Adventure

Day One: The Journey Begins Earlier this week, I embarked on an adventure with my mum, heading to the Adventure Bike Rider festival with our trusty BMW F750GS and the agile KTM EXC 450. We arrived with excitement and set up camp in her custom-built campervan, ready for a weekend of off-road exploration and camaraderie among fellow riders. The first day was all about setting the stage for our adventure. With our bikes securely loaded onto the trailer and our spirits high, we set out on our journey. The roads ahead of us were vast and untamed, and we couldn’t wait to see what lay in store. ...

The morning of our last day arrived far too quickly. We spent the final moments of our holiday finishing up packing and tidying the cabin, trying to savour the last bits of the Madeira atmosphere. It was time to say goodbye to the island, and so we made our way out to drop off the moped. On the way to drop the moped off, we stopped for fuel to fill the tank back up, which brought the total fuel bill to only 24 euros for the week. The moped hire team gave us a lift to the airport, and before we knew it, we were at the departure gate. ...

We set off today for a proper adventure, aiming to reach the mystical Fanal Forest. The ride was a long one, winding up through the mountains, but halfway there we stopped at a beautiful viewpoint to stretch our legs and take in the sweeping scenery. Eventually, we reached Fanal, where cows roamed freely and the road became a bit more of an off-road experience. We parked up and entered the forest, where the fog was thick, the trees were gnarled and mysterious, and the atmosphere was something straight out of a fantasy film. ...

We had a slower start today, sleeping in until about 9 and easing into the morning before heading out for a day in Funchal. Our first stop was Cabo Girão, a cliffside viewpoint with a glass floor. The view was incredible—coastlines stretching for miles and a dizzying drop beneath our feet. Tiana was not a fan of the glass, visibly shaking while trying to take in the view (and posing bravely for the camera). We weren’t alone—there were tuk tuks everywhere and a sizeable crowd of tourists, so after soaking it up for about 15 minutes, we hopped back on the moped. ...

We started our second day in Madeira by learning a valuable lesson: the cabin lights control all the power sockets. So, naturally, we woke up in a cold, damp cabin with zero charged devices. Classic. To make matters worse, Ollie decided to fully embrace island time by refusing to get out of bed at the agreed-upon hour. He was eventually coerced into verticality, and we set off on our scooter towards Pico do Arieiro — one of Madeira’s highest peaks. ...

We kicked things off bright and early with a flight from Bristol to Madeira — sleepy-eyed but buzzing to finally get going. The airport in Madeira was surprisingly efficient, and before we knew it, we were handed the keys to our little rental scooter. Honestly, the whole pickup process was so easy it felt suspiciously smooth. No complaints there. With our helmets on and bags stuffed awkwardly between us, we set off along the coast, first stopping at Machico for a quick look around, then heading onwards to Caniçal. We hit a bit of a snag when the road was closed near the village, but we parked a bit further out and walked in, which turned out to be a win. The “village” we were aiming for turned out to be more of a resort, but it had its perks — namely, a fast food place where we finally got something to eat. Service was… let’s call it relaxed. Island time, we guess. ...

With the Thames just down the road and some stand-up paddleboards ready to hire, it didn’t take much convincing to get a group of us onto the water for a day. We’d been watching Ed Pratt’s Source to Sea series and figured… how hard could it be, right? Our mission: paddle 18km from Cricklade to Lechlade. Getting Set Up Our adventure started in classic style — almost according to plan. We were meant to have four boards, but only three were actually available when we arrived. Luckily, the carpark near Cricklade had just enough wiggle room between the bollards to squeeze the cars through. A few hundred meters from the river, it made for an ideal launch spot: spacious, easy to access, and a handy wooded area nearby for getting changed. ...