Media News Bulletin Spring 2016

Photo: Reuben Tabner
Media News Bulletin Spring 2016

The mountains of Wadi Rum, Jordan | photo by Tony Howard
Media News Bulletin Spring 2016
T
he Outdoor Writers Guild was
founded in 1980 by a small group
of writers, most of whom were
closely involved in writing about
outdoor equipment and clothing.
Within five years it had expanded hugely,
taking in writers who concentrated on the
experience rather than the gear, along with
a growing number of photographers.
In an attempt to reflect this diversity,
the Guild changed its name in 2006 to
Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild.
Even this fails to do justice to the breadth
of members’ skills and we also adopted the
informal strapline ‘Words and Pictures from
the Outdoors’.
Today’s membership includes writers,
journalists, photographers, illustrators,
broadcasters, film-makers, artists,
publishers and editors, but all with the
common bond of a passionate interest in
the outdoors.
I
f you’re a writer, photographer,
are involved in the outdoor trade
or of a relevant profession you
could join the Outdoor Writers &
Photographers Guild.
If you would like to apply for
membership please send a CV and
samples of your work by email to Tanya
Oliver, OWPG’s membership secretary.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Tanya
if you’d like further information about
joining OWPG.
memsec@owpg.org.uk
Where OWPG members have been recently
www.owpg.org.uk

On the road
Alf Alderson
A
lf Alderson is just back
from an RV road trip
around the British
Columbian ski resorts of
Sun Peaks, Red Mountain,
Whitewater, Revelstoke and Kicking
Horse - give him a shout for copy and
pics on this epic ski adventure.
Upcoming plans include ski
touring in Les Sybelles, one of
France’s biggest yet least-known
ski areas, and mountain biking in
Serbia, one of Europe’s least-known
mountain destinations.
Contact Alf
{
telephone: (+44) 07977 057993
email: alfie@alfalderson.co.uk
Revelstoke
| Main photo by Grant Gunderson

Roly Smith
So-fa, so freezing!
I
t was an early start for
Guild vice-president Roly
Smith when he was a
guest in presenter Bill
Turnbull’s final week on
BBC1’s live Breakfast show, (which
attracts 1.5 million viewers) at the
end of February. He was interviewed
by Bill on the Peak District National
Park and the Mass Trespass on
the famous red sofa, which had
been transported from its usual
Salford studio to a freezing Edale
(temperature minus 4 deg) for the
occasion. “When we went on air at
6.50am, there was still frost on the
sofa,” explains Roly.
Roly is currently fully engaged on
press, radio and magazine publicity
for his two forthcoming new books:
This Land with Joe Cornish (Frances
Lincoln) and Wild America with
David Muench (published by Jetta
Megarry’s Rucksack Readers).
Contact Roly
{
telephone: 01629 812034
email: roly.smith@btconnect.com
Roly, Bill and BBC Breakfast producer Claire Rogerson at Edale

Paddy Dillon
Atlantic Island Hopping
P
addy Dillon will be
hopping from one
Atlantic island to
another over the next
couple of years. There
are twenty islands to visit,
stretching from the Canaries
to Madeira and the Azores.
They say that the weather in
the Azores is bad in January
and February, but Paddy had a
wonderful time exploring oneand-a-half
islands. Santa Maria
provided a scoop, as Paddy
discovered the GR1 trail around
the island opened only nine
months previously.
As you read this, Paddy
will be trekking the GR221,
or Drystone Route, through
Mallorca. As soon as the British
weather cheers up, he will be
walking the Pennine Way. He’s
keeping his guidebooks to
both routes up-to-date. Paddy
is halfway through a huge
campaign to update several
guidebooks one after another.
He’s had ten published in the
past year as second, third and
even fourth editions, stretching
all the way from the Canary
Islands to Iceland. More
guidebooks are due over the
next few months.
Paddy gives talks about
walks, and has already
completed a mini-tour of
Ireland this year, speaking
to Mountaineering Ireland
groups. He also spoke at Foyles
in London, at the launch of
Cicerone’s revamped National
Trails guidebooks. He will be
speaking about the National
Trails again in May in Keswick.
Contact Paddy
{
telephone: 01229 586902
email: info@paddydillon.co.uk
website: www.paddydillon.co.uk
Vista del Rey - a view fit for a king - São Miguel in the Azores

Terry Adby
Scaling the heights
T
erry has recently been in
the Annapurnas region
of Nepal where he
interviewed the creator
of, and explored, the new
Natural Annapurnas Trekking
Trails (NATT trails) designed to
attract trekkers back to one of
Nepal’s original great trekking
regions, which survived the April
earthquake unscathed.
Terry has now moved on to
travelling and trekking in Mexico,
where he plans to climb North
America’s third highest peak and,
down at sea level, experience Baja
California, from its grey whale
migration to its growing wine
production.
Contact Terry
{
email: terry.adby@btinternet.com

