The beginning...

So, where on earth do you start with a blog...ideally at the start so I'd thought that'd be a start!

I figured it'd most likely make a little sense to explain who I am and what I do. Well, I'm Tom Barnes and here is a little insight into what I get upto!

I live in the sunny town of Glossop in the Peak District which is my main playground and what a place it is! I get asked quite a lot about interesting places in the area so this will hopefully become my outlet for this.

All my life I've loved the outdoors, every year getting to do bigger, bolder adventures or as you'd have guessed misadventures (always a little more memorable/interesting when things go a little wrong)! I love to get out hiking to explore anything and everywhere of interest or for when adrenaline is on the menu I'll go out on my MTB (vitus escarpe - beast of a machine). There's a plethora of amazing trials and bridleways all from my back door so I'm never short of anywhere awesome to ride and I'll showcase some of the best rides here. Also along this train of thought I dabble in the occasional climb and will try most activities given the chance!

While out I love taking photos, which is something I've gotta admit has taken a back shelf recently. I supply stock photos through istockphoto under the contributor name Thomasaurus for those interested in my work. I have a less than exciting day job, but on the other hand I've spent the last 4 years serving with the TA currently with 4 LANCS. I think this rekindled my love of getting out and being knackered, muddy and generally miles away from anywhere. Something I learnt to do as a kid in Scouts which is where I learnt most of my basic skills initially.

I'm sure I've missed out loads but hopefully this will give a little view into what makes me tick!

Enjoy!