THE JEWEL OF THE ATLANTIC
Discover why St Helena, a wild, mountainous island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is the dream walking destination you didn’t even know was on your bucket list.
St Helena Island, in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, is one of the remotest islands on Earth. The British Overseas Territory is less than a third of the size of the Isle of Wight, yet its mountainous terrain and microclimates create a world-class variety of hikes and walks.
In one day you can go from forested pathways reminiscent of the English countryside to rugged cliff-side scrambles overlooking the endless Atlantic, then cap it off with Jurassic hikes through heavily vegetated mountainsides. Many of the routes end high above sea-level, providing dramatic views of the island’s lush green interior before transitioning into stark, rugged cliffs that fall dramatically into the sparkling blue ocean.
The network of trails provides walkers with history and heritage experiences; passing military batteries, cannons, Napoleonic sites and transatlantic slave sites. Other walks take you along paint palette soil formations and dramatic geology, ending in coastal swimming ponds or waterfalls. Nowhere else on Earth offers such a wide diversity of walking experiences in such a small space.
Difficulty ranges from short, familyfriendly strolls to lengthy, challenging hikes, sometimes including the use of ropes to assist you along narrow paths or sheer rock faces. And to make it even better, the best of walking on St Helena has been compiled into 21 individual ‘Post Box Walks’. At the end of each there is a post box containing a visitors’ book for you to sign, and a stamp for you to use as a memento.
St Helena itself is perfect for holidaymakers looking to escape into peace, tranquillity, and nature. With a population of just 4439, you’ll likely be the only hiker on the path, and the island is home to around 500 unique species of plants and animals.
So, when will you take the leap to this bucket list destination and collect all 21 Post Box Walk stamps? Plan your trip of a lifetime today at sthelenatourism.com
We’ve been using the Fenix range of watches from Garmin for some time, and it’s hard to think of anything they can’t do. But, truth be told, because we’ve only been using them for walking and mountaineering, with the occasional bit of running and skiing, we’ve probably been using less than 20% of the Fenix’s capacity. And when you bear in mind the new Fenix 7 starts from £600 (up to a staggering £1050), that hardly seems good value.
This is where the new Instinct 2 comes in. Starting at half the price of the Fenix 7, it offers all the features we need from a watch with only a few extraneous bells and whistles. In fact, we’ve yet to find something we’ve used on the Fenix that isn’t also available on the Instinct 2. Like the Fenix, the Instinct 2 is available as a Solar version which supplements the already impressive battery life with power from the sun. For those who like the functionality of a GPS smartwatch but aren’t so keen on their bulk, there’s also the lighter Instinct 2S and 2S Solar watches which feature a slimmer fitting and a smaller bezel at the expense of some battery life.
It has all the features we’ve come to expect in a smartwatch: Bluetooth connection to a phone for on-wrist messaging, calendar reminders, music and electronic payments. Plus, of course, a wealth of sports tracking and GPS functions. The watch comes in numerous eye-catching colours and special Surf, Tactical and Camo editions. And with Garmin’s ‘Your Watch, Your Way’ program, you can build customised versions; through a variety of bezel and band choices, there are more than 240 design combinations.
We’re still probably not using 100% of what the Instinct 2 can offer, but what it does do, it does brilliantly.