Steve Davison
Barges ahoy
S
teve Davison has just
been going through the
final edits of his new
walking guide to the
Kennet and Avon Canal
which is due for publication in
June; the guide not only covers
walking the canal from Reading
to Bristol but also includes
twenty walks that visit the most
interesting parts of the canal
and its surroundings, from the
rolling chalk landscape of the
Vale of Pewsey in the North
Wessex Downs to the Georgian
architectural splendour of Bath.
He’s also writing monthly walks
covering Hampshire, Berkshire
and Buckinghamshire for
regional magazines and updating
three of his Cicerone guides: The
Great Stones Way, The Ridgeway
National Trail and Walking in the
New Forest.
Trips planned for 2016 include
Kandersteg (Switzerland), Malta
and Canada.
Enquiries about the Kennet and
Avon Canal, the North Wessex
Downs, the Chilterns, New Forest
National Park, the Ridgeway
and the Great Stones Way,
along with surrounding counties
(Buckinghamshire, Berkshire,
Oxfordshire, Hampshire and
Wiltshire), are always welcome.
Contact Steve{
email: steve@steve-davison.co.uk
website: www.steve-davison.co.uk
The Georgian Pulteney Bridge and weir at Bath

Tony Howard
Wadi Rum Tales
T
ony Howard and his wife Di Taylor are once again enjoying
an early spring in Jordan. “Is it safe?” everyone asks. Yes, it
is and it’s quiet. What better time to explore the country or
visit its world renowned sites such as Petra and Wadi Rum?
Which is what Tony and Di are doing, putting the finishing
touches to the new 600km Jordan Trail www.jordantrail.org, a twenty
year project of theirs now officially and efficiently in the hands of the
country’s Jordan Trail Association with approval and support of the
Tourism Ministry.
Contact
website: www.nomadstravel.co.uk
Tony{
Bedouin camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan

L
ong-standing Guild member,
Martin Andrew, has teamed
up with photographer Chris
Behan, the author of the very
successful Exploring Midsomer,
and The History Press to produce a
book of walks focusing on locations
used in the very popular TV series.
Roaming Midsomer, published in early
March 2016, is in a uniform format
with Exploring Midsomer and the walks
cover the Chilterns and the vales to
their north, the murderous heart of
‘Midsomer Country’. The walks vary
in length from three to six miles with
a pub or cafe on every route and are
enhanced by Chris Behan’s superb
photography.
Martin Andrew
Walking in Midsomer Country
telephone: 07963 617051
Contact Martin{ email: gmartin.andrew@btinternet.com
Photo: Chris Behan

Are you looking for a professional
and experienced outdoor writer or
photographer?
Visit the OWPG’s website today!
www.owpg.org.uk
Our Sponsors
The Outdoor Writers & Photographers Guild is proud to be associated with:
Aquapac 100% waterproof cases, bags
and pouches.
www.aquapac.net
Cicerone is a specialist publisher of
walking, trekking, mountaineering and
cycling guidebooks.
www.cicerone.co.uk
Crimson publish non-fiction books
dedicated to improving the way we live
and work.
www.crimsonpublishing.co.uk
Cordee, has a unique and worldrenowned
catalogue of books and
maps used by the recreation and book
trade throughout the UK and the world.
www.cordee.co.uk
Páramo directional clothing systems
deliver optimum comfort outdoors day
after day, mile after mile…
Guaranteed for life.
www.paramo.co.uk
Virgin Trains, get where you want to be
for less
www.virgintrains.co.uk
Should your company or organisation
wish to sponsor or be associated with
the Outdoor Writers & Photographers
Guild please email the OWPG’s
Secretary, John Gillham using
secretary@owpg.org.uk or telephone
01254 773097
The OWPG also has a Facebook
page. Catch up on the latest news
at www.bit.ly/OWPGfacebook
www.owpg.org.uk

Andrew White
Show and tell
A
ndrew White has had
an extremely busy start
to 2016. It started
in January with two
sessions at the Caravan and
Motorhome Show in Manchester
talking about his passion of short
walks, which was then followed
in February by another speaking
assignment at the larger Caravan,
Camping and Motorhome Show at
the NEC, Birmingham – sharing
the stage with Chris Packham and
Julia Bradbury.
In March, Andrew completes
the triple by speaking at the British
Tourism and Travel Show – again at
the NEC – sharing with the tourism
industry his views on developing
short walks.
Andrew has also continued to
write for some of the country’s
leading magazines, including BBC
Countryfile and BBC Sky at Night,
and the fully-updated second
edition of his AA Guide to Yorkshire
is released in March, with Andrew
undertaking a string of interviews
to promote the release.
Andrew’s big project in the
last three months has been the
production and broadcast of the
first television series of Walks
Around Britain – making him
the first guild member to write,
present and produce a television
series. Walks Around Britain has
just finished its first showings on
the Community Channel, and is
currently being repeated from the
beginning on Saturdays, due to its
popularity. Andrew is deep in the
production for series two, which
is due to be broadcast in May –
National Walking Month.
Contact Andrew
telephone: 07710 794842
email: andrew@andrew-white.co.uk
websites: www.andrew-white.co.uk {
www.walksaroundbritain.co.uk

