Blog | Mark Stratton Travels

About It starts with Bus #173

This is my occasional blog focusing on my travels abroad and at home in Dartmoor. All my journeys, whether it’s a 4-day schlepp to Pitcairn Island or a 3-week boat journey across Micronesia, begin with the local country bus #173 from my home in Chagford to Exeter, where I take the train or bus to London.

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Eight steps to trans-Dartmoor hiking heaven

Eight steps to trans-Dartmoor hiking heaven

I'm dusting the moss off my rucksack after another fantastic crossing of Dartmoor National Park on foot to my home in Chagford. With friends, on possibly the warmest weekend we've had on the moor this summer, we departed Dartmoor Inn on the western side of the moor and made a 26km traverse to the Northeast of Dartmoor. Given we spent a night wild camping on the moor you might think 26km in 2 days sounds a bit leisurely. But in fact because no signage exists on central Dartmoo

Death in the ice - Franklin expedition

Death in the ice - Franklin expedition

As sure as an icy drip falling from an icicle this dramatic exhibition sent shivers down my spine. With good timing, as I prepare to head through the North West Passage in September, the National Maritime Museum's 'Death in The Ice' exhibition tells the story of the most ill-fated expedition ever to try to discover the legendary North West Passage through the Canadian Arctic. Setting off under the command of Sir John Franklin in 1845 the two ships HMS Erebus & Terror were exp

Amid the ice floes

Amid the ice floes

For much of early September I'm going to be transiting the legendary North West Passage through Arctic Canada on board the ship Ocean Endeavour. For years I have been obsessed by the courage and determination of the Victorian explorers who attempted to navigate the passage to create a lucrative trading route between Europe and the Pacific Ocean. One particular expedition has haunted me for years. The Franklin Expedition 1845-8. Under the captaincy of Sir John Franklin the exp