Episode 7: Croatia Reflections, New Beginnings & Why a Change of Scenery Matters

This week on Adventure Geek Radio, I’m chatting about why a simple change of environment can sometimes be exactly what we need.

After years of working from home, I’ve made the move to the NatWest Accelerator Hub in Milton Keynes, and it’s already changing the way I work, think and plan for the future of Adventure Geek.

I also look back on our fantastic (and very hot!) adventure in Dubrovnik, share some exciting travel news, celebrate another successful Book Club, and reveal why my backpacking kit is coming out of retirement for a brand-new adventure in 2027.

Along the way you’ll hear:

• Pete Moore’s latest Round Robin question
• This week’s Mystery Sound
• Sounds from a peaceful Croatian evening
• Good news stories from around the world
• Our featured trip to Istanbul & Cappadocia
• The latest StepUp Challenge update

So grab a cuppa, lace up your walking boots and join me for another wander through everything that’s happening in the Adventure Geek community.

Live your best life.

Adventure Geek is a friendly adventure community based in the UK, helping people improve wellbeing through walking, travel, friendship and real-life experiences.

🥾 Walking groups
 🌍 UK & overseas adventures
 💚 Wellness, community & connection

Find out more:
 https://adventuregeek.co.uk
https://adventuregeektravel.co.uk

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, share or leave a review — it genuinely helps more people discover the community.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Adventure Geek Radio Show. Yep, we're now on episode seven. My name is Julia Doherty, I'm your host today, and although, as you'll know by now, it's not just me talking for 20 minutes. No, we like to mix things up with contributions from members and the Adventure Geek community, and today's episode is no exception. We've got Pete Moore popping in with this week's Round Robin question, another mystery sound for you to guess, but this one is actually being created by somebody that was on Croatia. That's going to give you a bit of a hint. Uh, and obviously, we've got some sounds from Croatia as well, which I think will transport you back there to warm Mediterranean evenings. Now then, what a weekend for sports. So later today we'll be cheering on Arthur Ferry as he takes to centre court in the Wimbledon semi-final. Can't wait for that. Uh, what an incredible story he's been. I don't know if you've been following it, but I love Wimwooden and yeah, a wild card playing in the tennis, playing the tennis of his life, he's doing so amazing, and suddenly the whole country is behind him. So, whatever happens today, it's been an amazing tournament to watch. So, hopefully, you'll be watching that as well. Then, of course, we've got England in action as well. Depending on where you're listening to this, we may be either celebrating or trying not to talk about it. Either way, fingers crossed, they'll give us something to cheer on about. Uh, and if that wasn't enough, last weekend was the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Honestly, who decided it was a good idea to squeeze in Wimbledon, England in the football, uh, a Formula One, and all on the same few days, it's to me, it's just insane. I don't know who is there like a world organization of sport who decides these things? No idea. Anyway, as sports fans, I think we're just absolutely spoiled. Is it cricket on as well? I have no idea. Anyway, it's been a busy week for Adventure Geek 2. We've just returned from a very few hot sunny days in Croatia. I started working from behind a brand new location. We've got exciting trips to talk about, some brilliant good news stories from around the world, another featured adventure that I absolutely love, and of course, we'll finish the podcast by seeing how we're getting on with this month's walking leaderboard. So whether you're out walking the dog, making a cup of tea, driving to work, or simply enjoying a quiet moment to yourself, I'm really glad that you've enjoyed you've joined me today. So let's start with this week's quote of the week. So every week I like to start with a quote that makes me stop and think, and this week's quote is a simple one. It's simply uh progress often begins with a change of environment. Now I don't know about you, but sometimes I find myself getting stuck in a routine, you know, same same desk, same four walls, same job, same day after day. Um before long I start feeling a bit, well, sort of flat. Uh some people sometimes we think we probably need more motivation or we perhaps need a new productivity app or we just need to be more disciplined. But actually, sometimes all we need is a change of scenery, which brings me nicely on to this week's opening thoughts. So as I write this week's newsletter, I'm sitting in the Nat West accelerator hub in the air conditioned suite of Milton Keynes. Yeah, there are proper