Felicity MartinNew wheels to new places
S
ince becoming the
proud owner of a
Wildax motorhome,
outdoor writer
and photographer
Felicity Martin has mobile
accommodation when
travelling around Scotland
and further afield. Early trips
have included walking in
Cairngorms National Park,
mountain biking in Kielder
Forest and exploring the
Antrim Coast.
As well as now producing
travel features for motorhome
and campervan magazines,
she continues to cover walking,
mountain biking and the
natural world. Editors – please
get in touch if you want
colourfully illustrated and well
researched features about
Scotland’s outdoors.
Contact Felicity
{
telephone: 01764 670987
email: mail@felicitymartin.co.uk
website: www.felicitymartin.co.uk
‘Stella’ at a coffee stop before a walk up Glen Fyne

Reuben Tabner
Have camera, will travel
F
ollowing six months
living and working in the
Himalayas of Nepal, action
and adventure photographer
Reuben Tabner has relocated
to Inverness in the Scottish
Highlands. Here, he continues to edit
his work from Nepal which includes
writing, talks and a photography
exhibition, whilst at the same time,
working on new commissions based
in the Highlands and beyond.
Recent work has seen Reuben
exploring new mountain bike routes
in the Cairngorms, working in
Lapland, North Yorkshire and Wales -
he doesn’t stay put for long.
Reuben is available for new
photography work and would be
most interested in discussing any
projects, events, stock requests,
talks or commissions you may have.
Contact Reuben{
telephone: 0777 212 5869
email: info@reubentabner.co.uk
web: www.reubentabner.co.uk
twitter: @ReubenTabner
instagram: @ReubenTabner

Toboggan run, Dolomiti di Sesto, South Tyrol, Italy © Rudolf Abraham
Rudolf Abraham
From the Dolomites
to the Danube
A
ward-winning writer and
photographer Rudolf
Abraham recently
completed work on a new
guidebook to the 750km
Alpe Adria Trail, through the
mountains of Carinthia, Slovenia
and northern Italy.
He is now working on a new
guide to Montenegro, and a new
guidebook to the Peaks of the
Balkans Trail through the remote
borderlands of Montenegro/
Albania/Kosovo. Magazine work
has included features for OE,
Mountain Pro, Morning Calm, France,
Hidden Europe and BBC Countryfile.
Recent trips have taken him to
the Dolomites (with his six year
old daughter), as well as to Austria
and Hungary to cover traditional
carnivals in Imst and Mohács, and
over the next few weeks he will be
in Portugal, Croatia and the Czech
Republic. Commissions welcome...!
Contact Rudolf{
telephone: +44 (0)7789 936507
email: rudolf@rudolfabraham.co.uk
website: www.rudolfabraham.co.uk

Gordon Wilson
Walking the Pyrenees
G
ordon Wilson’s new
book, Space for
Wonder: A guide
to trekking the
mountain frontier of the
Pyrenees, is ideal if you’ve
been contemplating a long,
wild walk that is full of beauty
and interest. The book blends
practical advice with folkloric
storytelling and anecdote,
and may be just what you
need to make that aspiration
an enjoyable reality. Reviews
have been very positive so far.
Walking World described it as
‘Very well researched and full
of lots of useful and practical
information for those setting
out on the trail. The author’s
personal account gives a good
sense of what the walker can
expect on different sections.’
Adventure Travel magazine
were equally glowing, saying
the books was ‘Informative
and entertaining. Gordon is
a fine companion to have in
your rucksack for a hike in the
Pyrenees.’
Space for Wonder is
available as a paperback, in
e-Pub format and for Kindle.
Contact Gordon{ gordon.wilson@open.ac.uk

Rob Yorke
Stirring debate
R
ob Yorke has been
enquiring further
into matters around
‘elements of rewilding’.
Letting humans step back,
less big cat, more better habitat.
His ‘enquiry’ presented to the
Brecon Beacons Park Society
engendered much debate - also
detected in spades on a walk he
lead for the Crickhowell Walking
Festival. More to come on this
subject at Rob’s ‘gig’ at the Hay
Festival in May. The Times Opinion
Editor stirred matters when he
headlined Rob’s Thunderer with
‘Conservationists think they’re
God’s gift to the country’. Well,
we are all conservationists
that undertake conservation in
different ways even if we don’t
converse with each other – a
matter to be explored in April’s
The Field magazine’s April edition.
Contact Rob
{
website: www.robyorke.co.uk