufllins in Skye, The sprawling highlands and plentiful Munros. What many people don’t realise (myself included until recently) is that when you dive below the surface then Scotland’s underwater world is full of places ripe for exploring too.

I had the pleasure of chatting to a few Scottish divers and our very own co-founder Steve, who used to be a scuba-diving instructor, for a bit of inspiration and some of their favourite Scottish diving locations. 

We are delighted to announce Zoe, the founder of MacFit, is joining our ambassador team! Zoe has been a good friend of the brand since our very first Meander jacket launched back in 2018. We share a love of the outdoors and we’re always inspired by Zoe’s positive mindset and belief that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. Zoe runs holistic mind body fitness classes and has built a truly amazing and supportive community that inspire lot of Edinburgh southsiders to run, jump and burpee way more than we would have otherwise!

We believe that getting outdoors makes us better humans and that exploring nature has the power to relax us, challenge us and to inspire us, it certainly inspires everything we do. For the uninitiated though, getting outside of your comfort zone can be daunting so joining a group can be a fantastic way to get involved.

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Alice Keegan from Adventure Girls Club and Sarah Gerrish from Wonderful Wild Women who started two of these adventure communities, both aiming to inspire women and bring down the barriers that prevent women from realising their full potential and going on outdoor adventures. They talked us through their inspiration for starting these groups, the importance of building communities, top adventure tips and more.

Here at Meander we are constantly inspired by those who push the boundaries and live a life full of adventure. We also find it inspirational when someone manages to turn their passions and love of the outdoors into a career. So when we came across Seana Forbes, who is not only a passionate skyrunner, but also happens to be the Press Officer for the Sky Runner World Series, we just had to get in touch.
Seana encapsulates the adventurous spirit and love for the outdoors that we so admire and we really enjoyed hearing about her experiences running high altitude races, her introduction to a life outdoors and what makes her tick.

From stone structures to camouflaged barns, these retreats work with the landscape rather than ruin it and are yours to stay in. These nature-inspired hideaways seamlessly blend into their surroundings and are perfect for outdoor lovers seeking an unforgettable nature-fuelled experience. All of these homes were built with greenery at the heart of their projects, so anyone seeking a break from the urban environment will love looking at these. We have gathered five of our favourite homes from around Europe that celebrate the natural beauty around them. Best of all they are all places you can stay yourselves!

Being based in Edinburgh, we’re just across the water from Fife and with just a bridge separating us from miles of stunning coast on offer we really need to make the journey and get exploring more often. If you want to explore it all, then the Fife Coastal Path is a great place to start either all in one go, or broken up into sections over several trips.

There is nothing quite like finding a beautiful, white, sandy, uncrowded beach that you can explore alone, without tons of other people getting in the way. Finding new hidden gems makes for great road trips and adventures, but sometimes you do need some local knowledge to help find the best ones. We’ve tried to make it a bit easier for you by asking some of our adventure buddies where their favourite hidden beaches are and they’ve definitely delivered.

Scotland hosts some of the most unique and challenging ultra-endurance races in the world. Thanks to the variety and difficulty of terrain as well as the hostile weather, more and more events are popping up around the country to test the stamina and nerve of endurance athletes. Below we have listed some of the events that the Meander team have been eyeing up.

Back in November, we had an absolute blast hosting a book launch event for ‘The Art of Wild Swimming’ written by the wonderful for Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan. Anna and Vicky are both seasoned wild swimmers, and in fact this isn’t the first book they’ve written on the subject. Their book ‘Taking the Plunge - The Healing Power of Wild Swimming for Mind, Body and Soul’ was published in 2020 and documents the stories of the wild swimmers and the reasons they swim outdoors.

There’s something about the long-distance hike that feels very calming. It strips away the stresses of day to day life, leaving with a very simple existence. Walking for days on end with the only goal in mind being arriving at your next stop has a way of revitalizing you in a way only a a week in nature could. Scotland is the perfect place to experience this simple pleasure. Beautiful coastal trails, rolling hills, glittering expanses of open water serve up world class scenery making it a must for anyone keen on multi-day hikes. We’ve narrowed the list done to five routes to help inspire your next adventure!