desks, fast Wi-Fi, free tea and coffee, air conditioners are just amazing. I just may never leave. But joking aside, I've realized over the last few months that working from home isn't probably the best place for me. Uh, people offer see me out and about leading walks and travelling, but actually that's only like a dinky small part of what I actually do. Behind the scenes, there's websites to update, trips to organise, podcasts to record, newsletters to write, emails to answer, accounts, bank reconciliation to do, and to be honest with you, I have far too many conversations with AI, chat GPTs become my new best friend, and that's not healthy. At home, there's always distractions. There's the washing to do, dishwasher, you know, I've got tennis to watch, uh, and it's really really hot. My office is in a conservatory, and I've got these films on the on the windows of the office, but it still gets to one o'clock, and I'm absolutely sweltering. So I've decided that Tuesdays and Thursdays will be my office days here at the accelerator hub whenever I'm away or not away, sorry, on an adventure. If you're self-employed, then check out the NatWest Accelerator Hubs, they're all over the country, and you get everything. So you get printing, Wi-Fi, you know, loads of different stuff, uh, and it's absolutely brilliant. So, yeah, check it out, it's free of charge as well. It just gives me a little bit of structure as well, somewhere where I feel like I'm driving to work, if that makes sense. It's somewhere professional to work, it's the chance to meet other business owners as well. You never know, a bit of networking. Hopefully, it means I'll come up with even more exciting ideas for adventure geeks, so you guys will all benefit as well. So, one thing it does mean though, that is if I won't be working on a Thursday evening because I'd have been working all day, so I will from September I won't be doing or leading any Thursday walks. I hopefully I'll get these covered by walk leaders, but sometimes there'll be the occasion where I won't be able to get those covered, and there just simply won't be one. So I'd rather tell you guys there right now because I can't do it all. Anyway, instead, I'll be using that time to work behind the scenes on creating new adventures and making adventure geek even better. So sometimes the biggest progress doesn't come from working harder, it simply comes from working somewhere different. So let's talk about AG news. And the first thing is Croatia. That was a trip I'll never forget. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful. Even the plane ride coming down into Dubrovnik is stunning. Um, I don't mind admitting though, I think I've learnt my lesson. I don't think I'll be running that trip again, particularly in July. It was just too warm, it was just a little bit uncomfortable. Having said that, we had a brilliantly amazing group. It was the only trip that I've ever done that actually felt like I was on holiday, and I felt a bit guilty because I was sitting by the pool and I was playing Quirkle, and you know, I was just lazy and having cocktails. Yeah, it was just like I was on holiday with my best mates. It was brilliant. So uh yeah, thank you to all those that joined me. Um I say the probably the thing that I remembered most, it was not really the famous landmarks and that, it was it was the laughter. We did have a giggle, uh, the conversations over dinner, the unexpected moments. You know, sometimes you get someone saying something just completely ridiculous. Um probably one of the highlights was actually discovering that frozen bananas dipped in chocolate might actually be one of the greatest inventions ever known to mankind. Honestly, if you've never tried one, just put that on your bucket list. You'll thank me later. Anyway, I thought he'd transport you back to Croatia just for a few seconds. Close your eyes if you can, and imagine sitting outside on a warm summer evening and have a listen to them. Alright, so we're in Croatia, it's Dubrovnik, and we're at on Loxam Island by the Dead Sea. Look at these things. We thought I thought they were crickets, but they're not crickets. What are they? Do you know I haven't actually played with the audio or anything, that's actually how loud they were. So uh yeah, I'm not sure if it's relaxing or not, but anyway, it was pretty amazing. Okay, the book club does it again. Another highlight from this week was our book club. So last Wednesday we met uh to chat about raising hair by Chloe Dalton. It was one of those books that's almost impossible to sort of describe, it's like part memoir, part nature writing, part wildlife documentary, I suppose. And occasionally it feels like Dr. Doolittle has wandered into the pages, especially that last chapter. It's just like all these hairs were in her house and she talks to them and stuff. Uh it was just it was a weird book, but most people absolutely loved it. In fact, one lady gave it a 10 