About Us

I’m Emily,  an ex primary school teacher who loves dancing, Joni Mitchell and the sea.

Travel has always been high on my to do list.  As a child my parents would take my siblings and I on holiday to amazing places. 

 

I don’t mean exotic exactly, most of our time abroad was spent in France while my friends were off to Florida and other far flung places!  But where ever we went we explored.  My Dad would drag us round the backstreets seeking out local cafes and markets, or we would drive for miles to find the beach with the best rock pools or fossils.  We camped and swam in lakes and got up early to watch the wild rabbits.  We lost teddies in rivers, cut our feet on sharp rocks and spent days hiding from downpours.  We survived.  It made me feel alive. 

 

As I got older I started looking into travel opportunities and found I could volunteer at a school in Thailand.  I would have to go alone, but I’d get to try something completely new.  It sounded utterly terrifying!  My Mum gave me the push I needed, I pressed ‘book’ and have never looked back.

 

Next was Australia, then Cambodia and Vietnam, China, Nepal, Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and many other amazing and beautiful countries. 

 

After university I fell in love with teaching.  It was a job I was passionate about and gave me long summers to explore the world.  I would dream about having a big adventure.  I’d sit through inspirational school talks from people who had climbed mountains and rowed across the Atlantic and I’d almost hurt wishing I was them. 

 

The trouble was, I was too scared.  I’ve never been good at doing things alone.  I still hate going to the toilet in a restaurant on my own!  But then I met Adam and it all feel into place.  Not only was he smart, funny and incredibly good looking (I’m only saying this for the blog Adam) but he wanted to travel too.  He helped me find the brave I’d been searching for.

I’ve always been a bit of a vagabond. At 18 I set off for a summer job in Spain and didn’t come back for five years!  I spent my summers learning Spanish from the locals, swimming in crystal clear waters, watching hazy sunsets and helping drunk English people find their hotel rooms.  In the winter I went snowboarding every day, practised my German over too much gluhwein, photographed stunning mountain vistas and helped drunk English people find their hotel rooms. 

 

I was lucky enough to live in Italy, Austria, Spain, Ibiza, the Canaries and and the French Alps, until deciding to play at being an adult for a bit and moving to London to work in Silicone Roundabout’s tech startup scene.

 

I worked for some brilliant companies and got good at wearing suits and walking quickly at rush hour and being angry at people for no reason.  I thought about buying a house in London, but then I remembered I wasn’t a Russian oil baron or a premier league footballer so I bought a leaky old steel boat instead. 

 

I spent my spare time learning about engines and bilge pumps and pulling everything apart then working out how to (sort of) put it back together again.  I’d been living on boaty for two years when I met Emily, and when she didn’t run a mile from my floating building site slash crack den I knew she was the one.  Luckily she’s also pretty great at life and I’m pleased as pie that she wants to travel the world with me.