New Year’s resolutions, love them or hate them, they either keep us on track or end up in the pile of “I’ll get round to it”. But, who says resolutions have to be chores? We think resolutions should be enjoyed even if they do mean challenging yourself. So instead of a list of things to give up, we have some ideas to kick start your 2022 adventures.

As the year draws to a close and we wind down for the Christmas holidays, this means a well-deserved break from routine and work (for most of us). Christmas is also a time when we start to reflect upon our resolutions and goals for the year ahead. For these reasons, this time of year is a great opportunity to delve into a new and inspiring read. Inspiration comes in many different forms, and regardless of what you do for a living, there is a lot to be gained from reading about unfamiliar and thought-proving subject matter. All of these books seek to guide you towards a better you, and perhaps even a better lifestyle/future. They are also available (and many others) to browse or purchase in both of our stores, or on our website. So, without further ado, kick back with a glass of mulled wine and let’s check out these inspirational books.

Finding the perfect Christmas present should be a pleasure, not a challenge. To help you out, we’ve rounded up our top picks from the Meander store to give you some inspiration for you to treat your friends and family with.

The benefits of nature for both our mental and physical well-being are limitless. The natural world directly affects positive changes in our entire nervous system and brain. Being in nature can take many forms, such as walking in the woods, listening to birds, watching the flow of a river or stream, or hiking. Spending even a small amount of time in nature and doing something you find pleasant can substantially reduce stress, anxiety, depression and improve overall well-being.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Anoushé Husain, a para-climber based in London. Anoushé was born missing her right arm below her elbow, she also has multiple health conditions and is a cancer survivor. Not only this but she is breaking barriers for minorities being a muslim woman in sport. Her charitable work includes being an ambassador for Ehlers-Danlos Support UK and Limbpower and she supports the Grit&Rock Foundation which aims to help teenage girls aged 13 to 15, from deprived inner city backgrounds, develop greater grit, determination and self-confidence. In 2017 she won the Asian Women of Achievement Award for Sport and was the recipient of the Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration at The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards. Then, in 2018 she went on to co-foundParaclimbing London, a social enterprise which helps remove barriers people with disabilities might have when accessing climbing in London. As if that wasn’t enough, she works a full time job as a civil servant and has just started a Masters degree. Her whole life she has been challenging her own beliefs as well as societies. She talks us through her life changing climbing journey below.

As many of you might be aware, next Friday isn’t just any old Friday....
Oh no. Forget the relaxing, pre-weekend Fridays you’re used to, and prepare for carnage. Why? This year, 26 November is designated as Black Friday, a day when many retailers will mark down their prices and offer “deals” to ready-and-waiting shoppers. Having originated in America as a post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas shopping day, the last few years have seen the tradition make its way across the pond. Not only that, but it seems to be expanding and has spawned an entire weekend’s worth, sometimes even several weeks’ worth, of discounts. Weeks of bargains, sounds great, right? Well, at Meander, we’re not so sure;

Behind the Lens series 2: In this instalment of our Behind the Lens series, we caught up with Michael Lazenby (@michaellazenby), an outdoor adventure photographer and drone cinematographer based in the North of England. He has taken his passion for photography to new heights with the evolving medium of drone photography. The unique perspective provided by drone photography offers an infinite number of compositional possibilities compared to standing with two feet planted on the ground. I had the pleasure of discussing drone photography with Michael, and he has very kindly given us an insight into the background, rationale, and technique underlying his craft, and also shared some of his many beautiful shots with us.

Now, this might sound as if I’ve been living under a rock, but it was only a matter of weeks ago that I was completely unaware that Scotland had a rainforest. A small part of me hopes that this comes as a surprise to you, too, as I’ve lived in Scotland my entire life and I’d feel a little less silly about it. I've been learning more about them this week after a chance encounter with a friend in-store who is working on conservation project. I had always thought that rainforests could only be found along the equator, although I now know that those are tropical rainforests. Scotland’s rainforest, on the other hand, is a temperate rainforest, the likes of which are found in cooler, coastal areas in the middle latitudes. When you think about it, it’s obvious that we’d have one here, considering we do have forests and our reputation for rain…

Many people dismiss mangrove forests as merely tropical, swampy wastelands. However, we’ve since come to know that they’re anything but that. The value of mangroves is often well understood by local communities, yet their global significance is widely overlooked. Despite mangrove forests being critical ecosystems, both for biodiversity and for humanity, their losses have been considerable, and so it is imperative that we do what we can to protect them.