out of 10, and I think that's only the second time we've had a 10 out of 10. Um, so yeah, it's pretty rare for us. So thank you everyone for coming and came along. Uh, and this and also thank you to the Roadhouse for hosting us as well. Next month we will be back to Brunston and that's looking after us on that one. And uh, yeah, if you've ever wondered about joining the book club, but also worried that you've never met anyone before, please just come along. No one sits on their own for long. So I just wanted to say uh give you an update about the Amsterdam trip. So a quick update. Uh, unfortunately, we haven't reached the numbers or the minimum numbers that we needed for this year's Christmas markets trip, and I need to get the things booked, so we need we had a deadline of what the numbers would be. Um, so basically, Rachel and I have decided that we're going to do a mum-daughter adventure instead. We've done it for the last two years, so it'll be a shame not to go. So, I think the first year we went to Romania and did the Christmas markets over there. Last year we did a road trip to Scotland and did like Edinburgh and York and Berwick-on-tweed and those sort of places, which was really quite cool. Uh, and this year is going to be Amsterdam, so that's great, that's what we wanted to do. But anyone who had booked on the Christmas markets trip, um, I've actually spoken to them and transferred them on to the Amsterdam 2027 trip. So I've now only got limited spaces left. So if you've been thinking about Amsterdam trip for next year, get booked up as soon as you can. Um, so yeah, I'll be quite good, and it'd be good for me and Rachel because we get some time together, so it's a bit of a win-win. Next up is Plan B's. So everyone's calling them Plan B's now, which is really quite funny. But I'm really pleased how the plan B approach is working now. So the weather certainly tested us, and in years gone by, we've just cancelled walks or we've just cancelled events. So instead of cancelling, we've we've now adapted. So Monday's walk, this walk became a gentler stroll around toaster water meadows, followed by a drink together in the pub. Wednesday's dog pat walk moved into the shade, so we went to Holston Furs. Again, we made it a bit shorter, and we started like nearly two hours earlier uh for the heat, especially for the dogs. So that was a bit of a hit as well. So sometimes flexibility is the best adventure of all, and after all, adventure gig has never really been about the mileage, it's always been about the people and the dogs. Uh, and if we can still spend some time together safely, then I think that's a win-win. Okay, so before we hear from Pete with his round robbing question, let's spend a couple of minutes looking at some good news from around the world. Yeah, there can be so much sort of doom and gloom in the headlines that I always like to remind myself that there are plenty of positive things to happen in too. So, first of all, here's one for all of us who love getting outdoors. Researchers have found that Europe's air is continually getting cleaner thanks to years of environmental improvements and cleaner technologies. It proves that when people stick with long-term plans, a positive change really can happen. And while we're talking about the environment, is do you know that trees really are nature's air conditioning? Apparently, researchers have found that they can reduce the temperatures by as much as 12 degrees in some built-up areas, which probably explains why we've all been searching for woodland walks over the last couple of weeks, which is exactly what we did on Wednesday we went to Holston Furs, and it certainly was cooler. Next one made me smile. Scientists have discovered uh another species of walking shark. Yep, don't panic, it's not wandering around the beaches looking for tourists. It actually uses its fins to walk along the seabed looking for food. Yeah, honestly, you know, nature never runs out of surprises, does it? Just when you think you've heard everything, someone discovers a walking shark. Anyway, and finally, glow worms are making a comeback after being reintroduced into one of England's national parks. Imagine that, walking on a summer evening with the tiny glowing lights all around you. That sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale. I'll see that one day. Okay, right, let's off to the round robin. Have a listen to Pete. And the round robin question was when did you last have a real belly laugh? We had some funny answers, but this is Pete's.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Pete from Daventry, and I'm sorry, I read the question wrong. I thought it said deli laugh. Because we were in the deli and a woman with a little baby went up to the butcher and she'd just got the little baby and she'd bought a potty, and she said to the butcher, a pound of fillet. And he said, A pound you can't.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

