For the February 2020 edition of Coast magazine, I travelled to the small island of Eilean Shona in Scotland, spending time in the down-season reflecting on time by the sea and its mental restorative benefits. I walked, swam and went out in the water in a Canadian canoe to experience the best of what small island life in Scotland can bring.

Sitting at the end of the train line and acting as the gateway to the ‘wild west’ of Cornwall, Penzance has seen its share of changing times over the years. But the town is modernising at a pace, with the recent announcement that it will be receiving a share of the Government’s £655 million high street fund to help regeneration.

My writing as an author for iBuys, the outdoor and travel gear reviews section of the iNews newspaper. Click through for more for examples of my work, from best waterproof trousers, walking shoes and backpacking tents to more niche areas like photography tripods, backpacks and entry level DSLR cameras.

The start of the year is the perfect time to cultivate a fresh desire to contribute to society and put back into the community. It’s a great time to reflect on the previous year, appreciate what you’ve got around you and look for new opportunities to explore and learn more about your immediate surroundings.

It’s winter. The Cornish wind whips around the crooks and crevices of the county’s boundaries, infiltrating all the empty spaces, where there are no people. From the tops of the desolate moors in Bodmin to the far reaches of Sennen beach in the very west, the whistling replaces the laughter of the millions of excitable holidaymakers that travel here each summer.

The Scottish islands have enchanted and enthralled us for millenia. They have provided escape from class and convention, inspired writers and poets, provoked volatile emotional intensity in songwriters and have provided explorers and adventurers with the opportunity to ‘contemplate a system of life almost totally different from what we were accustomed – to find simplicity and wildness and the circumstances of remote time or place.’