Nicholas J R White is a photographer based in Dartmoor. His photography projects examine the landscape and the ways in which we interact with our natural spaces. In 2017, Nicholas won the Lens Culture Emerging Talent award and he was awarded the The Royal Photographic Society Environmental Bursary for his project Black Dots. Black Dots is an exploration of mountain bothies and bothy culture throughout the United Kingdom. As well as being drawn by the impressive landscapes that surround the bothies, Nicholas was keen to investigate their human element, capturing the faces of those who trek for hours to temporarily inhabit these spaces. We caught up with him to talk bothy culture and about his journey across the UK taking pictures in the wild.

Based in Edinburgh, South African born Jacob Mellish recently completed an epic adventure: paddle boarding from Edinburgh all the way to England. Jacob is no stranger to spending time in the ocean, considered one of Scotland’s top surfers. His time spent in the water has made him all too aware of the challenges we face if we are to clean up our coastline. This was the basis for The Paddle Against Pollution, a challenge that aims to raise awareness for Surfers Against Sewage, and how we must act in order to make our waters a safer environment for all. We caught up with Jacob recently to chat about his experience.

If, like me, you feel a pang of guilt every time you throw something out, but don’t know where to start with improving the situation, then just trying to be more conscious for one week can make a huge difference and kickstart some good habits.

Like many people, I found myself getting into a bit of a slump during the first Lockdown. Without any end in sight, and the fear of the unknown, I found myself searching for something to keep me occupied and lift my mood. Daily workouts, reading, and painting, amongst other hobbies helped, but it wasn’t until I found the joy of swimming in my local loch that I really started to notice a difference in my lockdown-induced mood.

Earlier this summer, we had the pleasure of meeting Tommy Aucott and Lydia Routlege as they were meandering through Scotland on an epic wild camping adventure. After chatting with them both and seeing their obvious passion for Scotland, Wild Camping and Photography we asked if they would be willing to share their story for the Meander magazine and they very kindly agreed.
In this awesome photographic journal, they share their adventure, some great advice for wild camp newcomers and some great spots to pitch up.

Most people arrive at Scotland's bothies on foot and seeking some sheltered refuge from a long day walking in the hills. However, Paul Brett isn’t most people. Below, Paul tells the story of an epic cycling adventure across the Cairngorms, linking up several bothies that sparked the idea for an all new, super high quality cycling magazine - Proper Cycling.

Behind the Lens 1: In the first instalment of this series we catch up with Sam Howard, an amazing photographer who’s passionate about capturing images of Scotland’s surf scene. Stay tuned for more conversations with talented photographers from a number of disciplines, discovering the ins and outs of day to day life in the world of photography.

Scotland is renowned for its distinctive and diverse range of landscapes; from dramatic mountains and glens, to deep lochs and rugged coastlines. Some would say there is no better way to appreciate Scotland than from the top of its highest peaks and for those among us who long for that extra challenge, climbing may be the activity for you. Although very technical initially, once you get the hang of it, it will provide the perfect tools to unlock ALL that Scotland has on offer.

There are 282 munros scattered all around Scotland. 3 years ago Emily Scott achieved the amazing feat of climbing every single one in just 120 consecutive days. Armed with just her hiking gear, tent and bike she set off on her 4 month adventure.She covered over 4,800km with over 198,000m ascent, her journey was self-propelled, and for the most part self supported.

It’s no secret that the fashion industry has a significant impact on our environment. In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. The environmental damage is only increasing as the industry booms. One of the largest issues in the production process, and one that’s not often discussed, is that of the chemicals used in various stages of garment production from fibre productions to dyes and treatments. We often think of the risks associated with chemicals in things like cleaning products and pharmaceuticals, but rarely give serious thought to the chemicals that are used in the production of the clothes we wear all day long.