Oh damn. Thanks, P. As always, we love to hear everyone's answers on these round-robbing questions. Sometimes they're just simple, like do you like cheese? But then other times, you know, we have to come up with some sort of little story. And a big thanks to Anne Outram and also Sarah, who does the admin side. I don't create these questions anymore, and it's I always get a surprise every single walk. So, yeah, they're quite creative. So, a big congratulations to Di Jones, who managed to guess the mystery sound last week, which was um a flagpole just bashing against a pole in the wind. Um, she didn't 100% get it right, but more or less, so I'll give her that one. This one did uh have a few responses, and Caroline always sends me an audio, so I'm gonna introduce it because it's it just makes me smile. So here's Caroline Rose's answer for that one.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

The noise is it's someone with a stick running along some railings. Hope you're having a good time. Bye.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

Alright, so this week's mystery sound is more of a who said it rather than uh what is it. So if you can guess who this is, send me a voice note in your best accent and as to who it is. So have a listen and see if you can guess. Uh I'm not gonna say there was alcohol involved at all. Oh no, wait, I wouldn't. So if you know who that is, answers on a postcard or send me a voice note and I'll include it in next week's podcast. Awesome, thank you so much. Um, okay, treat of the week. Now, before we look ahead to what's coming up, I've got a recommendation for you. This week's treat of the week comes from adventure geek member Jane Ward, who recommended a book and it was How to Talk to AI by a guy called Jamie Bartlett. I personally found it fascinating. As many of you know you know, you know, I use AI pretty much every single day. It helps me with ideas, planning, writing, problem solving, probably far more than I ever imagined it would a couple of years ago. But one thing the book really reminded me is that AI is exactly that, it's a tool, it's a very clever one, but it's still a tool. It introduced me to the idea how of a thing called AI hallucination hallucinations, can't talk today, where AI can sound incredibly confident while being completely wrong as well. And I think that's something we all need to remember. Technology is amazing, but it doesn't replace human judgment or real conversations or friendships. It's another reason why I've gone working in this other office because my best friend at work was slowly becoming Chat GPT, and that's not healthy. So, yeah, you know, when you think about it, that's what Adventure Geek is all about using technology to bring people together, not to replace them. So thanks Jane for that recommendation. It was a well worthy read. The link to that book is in the newsletter this week. Okay, what's on next week? So let's have a look at what's happening over the next few days. Now, if the weather forecast is to believe, is to believe, you know, you just never know nowadays, then we're we're in for another warm week. Temperatures are expecting to climb into the 30s again before easing off a little later in the week. We've got thunderstorms then. As always, we'll be keeping a close eye on things and making sensible decisions if it becomes too hot. If you're joining us on a walk, don't forget the essentials. Things like you know, plenty of water, a hat, sunscreen, those cooling towels are fantastic, and perhaps most importantly, don't be afraid to slow down. All the walks are not a race. Uh, the aim is to enjoy being outdoors, not to see you can get back to the car first. It's never really been about that at all. We've got another fantastic mix of events coming up. There are our regular walks. We've got the dog pack walk, cycling, we've got a sound bath uh on Wednesday, we've got a brand new Quinton Green breakfast walk next week, it's being led by Charlie. Then at the weekend, we're heading to Cambridge. I've got the Diddy Doors walk on the Saturday, and we're doing punting down the river, and we're actually spending an afternoon at the I think it's called the Jesus Green Lido. Um, so that would be take me back to my childhood with Daventry Open Air Swimming Pool. Uh, and then on the Sunday we're doing Grantchester Walk. Uh, if you've watched the programme, then you'll know where that is. Uh, and of course, we've also got a board games thing on Saturday, so like a jam-pat week, really. Okay, let's talk about the smile of the week. So, the smile of the week, it's time for my favourite photograph of the week. Um, this actually the photograph is is funny, but it doesn't capture the moment too well. But it was Barbara Young in Croatia eating a frozen banana, which was just heaven. Uh, and we just had these big smiles on our faces as we already need bananas, so yeah, they're all dipped in chocolate. Absolutely brilliant. So, thank you, Barbara, for the recommendation because she knew where it was, and we all headed there. And if anyone is listening and has never tried one, you've got your homework to do now. Again, photos, please. Alright, travel journal is up next. So, if you've been following our peak pilgrimage blogs over the last few weeks, we've reached the final chapter. This week, this week we've published day three, taking us from the beautiful market town of Bakewell to the historic village of Eum, or Ium, I'm not really sure how you pronounce that. I