‘I love going off the beaten track, having new adventures’
Kate Thompson (57), director of Northern Ireland Duke of Edinburgh Awards, is single and lives in Belfast. She says:
Ihave always loved travelling and have travelled on my own since my early 20s.
I think part of the reason I have gone on my own is that I like to go to places off the beaten track, which other people might not want to go to.
I also find that I have a lot of energy and can maybe cover more ground in a couple of days on my own than with a group.
I read a lot about places I want to visit and make sure I have done my research. I am very interested in photography, so will often go to places which will be spectacular to photograph.
As a woman travelling on my own, I am safety conscious and I try where possible not to arrive in strange places in the middle of the night, or if I do I will get a taxi directly to my hotel. And I try not to be out and about in places which I don’t know very well late at night. That said, I am on the go from early morning until late in the evening when I travel to places, trying to pack as much in as possible.
I like to be up photographing sunsets and sunrises.
I have travelled all over the world on my own and some of the highlights have been Cambodia and Burma.
I’ve also visited Japan, which I loved, and found the people incredibly friendly and I love history, so I enjoy going to places such as Berlin.
I love engaging with local people and experiencing different cultures and I can only truly do this if I’m on my own, as I speak to people and engage with them, which I might not do if I was with a group.
Sometimes, I will visit places and go on a recce on my own — then I might take the camera club and I’ll know where to go and what to do.
I also love trekking holidays and canoeing, so I will try to fit that in around visiting new and different places. I think when you are on your own you meet really interesting people and make real connections with them.
There are still loads of places on my bucket list which I want to visit, including Cuba, South America and the Antarctic.
I love scenery, old buildings and architecture as well, and I love discovering the history of places. I just love to travel and have new adventures.”