always think the final day of any long distance walk feels you know just that little bit different. There's excitement because you're nearly there, and also a little sadness because you know it's gonna come to an end. And there's a huge sense of achievements when you finally arrived. That last day had a bit of everything. There was ancient woodland, beautiful views across the Chatsworth estate, some very unusual kissing gates, wildlife, cake, of course that was cake, and one final climb that remind reminded us we definitely earned our peak pilgrimage certificates. So if you've been following the blogs each week, I hope you've enjoyed walking the trail with us. And if you haven't read them yet, they're available on the Adventure Geek Travel website. Who knows? Perhaps next year you'll be walking with us with it with it us, with it us. Who knows, perhaps next year you'll be walking it with us in person. There, I've got it in the end. So talking of trips, this week's featured trip is Istanbul and Cappadocia. Now I'll be honest, before I visited Turkey last year, uh I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I'd heard wonderful things, but nothing quite prepared me for just how incredible it was. The moment you're wondering one moment you're wandering through um colourful bazaars, hearing the call to prayer echo across the rooftops, and the next you're exploring ancient underground cities, fairy chimneys or giant penises, and cave hotels that look like they've come straight out of a f a fantasy film. It was just amazing. And then comes the moment that everyone remembers watching hundreds of hot air balloons rise into the sunset over Cappadocia. It's one of those experiences that's very difficult to put into words. You just simply stand there, smile, and think, I can't quite believe I'm actually here. And if that wasn't enough, we'll also enjoy a dinner cruise uh along the Bosphorus, that's how you pronounce it. Explore Istanbul's incredible history and take an electric trike through the valleys as the sun begins to set. It really is one of those holidays where every single day feels completely different from the one before. And if Turkey's ever been on your bucket list, I'd absolutely love you to come on an experience with us. Paces are limited and you can spread the cost with our instalment plan, which doesn't cost you any more. So please do have a look. And if you're an adventure geek member, these are open for everybody. But if you're a member, put your membership number in the checkout and you'll get a discount. I generally think you'll fall in love with Turkey just as much as I did. And if you've been before, come Again, you know how epic it was. And before we finish, let's have a look at the July leaderboard. So see how we're getting on with this month's step up challenge. We're only nine days into it, um, but as I did the stats yesterday. And as a community, we've already walked an incredible 762 miles. And considering the temperatures we've been dealing with recently, I think that's a fantastic achievement. So well done everyone. Some of you have been out before breakfast to beat the heat, others have waited until the evening, some have walked with dogs, others have climbed hills. You know, it's just been absolutely insane. So every single mile counts, and I know how focused um we we are on the total, but just getting out there is what makes a difference. So let's see how we do when it comes to July. I think we're gonna smash it in August because I've got 16 of us doing the Isle of Man coastal trail, which is a hundred miles, and they're like 15-16 miles a day. So for those of you on the leaderboard, you'll do a big contribution, but that's in August. But let's see how we get on in July. Closing thoughts, and that's what brings us to the end of another episode of the Adventure Geek Radio. As always, thank you so much for spending a little bit of time your time with me today. Uh before we go, let's come back to this week's quote. Progress often begins with a change of environment. Perhaps your change of environment this week is joining us on a walk. Perhaps it's finally booking that trip you've been dreaming dreaming about. Maybe it's trying something completely different, coming along to Book Club, joining a sound bath, or simply taking your morning coffee outside instead of sitting indoors. Whatever it is, I hope you find a little bit of adventure this week. If you've enjoyed today's episode, I really appreciate if you could help spread the word. Please tell a friend about the podcast. Let me know as well. If you're seeing me out there, let me know that you're actually listening to this. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just talking to myself. Leave a review whenever you listen. Don't forget to send me your mystery sound guesses. And if you've never joined us on a walk before, why not make this the week that you come along to see what Adventure Geek is all about? I'd love to meet you. Next week we'll be revealing the mystery sound answer. I'll have Maxine on the podcast as well. And I've also got a small interview with Richard Jones, who's going to be talking about the Brecken Beacons. That's all for next week. Uh, hopefully, we'll have Ireland and Aram, the Isle of Aran, live as well next week. So keep an eye out for that. Until then, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, keep exploring, and remember, go live your best life. Thanks very much. See you soon. Take care. Bye for now. Bye bye.